Colas OTM driver operator. Rail milling

[Danny21212]

Hi, has anyone got any information regarding the advertised vacancy for OTM driver operator(rail milling)for colas. Advert says site based but no location. Also shift patterns,lodging away and salary.

Job Details

 

[D5581]

Hi, has anyone got any information regarding the advertised vacancy for OTM driver operator(rail milling)for colas. Advert says site based but no location. Also shift patterns,lodging away and salary.

Job Details

I've just joined Colas (in second week) as an OTM (tamper) driver operator.
From the roster for LNW south that I have seen, its varied and you'll be all over the place where your machine is with varying hours depending on whether its light maintenance, or a transit move, or a shift operating. You'll be contracted to 30 weekends a year, which isnt as bad as it sounds as they classify a weekend shift from anything after 1800 on a Friday, to Monday morning. You may just get a friday night, you may get the whole weekend, either way, it will count as a weekend worked whether its one or three shifts worked, if my understanding is correct.
Depending on location, you may lodge at Rugby for the company induction depending how far you are from there, some machine training and most certainly have to lodge at Crewe for 6 weeks for driver rules and regs course.
Salary is good. If the same as OTM tamper, training salary is a smidge over £34k. Once you're operational on the machine as an operator, it will get bumped up quite nicely and will then get bumped up again to circa £50k once you pass out as a train driver and have a route under your belt.

 

[Eebbs1912]

Used to work as a fitter operator on the grinders with colas. If the contract is like them you'd be UK wide, 35hr rostered per week 3 weeks away following the machine and 1 week home as a rest week plus annual leave. Depot is rugby but your never there, always sidings or yards moving every few days.

 

[train101]

Used to work as a fitter operator on the grinders with colas. If the contract is like them you'd be UK wide, 35hr rostered per week 3 weeks away following the machine and 1 week home as a rest week plus annual leave. Depot is rugby but your never there, always sidings or yards moving every few days.

Would you recommend this job? What’s the pay like?

 

[Eebbs1912]

If you don't mind living in hotels for 3 weeks at a time then it was alright. Good bunch of guys I worked with, Pay was about 34-35 basic but constant overtime and allowances meant you'd be on over 50k. The grinders are filthy machines though, like really ****ing filthy and the dust gets everywhere. I've never really been on the milling machines but the work pattern will probably be the same only dealing with swarf instead of slag and dust.
A good few of the boys I worked with as fitter/ops have went on to do their driving I've left colas now for driving on other otm's.

Edit the colas otm drivers basic is about £49k-52k I think, so be upwards of 60k-65k with ot and meal allowances etc

 

[Danny21212]

Thanks for the info gents. How does the training play out. Operator training then driver training or both together.

 

[Eebbs1912]

If would depend on how the machines work mate. What I'm doing now we do operator training first, you do a course then so many shifts for basic operating, get assessed then signed off for that then driver training. A lot of shifts I can't count to any experience/training at all due to time/problems etc so it's really slow progress compared to just being a trainee driver. They say budget around 2 years to get fully passed out as a driver operator. But with this Covid carry on......who knows.

 

[ThePolarXpress]

I've just joined Colas (in second week) as an OTM (tamper) driver operator.
From the roster for LNW south that I have seen, its varied and you'll be all over the place where your machine is with varying hours depending on whether its light maintenance, or a transit move, or a shift operating. You'll be contracted to 30 weekends a year, which isnt as bad as it sounds as they classify a weekend shift from anything after 1800 on a Friday, to Monday morning. You may just get a friday night, you may get the whole weekend, either way, it will count as a weekend worked whether its one or three shifts worked, if my understanding is correct.
Depending on location, you may lodge at Rugby for the company induction depending how far you are from there, some machine training and most certainly have to lodge at Crewe for 6 weeks for driver rules and regs course.
Salary is good. If the same as OTM tamper, training salary is a smidge over £34k. Once you're operational on the machine as an operator, it will get bumped up quite nicely and will then get bumped up again to circa £50k once you pass out as a train driver and have a route under your belt.

Hi D5581,

I have a interview for a similar role as above. As you are fairly new into the job role I was wondering if I could ask if you could share with me how the interview was structured and any interview questions they might ask.

many thanks