Manitoba Heavy Construction Association

10 wednesdaY march 23, 2016 A SUPPLEMENT TO THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Countonthe auctionexperts. ServingManitoba'sHeavyConstructionIndustry Yourtimeisvaluable.Soisyourequipment.Getthemostfrom bothwiththeexpertsatRitchieBros.Auctioneers.Wehelptens ofthousandsofpeoplelikeyoumarketandselltheirequipment everyyear. Contactustoday–thenspendyourtimedoingwhatyoudobest, knowingyourequipmentwillbesoldforitstrueglobalmarket valueonauctionday. Sellyourequipmentwiththeexpertsatthese upcomingeventsinManitoba. Winnipeg,MB Spring2016Date&LocationTBD Brandon,MB—July26 Contactmetodaytoconsignyourequipment andmaximizeyourexposure. rbauction.com Construction/Industrial equipmentbought& soldaroundManitoba 2015 3 8 191 ConsignorsSold $25.3million 760 BuyersPurchased $26.8million 8 7,593 TotalRegistered Bidders SamWebber IndustrialTerritoryManagerManitoba Cell:204.894.3324·Email:swebber@rbauction.com ground Control High-tech simulators put students in driver's seat it looks like an industrial video arcade, but tHe Heavy equipMent operator certificate (Heoc) prograM's training siMulator lab at tHe Manitoba institute of trades and tecHnology (Mitt) is anytHing but cHild's play. D eveloped in partnership with MITT, the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association (MHCA) and Manitoba Construction Sector Council (MCSC), the new program harnesses technology to give students hands-on experience operating hydraulic excavators, rubber tire loaders, crawler tractors (dozers) and motor graders. "It's not a game. The more we work on it, the better we do get," says trainee Ben Sutherland, who works for E.F. Moon Construction in Portage la Prairie. Manipulating controls on a John Deere motor grader simulator, Sutherland, 32, is finding it a challenge to maintain a level grade on a computer-generated cul de sac, one of several lesson plans students must master during the eight-week course. "Most of the tasks they have on here are pretty difficult actually," says Sutherland, who expects to be certified as an excavator operator following a 160-hour practicum with E.F. Moon. Launched in January with an initial intake of 16 students, the program got off the ground with a $150,000 investment from the province of Manitoba to help purchase four simulators. Toromont CAT donated funds to offset the cost of two of the initial simulators and Brandt Tractor donated three more. The first program of its kind in Manitoba, HEOC is a game-changer for the industry. Until now, heavy construction has not had the benefit of public-sector support for workforce training and education. "If you're an apprentice or a tradesperson there's all kinds of education and training funds, whereas for our skilled labourers — our equipment operators in particular — there hasn't been anything," says MHCA president Chris Lorenc. Typically, companies train their own employees as they work their way up the ladder from unskilled to skilled labourer and on to small equipment operator and heavy equipment operator. MHCA has offered heavy equipment operator training for the past decade, including a significant amount of training with First Nation communities. However, leasing equipment is very expensive and while it's being used for training there are additional costs associated with loss of productivity. Having access to simulators helped reduce costs from up to $17,000 per person, depending on the training location, to about $5,800 per person. And support from the federally funded Canada-Manitoba Job Grant has made the program more accessible. Since 2014, the grant has been available to help employers develop their workers' skills, with costs split three ways between the grant program, the employee and the employer, who may cover the employee's costs. The first class was made up of 12 students who work in the heavy construction industry, three who have some experience with heavy equipment and a former carpenter who is retraining for a new career after losing three fingers in a workplace accident. The course wrapped up in mid-March and each student must complete a 160-hour practicum with their employer within one year, after which an MHCA evaluator will assess their skills. MITT workforce development consultant Beverlie Stuart says instructors, stakeholders and MITT are conducting an evaluation of the program, but she anticipates that it will be expanded to accommodate multiple intakes in 2017 and that it will be extended to students who are not yet working in the industry. "We've had a lot of interest, a lot of phone calls," she says. MHCA Heavy Equipment Operator Training Academy instructor Phil McDaniel and Hugh Munro Construction safety and training instructor Brent Good fielded a number of queries on-site from MITT students. There's also been keen interest from high school students and entry-level workers who want to pursue a career in heavy construction and from the Manitoba Métis Federation and various indigenous organizations in rural and northern Manitoba. The program was planned to be mobile and Stuart says the hope is that more simulators can be acquired and transported to mobile training sites throughout the province. MCSC Director of Education and Training La Donna Ogungbemi-Jackson says an existing curriculum was updated and fine-tuned for the HEOC program, which combines classroom and simulator training. Representatives from heavy construction companies attended a series of focus groups to help determine what topics should be covered. The result is a well-rounded approach to give students a grounding in everything from basic surveying to work-site communication skills, with a strong focus on safety. The simulators actually track safety violations and will shut down in the event of a major violation. They also calculate the cost of any damage to equipment caused by operator error. Lorenc says programs like HEOC demonstrate the industry's commitment to training and excellence. He is a long-time member of the national Gold Seal committee, which is a certification program for managers of construction projects, and MHCA hopes to become involved in the certification of a number of other trades with the industry. "We've made significant investment in education and training. We think that is the key to our future productivity and competitiveness. We think it's important to associate continuous education and improvement with careers in our industry." ❚ the heavy equipment operator certification (heoc) program delivered at the manitoba institute of trades and technology (mitt) combines classroom and simulator training. students must complete a 160-hour practicum within one year following graduation.

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