Focussed Operator Training

By on June 17, 2013

ROSS KELLY, Business Manager for William Adams Institute of Training reports on the new look operator training.

LAST month, a new generation of focussed operator training was delivered by William Adams Institute of Training at Conundrum Holdings’ Northern Quarries site in Epping. This is the culmination of discussions between William Adams Institute of Training (WAIT), the CMPA, Conundrum Holdings Pty Ltd, and Box Hill TAFE to develop an alternative to full Certificate courses currently being delivered to operators.

This alternative training program will look at real job profiles and focus on the essential skills required in the work place to provide tangible outcomes such as; increased productivity, greater equipment care and, of course, improved safety.

Ideally, the course will consist of five to six units, drawn from the RII09 package, chosen to provide training in the key tasks the operator undertakes on a day-to-day basis.

In this trial, WAIT will deliver the machine operation unit. Machine operation training is our speciality and we have subject matter experts with years of hands-on industry experience. Other units within their area of expertise will be delivered by Box Hill TAFE.

While the only course currently available as part of this trial is RIIMPO311A – “Conduct Haul Truck Operations”, eventually, this will be expanded to include other product families such as; Excavators, Wheel Loaders and Motor Graders.

The concept was born from the CMPA Education Forum held in February this year where over 700 years experience in quarrying and educating were present. Since then, work on this issue has been continued by the CMPA and Conundrum Holdings as part of a search for alternatives for local quarries to deliver meaningful training to their employees.

The machine operation course is a combination of the nationally accredited framework plus subjects pulled from WAIT’s practical operator training courses. The final product is in two parts: a stand-alone package relevant to the industry and a portion created from close consultation with the individual quarry to include their specific needs.

Depending on the business requirements and candidate experience the operator training and assessment will take two to three days and will be delivered on site in the candidates’ work environment.

Richard Beard, WAIT Senior Operator Trainer, delivered the first session to four Conundrum Holdings’ operators on site over two days. There is a strong safety message to ensure everyone goes home safe every day, site specific maintenance and inspection duties along with explanations of why these are carried out and the implications if they are not.

Operational skills include; inspections, start up/ shut down procedures, site traffic controls, climbing and descending slopes, loading and dumping to name a few. There is also a focus on site conditions, how they can vary and how they affect operation and performance of equipment.

Upon successful completion of the training and assessment the candidates will receive a statement of attainment for the unit/s completed. Operators can work their way through various model families as required for their site. These courses can be run for a particular site where sufficient Operators are available to attend or an agreement can be made between quarries where individuals are trained at one common site.

For further information contact Ross Kelly, Business Manager at William Adams Institute of Training on 03 9566 0978

MICHAEL NORRIS, Health, Safety and Environment Manager with Conundrum Holdings, discusses his experience with WAIT, the CMPA and the Training that they have delivered.

RECENTLY, Conundrum Holdings has been searching for a means by which its operators can have their competency confirmed by a third party. A lack of consistent quality in “Machine Operator Licences” coupled with the surprisingly low requirements of the standard RII09 units led us to the conclusion that, if the quality of training for the industry was to improve,the industry would have to be pro-active inits creation. After much consultation withthe CMPA and the William Adams Instituteof Training (WAIT), a trial delivery of theunit RIIMPO311A – “Conduct Haul TruckOperations” took place on the 17th of July,2013 at Northern Quarries in Epping.

The four participants, being Ben Scicluna, Ciaran Heaslip, John Rist and Marc Duncan are all experienced operators at Conundrum Holdings. The training and assessment was delivered by Richard Beard, Senior Operator Trainer with WAIT.

The training was very well received by all operators, with one who had already completed the RIIMPO311A unit through a different provider, commenting that it was far superior to the previous training received.

Working with both the WAIT and the CMPA to create this customised unit has been extremely productive. The turnaround on training plans, document creation and the quality of the training delivered have all been outstanding and I look forward to assisting them in the creation of further training packages that I am sure will benefit the industry greatly.

Richard’s wealth of knowledge was outstanding and the training was well presented with easy to follow topics that covered everything there is to know about operating a Haul Truck. Over all, it’s a great course

Marc Duncan, Northern Quarries.

The content was informative and delivered exceptionally well; a good mix of theory and practica

John Rist, Northern Quarries

The training provided by Richard Beard (WAIT) for RIIMPO311A – “Conduct Haul Truck Operations” was comprehensive and thorough. His delivery and content was supported by an obvious depth of knowledge gained through decades of experience in the industry. Richard produced and delivered, in consultation with Conundrum and the CMPA, training documentation which ensured relevance to onsite demand. This combination of course content, experience, delivery and supporting documentation combined to produce an extraordinary program with uncompromising integrity

Ciaran Heaslip, Northern Quarries

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