Tag Archives: training

Exxaro GG6 Expansion project achieves deliverables with help of KBC Health & Safety

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A provider of onboarding, training and contractor management solutions throughout Southern Africa is making a difference at Exxaro’s GG6 Expansion project at the Grootegeluk coal mine in Limpopo, South Africa.

KBC Health & Safety has a long-standing relationship with Exxaro, with the latest contract involving classroom-based inductions at the Exxaro Grootegeluk Complex Marapong Training Centre. KBC also aids with permits for specialised services such as working at heights and lockout procedures, as well as site-specific inductions for all relevant contractors.

In addition, KBC Health & Safety has a permanent representative on-site at the mine to assist, for example, with competency certification for truck and crane operators. Comprehensive and timeous weekly and monthly reports are provided to allow Exxaro to keep track of all the training to ensure that ‘No Harm’ is maintained on the project, the company said.

Coordinating and managing the GG6 Expansion mega project onboarding process, which includes everything from medical examinations to safety inductions, as well as overseeing the core project team, is Contractor Co-Ordinator, Lord Steven Rogers (pictured).

Lord Rogers said: “With the expert assistance of KBC, we have achieved our deliverables. Their commitment to service delivery and high standards assisted the project in mitigating any possible risks.”

He added: “At the beginning we were a bit apprehensive as to exactly how KBC would interface with such a complex project, but with the quality of the service being provided and how effortlessly we worked as a team, we will recommend their service to other mega projects.”

Exxaro is a flagship client for KBC, notes Regional General Manager, Dries Loubser.

“The close relationship we have forged with GG6 Expansion project and the relationship with the Project Contractor Onboarding team is testament to our excellent staff and points to the significant value we can add to such an important project,” Loubser said

KBC’s business model adds direct value to corporate clients, contracting companies, individuals and communities by streamlining onboarding and improving legislative compliance by partnering with its clients to guarantee time savings and cost reductions, the company said.

KBC Health & Safety Marketing Specialist, Lara Clarke, said: “Our clients receive world-class training, with learning methodologies aimed at increasing knowledge retention and systems designed to put the power of compliance back into the control of our clients and their contractors. Our vision is to create a ‘No Harm’ culture for generations to come.”

Martin Engineering goes virtual with conveyor training

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With in-person training curtailed for the foreseeable future due to COVID-19 restrictions, Martin Engineering says it has developed an extensive array of tools to continue its tradition of educating those who maintain, manage and design conveyors for industrial operations.

The result is a wide range of globally-available options to help improve safety and efficiency, reduce maintenance expenditures and extend equipment life, ultimately contributing to greater profitability, it says.

“The pandemic has impacted our ability to teach traditional classes at customer sites,” PE Todd Swinderman, CEO Emeritus of Martin Engineering and an industry veteran with more than 40 years of hands-on experience, said. “But it doesn’t reduce the need for conveyor operators and facility managers to obtain the benefits and continuing education credits those sessions provide.”

In response to the restrictions that the virus has placed on face-to-face learning, Martin has created a series of interactive online modules based on the same non-commercial curriculum it has produced over the years. Designed to keep attendees engaged and organised into 90-120 minute segments, the virtual classes cover topics such as best practices for safety, fugitive material control and belt tracking. Upon completion, attendees are eligible to receive either Professional Development Unit (PDU) or Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits.

“The Foundations™ online seminars deliver non-commercial, topic-specific problem-solving information that can be put to immediate use,” Swinderman said. “There’s no sales pitch, and even the most remote locations can take advantage,” he added.

Customer Development Manager, Jerad Heitzler, an instructor of Martin’s safety workshops since 2010, said: “Conveyors are one of the best productivity-enhancing tools available, but conveyor injuries cost employers millions of dollars annually. Because of the size of their material cargoes, the speed of their operation, and the amount of energy they consume and contain, conveyors have been shown to be a leading cause of industrial accidents, including serious injuries and fatalities. But injuries are preventable with the right training, preparation and safety precautions.”

According to Heitzler, the company’s preferred platform is Zoom, but its expert trainers also have experience with Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Webex.

“Our platform has been built to increase attendee engagement as much as possible,” Heitzler added. “Many trainers don’t use the available platform features effectively, because they were thrust into online training as a result of the pandemic. But we’ve worked hard at using engagement features to increase learner participation, with options such as a raise hand button, chat, Q and A, screen sharing, white boards, private breakout rooms and polling.”

Heitzler said the Martin team has taught around 2,000 attendees using video conferencing since the onset of the virus.

“We’ve presented these modules to learners in coal handling plants, cement manufacturing, aggregate production and pulp and paper mills,” he said. “We’ve also provided training for industry consultants, service providers and engineering firms who design conveyors and plants.”

Swinderman estimates the firm has trained more than 50,000 miners, operators, maintenance staff and management personnel around the world.

There are two standard tracks: one for maintenance and operations personnel that stresses safe work practices and solutions to common conveyor problems, and one designed for technical and management personnel that emphasises the design and operation of conveyors for safety and productivity. In addition, Martin trainers and engineers can custom design programs not only for customers using conveyors but for those needing training on the application of industrial vibration, air cannons and silo cleaning.

“Both methods of training are highly interactive, effective and non-commercial, focusing on delivering timely information that can be put to immediate use,” Swinderman concluded.

NORCAT readies Underground Centre for expansion

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NORCAT has announced plans for the growth and expansion of its Underground Centre.

The planned expansion will enable NORCAT to respond to the forecasted demand of the global innovation ecosystem and demonstrates NORCAT’s commitment to continuing its position as the world’s ‘one-stop shop’ for all that is the future of mining technology and innovation, the company said.

NORCAT owns and operates an underground mine (the Underground Centre) in Sudbury, Canada, focused on the development, testing, and demonstration of innovative technologies in an operating mine environment.

Don Duval, NORCAT CEO, said: “Over the last three years, we have seen significant growth in NORCAT’s portfolio of mining technology companies using our state-of-the-art operating mine as an ‘active laboratory’, creating an ecosystem like no other in the world. By expanding the NORCAT Underground Centre, we continue our proud role anchoring one of the world’s leading mining technology and innovation clusters, while concurrently supporting the commercialisation and adoption of leading-edge technologies that will make the global mining industry safer, more efficient, and more productive.”

To coincide with investments into the NORCAT Underground Centre, NORCAT has also developed an array of training, technology, and innovative service offerings to meet the growing and diverse skilled labour training and development needs of global mining and mining technology companies focused on competitiveness, shareholder and stakeholder value, productivity and health and safety, the company said.

Jason Bubba, NORCAT’s Director of Training and Development, said: “The global mining industry has continued to build momentum and prepare for a remarkable transformation, and the continued investment in and deployment of new technologies are redefining what it means to have a career in mining.

“By continuing to develop state of the art technologies for a ‘new world of training’ for a ‘new world of work’, NORCAT remains at the forefront of innovation as a market leader in skilled labour training and development for the global mining industry.”

NORCAT is debuting new learning technologies at the NORCAT experiential booth in the Northern Ontario Pavilion at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada annual event, currently taking place in Toronto, Canada. The live demonstration will include the latest in mine skills training including augmented reality, virtual reality, interactive multiplayer avatar-based training, incident re-creation and digital safety systems, according to the company.