Caterpillar’s Road Builder Pro Training was an awesome experience. It was two days of classroom learning, including studying plans, drawings, drainage, and memorizing dozens of terms. Then, it was two days of hands-on road building, including equipment operation (cool!) but also close-up handwork in the trenches with shovels (not cool!).

Add a dash of Cat technology instruction, and you’ve got a ton on your plate.

Finally, you were judged on the quality of the product (an actual paving-ready roadbed) and the cost control involved in how you got there. Just like in real life, money talks.

In this video, Caterpillar’s Lonnie Fritz explains how the program combines classroom instruction with hands-on training in dozers, graders, excavators, compactors, and other equipment. Participants learn everything from estimating and plan reading to grade checking, machine technology, compaction, project management, and job costing.

We also talk with Road Builder Pro participants about what they learned and how the experience can help them back on the job, plus get a dealer’s perspective on the value of the program. The big test comes at the end: Teams compare their original bids with their actual construction costs and calculate whether their road project made a profit. Come along as we get an inside look at Caterpillar Road Builder Pro — where the classroom eventually turns into a 250-foot road.