expert opinion: - OPERC - Off-highway Plant and Equipment ...

SPECIAL REPoRT
a Passion for training (continued...)
30
Looking to the Future
Looking to the future, we asked Jon
how he sees the industry moving
forward and what advice and
guidance he would have to offer?
He said: “It’s not new but my hope
is that training and education will be
rationalised so that there is a national
standard and greater co-operation and
understanding between the various
training bodies out there. It must cost
industry and individuals a fortune at
present and if one scheme is as good
as another, then why insist on one
scheme alone? This would be a very
positive thing because there is so much
wasted time and money due to the
smoke and mirrors created by some
of the schemes out there – there are
unnecessary levels of administration
and bureaucracy introduced into
training without necessarily transmitting
added value to the individual and that’s
frustrating for the end user because
there’s a constant cost. The whole
change of government seems to be
based upon the premise that processes
should be streamlined and individuals
made more responsible (an integral part
of any training outcome) – if we could
take out red tape, we would have a
higher performing country as a whole.”
Jon continued: “You have to have
incentives to make employers meet the
cost of training someone to become an
effective member of that team. If there’s
no incentive, many employers can’t
afford the full costs of training - that
incentive may be monetary, a grant or
June 2011
something similar. If this is measured
against the outcome and the added
value then you’re actually investing in
our [the country’s] future. Part of the
reason that we’re in this economic
mess now is because investment in
people at school has gone down the
purely academic route; not to decry
that, but that route is not suitable
for everyone who comes out of
school. So moving forward, schools
should also be teaching woodwork,
electronics and metalwork, and
streaming some people more
into producing something rather
than preparing them for work in a
service sector. Policing is key to
any funding released because we
have all heard of companies who
rubber stamp training when very
little benefit has been gained – and
this doesn’t do anyone any good.
“We need apprenticeships now
and that would be a real benefit
for the country, across industry,
to go back to capturing younger
people and giving them the tools
for the future – take myself as an
example, in and out of work over
the recession but because of the
training and experience acquired,
I could always find a job and move
up the ladder. My father, who had
his own engineering business, said
I was acquiring a skill and whatever
happened thereafter, that skill
would always be there to fall back
on and he’s never been wrong.”
When asked for just one piece of
advice he
could offer
the younger
generations,
Jon said: “A
life lesson for
me was that
you need the
ability to adapt
and overcome
so you have
to develop the
ability to think
on your feet.”
“everyone’s talking about it!”
Linch pin
retaining
clips on a
quick hitch
In addition to the pre-start checks for
the quick-hitch, the operator must
ensure that as the equipment runs
the course of its works cycle he/she
maintains a clear line of sight regarding
hitch pin security.
To aid this process, operators should
ensure, wherever possible, that the
linch pin retaining clips are inserted
through the hitch pins on the operator/
cab side of the equipment. This will
allow the operator to quickly notice any
damage or loss to these vital, hitch
security components.
Mud Muppet is very grateful to CPCS
Monitor Kevin McDonagh, for the above
tip. Kevin had previously worked
extensively in the piling industry where
vibration issues necessitated constant
checks on piling rig mast retaining pins.