The Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. (ABC) held their annual Construction Education Conference this last May 7th through May 9th in Las Vegas, NV.
For the second year NAHETS was represented at this event, which concentrated on specific training and education topics for construction owners, managers, and professionals. Additionally the nation-wide network of ABC chapters engaged in workshops and discussions focusing on the need to better educate America’s construction workforce.
As an element of this discussion NAHETS Mike Martens was able to present to the conference attendees the benefits of hiring the graduates from the five NAHETS schools located in California, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Georgia. The conference participants were pleased to discover that NAHETS graduates are not only trained in the actual equipment operations but are also required to adhere to strict safety requirements and recognize the importance of teamwork and work ethics.
NAHETS has also been asked to consider joining the official ABC training team, specifically to assist with providing training material to the local ABC chapters. NAHETS Executive Director Matt Klabacka has given his approval to continue this discussion hoping to come to a formal agreement with ABC later this year.
The 2009 ABC Construction Education Conference will be held next February 25 - March 1 and NAHETS will be there.
The Oklahoma College of Construction (OCC), a NAHETS institution, was published in the May issue of the American Crane & Transport Magazine. Previously Wade Vakulick, director of industry relations and safety, contacted American Crane & Transport and invited them to visit the OCC campus to gather material for their upcoming May issue, which deals with crane operator safety and training. Although the site visit ended up not working out, American Crane & Transport called Wade and held a phone interview. The content of the interview is published in the article.
The article is entitled, “How safe is safe?” and focuses on crane safety and training . . .
On May 12 Channel 9 News (News9) covered a story on the Oklahoma College of Construction (OCC), a NAHETS member school, in response to the recent crane accidents that have been in national news . The coverage features an overview and demonstration of the OCC Crane Operator Training Program. OCC’s crane program is designed to provide the most skilled and experienced entry-level crane operators, which will help minimize crane accidents out in the field. You can visit www.ok-cc.com to see the video coverage or click on the image below for full coverage. Make sure to watch the video!
All of us have seen the “yellow metal” on the road side while driving to work, but many of us do not know exactly what those machines are capable of doing, let alone know how to operate them. Sure we know that a backhoe can move dirt around and dig holes. Surely it can’t be that hard to get in a backhoe and just drive it around. But the matter of fact is that you don’t use a backhoe just to drive it around; you use a backhoe to operate it, and that may take more skill and experience than one may think . . . and surely there is more to a backhoe besides just moving dirt around…
To illustrate what it takes to be a true heavy equipment operator on a daily basis, we’ll take a look at a video hot tip from a NAHETS online industry resource–Yellow Metal TV. In response to an actual question from a heavy equipment operator in Wisconsin, Blake Vernon–Heavy Equipment Instructor for the Nevada School of Construction (NVSC)–takes us through a specific scenario on how to jump a ditch with a backhoe while a form board is already in place . . .
