Staking U Students Talk About Their Experiences

Student and Company Testimonials

If you haven’t taken one of these classes and you’re in the damage prevention line of work, take it, and bring back the education to your organization. It will only elevate the effectiveness of your damage prevention efforts.

Paul, first I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful job you did with the class.  I learned a lot and I’m getting a kick out of showing everyone how their ideas on locating were completely wrong. I’ve already recommended that we send a few other people to the training class and I plan on recommending your class to other locators that I meet. Thanks again for the great job!

– Jeremy Shaw, Providence Engineering and Design

Paul, I want to thank you for the extensive one on one time you were able to give us in class. You provided a user friendly environment, while demonstrating and teaching us how to apply the technology across a variety of difficult situations. I will never forget how to determine if my signal is round and the methods of how to improve it. I called Environ, a client of mine. After I told them what we did in class, they said they are going to send three people to your university, one person from MO and two from Chicago. P.S. I bought a Pipehorn

– Art

I just wanted to say thank you again to John Foster and the folks at Staking University. John has put together a class that almost perfectly balances class and field time. I was amazed at the amount of locators I was able to use during my training experience time. I was able to form my own opinions about what I liked and disliked with each setup. It was clear from day one that John has spent time in the field and understands real world challenges. The class that I attended was very diverse in every way from our home locations, across the country, to the way we were all going to apply what we learned. Somehow John found a way to make a personal connection with each one us. I would recommend this class to anyone. I will guarantee that even locators with years of experience will still learn a trick or different way of accomplishing the task at hand. I could keep going on but I’m sure you know John and the level of commitment and passion he brings to your classes. Thank you again for the opportunity to attend your training.

– Joe Smoker, Rettew

Hello, I just wanted you to know that the training that was put on by John Foster recently in Portland, Oregon was top notch! John is a great instructor & even though it was my second time through the class I learned tons. Thanks again for offering up such a great class & thanks again to John for the great teaching.

– Rod Vinyard, City of Grants Pass Oregon

I recently completed a two-day class on the fundamentals of locating taught. This class was very educational, and I thought the trainer did an excellent job of teaching the material. He obviously has a thorough understanding of all aspects of locating, and he shares this understanding in a manner that is interesting, thorough, and clear. The balance between classroom and hands-on field work was very valuable.

– Peter Gaskamp, Water One

I have just attended one of Mike’s training courses here in Adelaide via Staking U with a group of experienced cable locators/utility surveyors. The presentation and content of the training was outstanding and extremely informative. Having completed various training courses in the UK and worked with some of the best survey teams in the business, I have yet to meet anyone with his level of expertise. I would highly recommend this training to anyone who has designs on becoming a professional utility surveyor of the upper echelons of this industry as without it I guarantee you will be found to be lacking! (As I discovered I was). Thanks Mike I wish I had met you 10 years ago.

– Tony Simpson, COO at Earth Radar, Australia

I now have a better understanding of how the locator works, and the impact the different frequencies have on a locate. Also, knowing the 5 checks to see if a signal has jumped on another service is also very handy, something I was unaware of before the course. I think the course was very good and informing.

– Tommy Markovski, Engineering Surveyor Utility Locations Unit, Survey Section
Road & Traffic Authority

I attended your course at Manteno, IL and would like to say that it was a really great experience and well worth the time. Your instructor was extremely knowledgeable, helpful, friendly and persuasive in getting us to try new techniques.

– Ronald Watson, Air National Guard
Volk Field, WI

I would like to thank you for providing us such excellent training. Your trainer did an outstanding job providing the information to the students in a way that both engages and keeps them focused.

– Phil Baker, Member, Board of Directors
Oregon Utilities Notification Center

I got to attend Staking University in Manteno, IL recently, which was one of the most awesome experiences of my life.

– Bob Bahlke, C&S Solutions
North Carolina

Staking U did an excellent job in training our line locators during their sessions. The instructor was even able to teach the ‘OLE CRUSTIES’ some new things! The guys were very impressed in the way they taught the class with the classroom sessions and the hands on training combined. The information was presented in a way that was interesting to the old and new employees.

– Patricia Jones
BP

The things we learned there became the catalyst for completely redefining the project we were working on. Before Staking U, the project seemed like: ‘Well, we have to do something, guess this is it.’ This was impossible to actually feel good about it. After the training we received at Staking U, we pretty much reinvented the project, and now every time I look at it I get enthusiastic. Thank you again for hosting us and for teaching us so much.

– Dave Johnson
Fisher Research Lab

I have been utilizing the services of Staking U for the past 8 years for training Municipal and private contractors in the field of Line Locating. There is no question that the training offered by Staking U is the best I have ever seen. Approximately 100 individuals involved in underground construction in the Greater Vancouver area have been trained by Staking U and I have not had one negative comment concerning the training.

As an Inspector for the Natural Gas supplier in British Columbia the training has created a common ground for workers throughout our area and an increased awareness for underground utility locates and damage prevention. I have been locating personally for 30 years and know of no other locate instruction as good as Staking U. To quote an individual from one of the locate instruction sessions, ‘It’s not what I learned from the course that impressed me, it’s what I learned I didn’t know.

– Don Derby, Pipeline & Right of Way Inspector
Fortis BC
BC, Canada

I was able to learn valuable techniques to have better confidence in my locates. I had several issues regarding conflicting signals from neighboring utilities in the trench, i.e. frequency selection, detecting the presence or absence of a round signal and signal distortion during a locate. I was able to bring back a lot of information to my company which validates the cost of the training.

– Rich Lane
Turlock Irrigation District

Our Staking U instructor clearly had many years of hands-on experience in the locating industry and had a strong knack for conveying locating knowledge to students. We recommend this course to anyone seeking information about modern location technology and methods.

– Mark Friel, Operations Manager
Meadow Lake Wind Farm

All I can say is, ‘So that’s how locating instruments work.’ Your knowledge of electromagnetic locating technology and the locating industry is inspiring. Coupled with your ability to effectively communicate these principles and tie them to practical field applications is a winning combination.

I had been locating for several years prior to attending the Staking U Certification course and was a little skeptical, but still looking for some answers. For me ‘THE SIX; plus having the instruments opened up really helped me understand the ‘how.’ Knowing how different locating equipment is constructed really helped me to understand ‘why’ one piece of equipment induces differently than another and why different locators can be used for specific applications. Understanding the relationship between the shape of magnetic fields and accuracy and how to change non-circular fields to circular have definitely made me a better locator.

– Tony F. Brunette, Owner
Structure Scan Inc.

I recently attended a course at Staking U Asia Pacific Campus. From the outset, I could see that the training was going to be valuable to everyone in the room. The instructor made it clear to us that the course had been designed for the adult learner and would be mostly hands on, rather than sitting in the classroom. The technical information was presented in an easily understandable way. The instructors knowledge on the workings of locating equipment is immense.

We located gas, power, telecom and water utilities. We learned all of the methods to verify the location of the utility being traced, no matter what kind of utility it was. The delivery of the information was easy to understand and the hands on exercises put it into context. I found the information to be extremely valuable, as it gave me an understanding of the complete process. Although I have been locating utilities for many years, I learned a great deal from taking the course. The course content is exactly what all locators need and I highly recommend it to all people engaged in the locating industry.

– Cliff Williams
Telestra
Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Here at Unitil, we have had a great experience in using the services that Staking U provides. They are professional and incise in the curriculum they present to the students that attend. We have sent all of our locating techs out to their facility in Manteno Illinois, for the complete course in underground locating.

Personally, I had been locating underground gas lines for years before attending their training. I came away with a completely new experience after going through the Staking U training class. The information covered was very informative and the hands on portion, using equipment, was far beyond what I had ever gone through before. This was the same for all of the distribution techs that attended this training. We also continue to use their training for re-certification and updating our techs.

– Joe Fitzpatrick, Distribution Supervisor
Unitil