On August 1, 2008 Nevada School of Construction (NVSC) elected to not renew its Accredited Training Sponsor and Accredited Training Unit status with the National Center on Construction Education and Research NCCER. In late August NVSC notified NCCER of its intended actions regarding election to not renew its training entity status with NCCER; however, the value of the NCCER sponsored training curriculum; i.e., Contren Learning Series will remain an integral part of the NVSC and all NAHETS member schools’ curriculum.

The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools (NAHETS) launched its new corporate website–www.NAHETS.org–on February 28, 2008. Unique from the existing NAHETS sites, NAHETS.org is an information-based site that focuses solely on sharing relevant company information and industry news with an expanded audience–partners, industry companies and associations, and employers.

What is the purpose NAHETS.org?

Already with a universal site (www.NAHETS.com), a leading job placement site (www.yellowmetalusa.com), and program and curriculum-based sites (www.heavy-equipment-school.com & www.yellowmetalbootcamp.com), NAHETS discerned the need for a website that was filtered to the business relationships of the heavy equipment industry. NAHETS.org is unique because its primary purpose is to communicate to industry companies, partners, and employers, instead of primarily towards students as other NAHETS sites.

Central to NAHETS.org is that it avoids the heavy traffic from students while maintaining a credible reputation for the industry. Although the NAHETS.com site is a more “all-inclusive” site, its heavy focus on students can detract from the experience of those not looking to attend the schools; i.e., partners, employers, and industry associations. NAHETS.org maintains enough design and information to be useful to students, but mostly meets the demands of non-student visitors by focusing on relevant content for NAHETS and the heavy equipment and construction industries.

Where did it come from? Who was involved? How long did it take?

The concept of “employers vs. students,” or in other words, the idea of website communication to the business relations of NAHETS, in addition to students, has been a goal of Executive Director, Matt Klabacka, since he founded NAHETS in 2005. After various evolutions of the main NAHETS.com site, Klabacka realized that one site, by itself, was not enough to create the desired student and business relationships. After discussing the matter with NAHETS personnel, Klabacka launched the NAHETS.org undertaking.

With ideas coming from Klabacka and other personnel, including Mike Martens (Director of Operations), Rhett Nielson (Creative Director), and Brian Thornton (Technology and Marketing Director), Klabacka turned the creation of the site over to Mike Wille, Internet Manager. Wille spent months designing and testing the site before its February 2008 take off.

What are its features?

Wille created the site using a modern design scheme, making it compatible with the appearance of related industry sites. NAHETS.org also incorporates the latest in website technology:

• Cold Fusion to power the website with the most current information and news from a database
• Video Streaming in the “Schools” and “Videos” sections
• RSS Feed from the company and video blogs to the “News” section of the website

Just the beginning

This release of NAHETS.org is just the beginning. The site is designed to continually grow with updated company and industry information and news. We invite everyone to come back and visit the site frequently, as well as pass the word along to family, friends, employers, etc.

The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools (NAHETS) is introducing a new training tool for heavy equipment operators called, “An instructor in a pocket.” This method of training allows NAHETS heavy equipment students to receive instruction in video format via Apple iPods. The iPods will be used at the Nevada School of Construction (NVSC), as well as all NAHETS member schools.

Purpose. The purpose behind this training tool is to provide students with a visual learning resource to help them better remember their tasks and ultimately increase performance on heavy equipment operation. The iPod training tool (a.k.a. “an instructor in a pocket”) will ensure NAHETS students are beyond the curve in technology and learning resources for heavy equipment operation instruction.

Content. The iPod videos will have a series for each type of heavy equipment at the school. Currently, the skid steer series is available, with more to come. On each video series, an instructor takes the student through basic and advanced drills to show students what training objectives they need to complete and how to complete them.

Origin. The “instructor in a pocket” idea originally came from Matt Klabacka, executive director of NAHETS, and Rhett Nielson, media and creative director. They discovered the idea as they were working together with Chris Cannon, director of training and curriculum development, in implementing the Yellow Metal Boot Camp Program, unique to the construction and heavy equipment industry. They envisioned heavy equipment training beyond the traditional textbook, class room, and on-site instruction . . .

Yellow Metal Boot Camp Program. Yellow Metal Boot Camp is the “technology meets heavy equipment operating” curriculum created and implemented by NAHETS:

• Manuals
• DVDs
• Drill cards
• Online “hot tips” videos
• iPod podcast videos

The iPod training tool focuses on the “read, see, and do” NAHETS Yellow Metal Boot Camp philosophy of construction equipment training:

• “Read” it and forget it (textbooks, etc.)
• “See” it and remember it (iPod videos)
• “Do” it and understand (on-site heavy equipment)

For those of us who know construction workers and heavy equipment operators, I am sure most of them are males. Lets face it, shopping and bulldozers just don’t seem to match up all that well; however, many of us will be surprised to learn that there are more women employed in construction and heavy equipment industries than we would think.

The U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau keeps track of statistics for nontraditional occupations for women. Here are some relevant statistics in construction and heavy equipment occupations.*

Although the statistics do not show a high percentage of women involved in these occupations, it is obvious that hundreds of thousands of females across the United States are interested in or already are employed in construction jobs, including heavy equipment operating. Similar trends hold true for countries outside of the United States as well. The following is a summary from an article written on November 8, 2007 by Matthew Craze on Bloomberg.com entitled, “Andean Women Use Gentle Touch to Conquer Monster Mining Trucks”:

South America’s mining industry is being flooded by women who come mainly from the Andean Mountains to work as mining truck drivers. The main reason the women do this is because it greatly increases their income compared to typical work in the villages and communities they live in. As would be expected by some, the men did not believe that these women would last under the harsh mining and weather conditions; however, many women feel the same way as mining truck driver, Patricia Guajardo, who said, “The winters can be very harsh, but I love it.”

 

Despite concerns or issues regarding the performance of these female equipment operators, many industry personnel actually say the women have a better touch in operating than some men do. Cristian Silva, a truck and earth-moving equipment trainer for Caterpillar, Inc., said “Women tend to take more care of the machine and don’t abuse the brakes or the engine…Operating the machine better means more profits.” This is one of the main reason mining companies in South America, such as Barrick Gold Corp. and BHP Billiton Ltd, like the female operators—their performance actually cut costs and increase output.

 

It is a win-win situation with these South American women becoming equipment operators for mining companies. It not only allows the women to increase their lifestyle and show their capabilities but it also brings in profit for the mining companies. There have been few minor difficulties in hiring women operators (some have legs that are too short to operate and it can be hard to find them because many women stay home with children). Despite these obstacles, it has been a positive experience for both the women and mining companies of South America.

 

Until 19993, women were banned from working at mines in Chile. By 2005, women made up 4.3 percent of the mining workforce in Chile, according to Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer.*

So it appears that it is safe to say that women can experience success in construction and heavy equipment work, just as men can.

References:

*(1) Nontraditional Occupations for Women in 2006. U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau. Retrieved November 26, 2007 from http://www.dol.gov/wb/factsheets/nontra2006.htm

*(2) Craze, Matthew. (November 2007). Andean Women Use Gentle Touch to Conquer Monster Mining Trucks. Retrieved November 22, 2007 from http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aAR9kj8RyLyU&refer=germany.

Back in May of this year, a member school of the National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools (NAHETS), the Nevada School of Construction (NVSC), hosted the largest CCO Practical Examiner Accreditation workshop ever held by the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO). An original press release in August was submitted on the front page of NCCCO.org. Just last week the press release was found again on the ThomasNet Industrial Newsroom site.

The workshop stressed the importance of certification, standards, and safety in crane operating. This is significant because the demand for crane operators—professionally trained and certified—are high in demand in the United States. The affiliation of NCCCO and all NAHETS member schools, including the NVSC, is to satisfy this demand by providing highly trained and educated crane operators, as well as heavy equipment operators in general. Please see the above links to read the details of the workshop.

PRESS RELEASE
From the NCCCO News Center:

August 2007 – The largest CCO Practical Examiner Accreditation workshop ever held by the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) was hosted May 22-24 by the Nevada School of Construction (NSOC) in Las Vegas, NV.

A total of 30 candidates from 17 states attended the mobile crane workshop, which included first time student examiners, as well as refresher and re-accrediting examiners.

As sponsor of this event, NSOC provided the location, cranes and meals for the 3- day workshop. “Crane operators are in high demand,” said Debra Forbush, NSOC Campus President. “One national company has hired about 15 of our graduates and one of the largest national mining companies is also a client.”

NSOC, a member of the National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools (NAHETS), has been operating in Las Vegas for the past three years preparing students for jobs in heavy construction, including crane operation. The school boasts over 250 years of collective experience among the instructors, and claims a national reputation for graduating operators in the construction industry.

Forbush said the crane operator training program had been a positive addition for the school and its students. “We stress safety, safety, safety!” she says, and claims safety and attitude are the two contributors to success—a belief reflected in a sign on her office wall which states, “Attitude is everything; pick a good one!”

Since January this year, Nevada has required crane operators to be certified. CCO certification is a part of the NSOC graduation requirements. Forbush noted that, with the new legislation in effect, emphasis on becoming certified had intensified. “Employers use our school as a resource to locate new talent, and our graduates use our school as a springboard to find employment nationwide,” stated Ms. Forbush.

The NSOC facility comprises a training site as well as classroom space. For hands-on training, NSOC has a Link Belt RTC-8030 mobile crane on site in addition to other heavy construction equipment. A small telescopic crane (boom truck) was rented for the Workshop so the students would have an opportunity to meet the small telescopic hydraulic crane type requirement.

Feedback from the NCCCO Workshop had been very positive, Forbush said, and she noted that she has already had several inquiries from potential examiner candidates for a repeat event.

The expanding Las Vegas skyline is currently dotted with a veritable forest of booms and jibs representing multiple crane types, working on the latest construction projects.

Forbush said NSOC was a good choice for the Workshop, since Las Vegas will clearly need more certified crane operators as growth continues and the demand for crane operators rises. “People stop on the freeway and take pictures of our city because of the unique construction scenes,” she noted.