The road to gold begins in Perth, Australia. Boasting the world’s largest gold mine, Boddington, the mine reached 2 million ounces of gold produced in 2012 and expected total gold production to reach 5.2 million ounces at the end of 2020, across its Boddington, Kalgoorlie and Tanami operations. Imagine the training it takes to keep employees running an operation of that size? Learn more: https://www.boddingtonwa.com/visitors/01-27-newmont-gold-mine
The Dexter Institute Private Career College, Nova Scotia, offers students extensive theory and practical training in heavy equipment operation. Starting in February each year, the Heavy Equipment Operator Program trains students to safely and efficiently operate multiple pieces of equipment. “One significant key to the program’s success is the use of Cat® Simulators to complement its hands-on training program and help fully develop students’ Heavy Equipment skills,” says Jason Lake, Senior Manager of Equipment Training, The Municipal Group of Companies. Pictured are recent graduates of the program. Find out more at: https://www.dexterinstitute.com/private-career-college/.
Each year there are thousands of crashes in roadway construction zones. National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW), April 26th-30th, encourages safe driving through highway work zones. Help bring awareness and make our roads safer for workers and drivers by discussing. Look at options for training in your organization like Cat® VR Safety. The training for roadway construction workers teaches safety in several VR scenarios. Or you can have your own training developed. You could help save lives. Find out more at: https://www.nwzaw.org/.
Since 2017, the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) has been helping to build the state’s workforce. High Desert State Prison (HDSP) is the largest state prison in Nevada and houses approximately 3,800 inmates. Its vocational program is made up of culinary, automotive, and construction, and is the location for the Heavy Equipment Operator Apprenticeship Readiness Program (also its largest program). The Clark County School District oversees the adult education program.
When the heavy equipment program began several years ago, only those creating the vision and framework might have imagined the impact it would make. There is a waiting list to get into the program that features Cat® Simulators for several different heavy equipment models.
Some students (inmates), union leaders, and various business representatives testified in the Nevada Legislature during hearings on behalf of SB 207, the Apprenticeship Utilization Act. The bill requires apprentices on construction sites. It was passed and went into effect January 1, 2020.
More than 120 students go through the 18-week program each year (Covid affected that number because of shut-downs). “It’s a very popular and well-regarded program. For some, it is technology they have never experienced before. Students get immersed into the activity,” says Michael Budd, Career & Technical Education (CTE). During the last year, the facility has done some new buildouts with the program moving to a new classroom. The plan is to add another simulator.
The program comprises almost 500 hours of training when completed. HDSP has partnered with the Nevada Building Construction Trades Council to introduce inmates to apprenticeship opportunities upon completion of programs. Trades include the IBEW, the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, Ironworkers, and others. These are good paying careers with health insurance and pensions.
Budd uses Cat Simulators records management software, SimU Campus™, to track users during every simulation session. In practice mode, the results are displayed but not automatically saved. In exam mode, every attempt is recorded and saved. Students are given multiple attempts at passing the exam. “The SimU program provides a plethora of data and metrics and is instrumental in measuring the progress and productivity of the operator,” says Budd. Productivity is the key metric which measures how efficiently the machine is being operated. “The more productive the operator can be, the more profitable the equipment becomes,” he adds.
When asked what aspects of the simulators benefit the students, he believes its the familiarization with operator controls and the built-in muscle memory achieved by performing the tasks until productivity levels are met. “If you make a mistake on a simulator it’s more forgiving than making that same mistake on a job site,” Budd shares. Students rate the immersion experience highly.
HDSP’s heavy equipment program also helps inmates who don’t go on to a construction career. Classes include workplace safety details and exam preparation. Classes also help prepare students for the interview process on both sides of the table—interviewer and applicant. In addition, students learn soft skills such as money management and financial planning, computer skills, conflict resolution in the workplace, and basic math skills.
Once the students receive certificates and are released from the prison, they are prepared to be considered for the union apprenticeship program. The program is so successful it inspired Nevada’s Senate Bill 207. The bill requires a contractor or subcontractor engaged on a public work to employ one or more apprentices for a certain percentage of the total hours of labor performed, depending on the type of work performed. Furthermore, it requires a contractor or subcontractor to enter into an apprenticeship agreement for all apprentices required to be used during the construction of a public work. Several students testified on behalf of the Nevada DOC’s positive impact on recidivism and the impact it had on them as inmates.
Budd relays, “Each of our vocational programs at NVDOC helps our students develop real world skills and get jobs. We have received positive feedback from several businesses and unions with regard to the positive performance of former students.”
Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) is using the popularity of hands-on simulation to recruit students to a career in the construction industry.
Roger Solberg, an independent trainer-consultant for NICC and owner of Equipment Operator Training, LLC (EOT), is taking the Construction Equipment Operator Mobile Simulator Trailer across Iowa. Solberg said the simulator trailer, equipped with two construction simulators, includes technology that introduces kids to construction careers by simulating operating heavy equipment such as a dozer, excavator, motor grader and end loader.
“The simulators include virtual reality goggles along with moving platforms that simulate what it’s like to be in and operate the machine,” Solberg said. “Our goal is to get the younger generation interested in the construction industry by working with educators in the high schools.” In partnership with NICC, Solberg uses the mobile simulator to show students a career path they may not know is open to them.
At a recent stop at South Winneshiek High School in Calmar, Solberg noted “I’ve tried it myself, and it’s quite realistic,” he said. “It’s not enough to make you an equipment operator, but it will help you be more comfortable when an operator finally gets on a machine.”
According to Solberg, students are often surprised at the technology used in modern construction and their interest is encouraging. He said it’s important for students to be interested in the trades because “the older generation needs the younger generation to step in and take over.”
JB Holland Construction partnered with NICC to apply for an Employer Innovation Grant to secure partial funding of one simulator. Diane Krentz, controller with JB Holland Construction in Decorah, is one of the companies initially involved in the project.
“JB Holland Construction provided the funding for the project,” Krentz said. “Croell, Inc, was a partner in the project by offering to sell their CAT simulator at a reduced rate to NICC and JBH. We purchased a custom-made trailer from Alum-Line to transport the simulator and the project was off and running. Another round of Employer Innovation Grant funding made it possible to purchase another simulator in the trailer beside the original unit, and to upgrade the virtual reality software.”
Krentz said NICC is doing a great job of coordinating with high schools around the state to demonstrate the virtual reality simulators to prospective students and potential industry employees. NICC also invites local construction companies near each high school to talk to students. More than 400 students and over 30 educators have gone through the simulator and several schools requested that Solberg make a return trip because of heavy student interest. Krentz added “NICC is an amazing partner in meeting our employee training needs and recruitment of employees. They have provided an invaluable opportunity for contractors statewide to educate and recruit the younger generation into construction careers.”
NICC Vice President of Business and Community Solutions Dr. Wendy Mihm-Herold said return trips to high schools proves the simulator trailer is accomplishing its mission.
“It’s generating some excitement,” Mihm-Herold said. “As a result, we just did what’s called an ‘Earn and Learn’ Career Pathway Certificate training. The students will be using the simulator a bit, but they’ll also be driving skid loaders, forklifts, etc. The students will do some virtual training, hands-on work and some classroom learning. They also work for companies like JB Holland while they’re in school.”
Ten students are going through the NICC class right now, and five of them are employed at JB Holland through the “Earn and Learn” Program. Krentz said that means the construction simulator has been very effective at reaching students, many who are surprised at their future earning potential.
“As a parent myself, I can say firsthand that this is a great opportunity for students that don’t want to pursue a two or four-year degree or for those that are attending college, a great way to earn money for college tuition during the summer,” Krentz added. “The five students we employ are getting paid $18 /hour to learn while they are in high school attending classes. They are able to do both at the same time.”
Solberg is enjoying what he’s doing to help the industry and kids who may be looking for a way forward. “They get a big smile on their face when they try these machines for the first time,” he said. “I really enjoy it when that happens. We take the simulator to all of the high schools in Iowa. I even have some high schools in Minnesota and South Dakota who want us to bring the trailer. It’s important because a lot of construction companies in the Midwest can’t find enough qualified workers.”
Original Article by Chad Smith: https://decorahnewspapers.com/Content/Default/Driftless-Journal-Iowa/Article/Meet-the-Simulator/-3/330/52155
Operating Engineers Local 49 is hoping a new partnership with Minnesota Virtual Academy will draw more high-school graduates into the union’s registered apprenticeship program – and help meet future demand for skilled, trained workers in the heavy-equipment industry.
At the start of this school year, instructors from Local 49 began teaching for-credit courses open to high-school students statewide through the online, public school’s Destinations Career Academy.
Fifty-three students signed up in the first semester, and interest in the program has only grown since then. This semester 117 students from 66 school districts in 39 counties are enrolled, with notably high participation among girls.
“I think there really is an appetite not only from students but from parents and schools to really provide a relevant, meaningful career opportunity,” said Jenny Winkelaar, Local 49’s director of workforce and development. “Most schools who learn about it are promoting it because they don’t have the resources to operate this kind of pathway on their own.”
Like other career-pathway programs in the construction trades, Local 49’s courses introduce students to work in the industry, with a focus on concepts and skills that will prepare them for success as an apprentice heavy-equipment operator.
Offerings include construction exploration, basic grade and construction math, and construction-equipment maintenance and fundamentals. A prep course for getting a commercial driver’s license is in the works for next fall.
Triple the credit
But what makes Local 49’s partnership with Minnesota Virtual Academy unique among pre-apprenticeship programs is the potential to earn credit not just toward high school graduation, but also toward a post-secondary degree and journey-level certification. Minnesota Virtual School’s Leslie Lewandowski called it a “three-for-one” deal.
“They get high school elective credit, college credit and also credit toward their registered apprenticeship program if they sign on with a signatory contractor,” she said.
That’s a draw for students like Cole Snidarich, who was among the high schoolers enrolled in first-semester courses.
“The courses were a great opportunity for me to learn if I would be interested in a career in the construction field,” he said. “I would definitely recommend these courses for other high school kids considering working in the construction industry.”
Enrollment is open to students from any school district in the state. They can participate from anywhere they find an internet connection, at any time and at no cost to the student.
Rich Krohn, an instructor for the program, said he has enjoyed introducing students to careers operating the heavy equipment that builds communities.
“Fourteen weeks into the class and I still get comments from my students saying what a great experience it has been,” Krohn said. “I encourage all high-school students to sign up for the class and see what a career as an operating engineer has to offer.”
Virtual, with a hands-on twist
In addition to online classes, students participating in Local 49’s course will have opportunities to try out the union’s heavy equipment simulators, putting the concepts they learn in the classroom to the test. Winkelaar said COVID-19 has put in-person events on hold for now, but the union and its industry partners are working on plans to stage hands-on learning events across the state.
That level of investment shows just how serious Local 49 and its signatory contractors are about recruiting the next generation of heavy-equipment operators. For the Minnesota Virtual Academy, the program is an opportunity to showcase a career with good wages and benefits that many students might not otherwise consider.
Local 49’s first-year apprentices earn anywhere from $24 to $34 per hour plus benefits, and they receive their training at the union’s sprawling Hinckley facility at no charge.
“As we’re looking at pathways we want to offer students, we want them to be in high-demand jobs, so we’re spending our resources on career paths that warrant the investment,” Lewandowski said. “There’s need in this industry.”
“Historically, we have known that unless you knew somebody in the industry or came from a rural area, you might not have a lot knowledge about what opportunities look like in the heavy-equipment operating industry,” Winkelaar added.
Making an informed choice is an important first step, said Tom McCrossan, a contractor who sits on the Local 49 apprenticeship board.
“It is critical that students in high school learn about our industry early to see that this industry has many career pathways to different areas in the construction field,” he said. “Taking these courses gives students a great foundation for being a heavy equipment operator as well as other facets of our industry.”
Learn more
• Visit local49.org/operating-engineers-career-pathway-program.
• School districts interested in arranging a virtual meeting with Lewandowski and Winkelaar to discuss the program should email llewandowski [at] mnva [dot] org or jwinkelaar [at] local49 [dot] org.
Original Article by Michael Moore (Union Advocate): https://workdayminnesota.org/49ers-courses-offer-high-schoolers-3-for-1-credit-opportunity/
Oelwein High School junior Austin Perry strapped on the virtual reality goggles and held up his hands to match hands on the screen, to calibrate the machine to his body, allowing him to see the heavy equipment simulation he had been practicing, now in 3D. He turned to look behind him, toward the inside of the trailer containing the two simulators.
“Holy crap!”
“What’s back there?” asked Courtney Rochette, a success coach with Northeast Iowa Community College.
“The whole thing, the truck. That’s pretty cool.”
“The excavator, the whole job site?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
The trailer housing the simulators was paid-for through Vision Iowa and “grants with the community college and partnerships,” says Roger Solberg, now a consultant for Equipment Operator Training LLC. Solberg partners with NICC to offer the training after 20 years teaching community college.
“I’ve run equipment all my life, I went through the program that I taught for 20 years, then I went to work from a big contractor to small contractors,” Solberg said.
“I wanted to stay in the industry. I partnered with contractors, JB Holland, Croell’s partnered, and community colleges in the area partnered too. We do training out of this trailer too for new employees and equipment operators. We put this together because all the contractors needed … skilled, trained employees.”
“This is my first year of DOT Equipment Operator Training,” Solberg said. “If it goes great, we keep moving on.
“We’ve been all over the state of Iowa to high schools, I’ve probably been to roughly 10-15 high schools already this year,” Solberg said.
Solberg has trained 20-30 kids a day on average, depending on the size of the school.
“I like everyone to have 15-20 minutes on the simulators, so that’s what we’re shooting for,” which is about 20 kids a day, but he’s patient. “I’ll stay here until everybody gets through that wants to get through.”
Rochette extolled the virtues of the program.
“This, it saves time, it saves money because you’re not destroying equipment, you’re not using gas, and you’re learning all of those things before you go into the real deal,” she said. “It gives the high school kids at least a taste of what they may experience in real life. Part of my job as a success coach is to help figure out what they want to do, what life might look like after high school, be it go to college, community college, help them figure out what that looks like.”
Perry and classmate Colton Roete each said they had not done driving simulators before.
“Video games, yeah,” Perry said. “The simulator is a lot more real than the video game. The controls. You’re sitting in a real chair.”
“It was very realistic,” said Wapsie Valley senior Tylen Hirsch, rural Oelwein, about the simulator.
He has used it helping run water and tile lines on the family acreage, for instance.
“The bumps, when you drop the bucket too fast, it gives you that shake, that was very realistic,” Hirsch said. “Or when you just move too fast, you get that. Or when you’re digging down and you dig too deep, it lifts up the back of it.
“For people that have never actually driven one before, … this would be a very good way to learn and get the feel of it without being able to break something,” he said.
Hirsch learned to drive the heavy equipment from his dad, Jake Schares, and other area farmers.
“They gave me a rundown, gave me a job and walked away, and just had to figure it out.”
As to whether he has broken anything:
“There was one time where I had to dig like 4 feet under the cement pad and leave the pad there.” The equipment remained intact. “There was one time when I came up too fast and broke the cement pad.”
After the simulation, West Central senior Cameron Rohde remarked, “In the long run you probably save a lot of money training people doing this.”
Rochette provided him with literature about various classes he could take for college credit through NICC.
“It was taking a while at first,” Perry said. “I started to get used to it and it started to go a lot faster.”
Perry’s classmate, Colton Roete signed up to try the simulation after encouragement from teachers Jesse Dinsdale and Todd Kastli, as well as Rochette.
“Courtney said it’d be a great learning experience,” Roete said. “I could probably see myself doing it in the future as maybe a side job. They said in the career field heavy machine operators are in need.”
School personnel wanting to schedule training can reach Solberg’s Equipment Operator Training at 712-470-4898, according to a social media page for the business.
“We try to get sponsorships, contractors get together and sponsor the trailer to come to their high school, they’re welcome to come in and watch the kids run it, looking at future employees.”
“Every contractor, doesn’t matter if you’re concrete, rock and gravel, dirt, whatever, we’ve just got to get the kids interested, back in the field and I think this is a good way. Going to high schools and showing there’s options out there for them if they don’t want to go to a four-year college, they want to do something outside.”
LAWRENCE COUNTY, OHIO (WOWK) — Collins Career Technical Center is training the up-and-coming workforce of heavy equipment operators a little differently this year. The Collins Career Technical Center recently installed two heavy equipment simulators to teach aspiring operators—and they do a lot. Mark Norris, the instructor of this groundbreaking new class says this is a much safer way to train students. Not only are the simulators designed to teach a range of operations, but they are making the students using them more employable in the area. Those hours include real-life training on sites owned by the Lawrence County Economic Development Corporation. Associate Director Michael Staton says this in-depth training process will be crucial for the Tri-State’s workforce. This prospect is one which students of the program find promising. The course is currently fully-enrolled, but for more information on the class and Collins Career Technical Center, visit their website here.
Performing a machine inspection before a shift change is every heavy equipment operator’s responsibility. Checking over the machine only takes a few minutes but has big safety and organizational impacts. Learn and understand how to perform a walkaround in the safety of the virtual environment.
Donna Comer, Program Manager for Heavy Equipment Operator (HEO) and Plumbing Programs, has been with Workforce Solutions at Lord Fairfax Community College for 2 years. Founded in 1970, Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC) has two campuses and two sites, and serves eight locations in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and northern Piedmont regions.
Workforce Solutions and Continuing Education at Lord Fairfax Community College in Virginia serves individuals and businesses throughout the community. Designed for adults, the programs are demand-driven and offer instruction and hands-on skills that transfer directly into the workplace.
In 2017, LFCC was the first community college in Virginia to offer statewide industry credential programs for heavy equipment operators. The school received a grant to establish the program and expand several other trade programs. Since the Heavy Equipment program was launched, the school has had 159 students complete the program.
Workforce Solutions enjoys a strong relationship with a regional group, the Heavy Construction Contractors Association (HCCA). This group represents over 170 employers in the area. The team spent many, many hours in advisory meetings attended by various employers in the industry and representing a diverse mix of specialties such as paving, excavation, highway work, etc., and using information obtained by those employers, determined on the models in use.
Members of the association felt strongly that there was a need for a heavy equipment program and gave the school its full support. The area has experienced growth including a highway widening project. Members felt there was going to be an increasing shortage of qualified operators and wanted to take action to make sure they had a pipeline of candidates being developed.
“We launched the HEO class using simulators,” says Comer. “Simulator training is widely accepted across many other industries, such as aeronautics and military institutions. Training on the simulators offers a safe and controlled environment in which we can introduce such large equipment to individuals who have never even sat on anything much bigger than a tractor before. Additionally, it goes without saying, insurance and liability costs are substantially lower with simulator training.”
Simulators allow the students to get hands-on training anytime, regardless of the weather. Plus, training in the safety of the virtual environment, means no unplanned maintenance due to mishaps. Students can reset a button if a mishap occurs. Accidents during a simulation don’t have the same results as in the real world. “We use Cat® Simulators in our Heavy Equipment Operating class. We worked closely with area industry experts to vet the simulators and the curriculum (currently NCCER/National Center for Construction Education and Resources),” explains Comer. Graduates of the program operate heavy equipment used to build roads, bridges, and buildings. Once employed, operators start at over $45,000 per year. Additionally, the course comes with a “guarantee to interview” with local construction companies upon successful completion of the program.
“What I have noticed with a brand-new student is first they are wowed, then they are intimidated, then as they learn to use the simulators, they enjoy watching their own progress and learning new things. The simulators lend authenticity to the class, they create an excitement for the class, and offer a good metric for employers hiring from our program,” says Comer.
LFCC instructors are industry experts – meaning they have all been in the earth-moving field for at least 10 years. They have a team of four instructors with more than 85 years of combined experience. They are a diverse team, all bringing something slightly different to the class. All four of them endorse the simulators and believe in the training. In fact, Jesse Fansler, who is one of the four instructors, works for a company who has hired from the LFCC HEO program before. “When we approached him about teaching for us, one reason he agreed to consider it was because two of our past students had been assigned to his jobsite. He had been thoroughly impressed with the young men,” says Comer.
Fansler works for S.W. Rodgers as a Dirt Foreman by day. He teaches at LFCC at night. He says the simulations are accurate. He cites for example, “the articulated trucks in the Advanced Dozer simulator bringing in dirt for road building are just how it works in real life. The task looks simple, but it is challenging for new operators.” The simulator shows the operator what to do step-by-step. “I’ve also seen that learning on the simulator is appealing to the younger generation and these are the recruits of the future.”
S.W. Rodgers has a jobsite 10 minutes away from campus. “I’ll take the class there to see how a working jobsite operates. They cannot run the equipment yet but they can watch the progression of the site as it changes,” says Fansler. They can better understand how the machines they operate during simulations fit into the jobsite. “I’ve seen multiple students come out of the program. They are not 100% ready, but through the class, they get an idea of what is going on and have some knowledge by the time they are hired,” Fansler shares.
While the program was launched with adults in mind, over the last two years, LFCC offered special HEO classes for high school seniors (2019-2020). Between two high schools, the program has helped launch 16 young adults into well-paying and stable jobs.
In another story of success, one graduate of the program who lost his job during the pandemic was able to find a new career. Angel Ortiz lost his job at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic as a cook at a restaurant in Maryland.
That’s when Ortiz decided it was time for a change and turned to the HEO program being offered by LFCC Workforce Solutions. He took his classes at the Vint Hill location. “From what I’d read, I learned that many of the guys working in the industry were retiring now, so there was a potential for growth,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz was new to the field of heavy equipment. The class brought the textbook to life. “I can read all day long, but the difference maker was those instructors at the school,” says Ortiz. “We were able to go to the jobsite and break down what we were learning from the book. We could see it in real life and implement that into our learning.”
Ortiz was hired by S.W. Rodgers Co. Inc. in mid-August, before his course was even completed. “I went from having no job, to having four job offers in one day,” he said. “That’s amazing.” He’s thrilled with his new career and what he learned at LFCC. “I love it,” he said. “You’re outside. You get an assignment to do. You do it and enjoy being outdoors. It’s fun. I’m learning the different machines.”
Comer is excited to see so many graduates coming out of the classes and fulfilling the need for heavy equipment operators. She will happily tell of each and every success story. She says the school hopes to add another location for the HEO program and expand the simulator training to include another type of machine. Comer is also encouraged to see some women coming through the program and find great careers.
Source: Visit https://lfccworkforce.com/HEO for information on the Heavy Equipment Operator program.