February 2018 | $7.20
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ISSN 1176-0397
The
Training tomorrow’s foresters
Small can be good for a crew
forest talk
Training tomorrow’s foresters steps up a gear TOMORROW’S FORESTERS WILL NEED TO BE EQUIPPED with more skills and greater knowledge to enable them to do their job effectively……and a New Zealand forestry school is already ramping up plans to meet those expectations. Rotorua’s Toi Ohomai – formerly known as the Wairakei School of Forestry – has been upgrading its technology and the way it delivers learning to prospective loggers
and forest managers. The aim: to become the centre of forestry training excellence in the southern hemisphere. And the institution is already well down the road to achieving that goal on the back of support from the industry. NZ Logger magazine sat down with Toi Ohomai’s Richard Stringfellow and James Broadley to see how their respective departments are rolling out the changes. NZL
Students master machines before hitting the forest THE DAYS OF TRAINING CREW MEMBERS TO OPERATE MACHINES on the job are fast disappearing. Contractors don’t have the time or the resources to get novice operators up to speed, which is already creating a demand for (and poaching of) experienced people around the country. The answer, according to Toi Ohomia’s Richard Stringfellow, who is Programme Manager for Forest Operations at the institution, is to train people outside the crew environment. Over the past year, Toi Ohomai has been working with key equipment manufacturers and suppliers, such as John Deere/Waratah, Gough Cat and Woodsman, to create a sophisticated ‘lab’ where trainees can learn the basics of machinery operation on computer simulators. And when they are proficient, they are put through their paces on a real excavator that was purchased by Toi Ohomai with assistance from PF Olsen and PPE provided by Stihl. But that’s just the start. Though the institution already has a variety of forestry simulators used in the delivery of its programme, it is also looking into obtaining additional live machines such as a forwarder, wheeled loader and a processor. Mr Stringfellow says there is more emphasis on providing practical skills, knowledge and experience for would-be loggers, so they are workready when they enter the workforce. “Contractors are so busy running their business, they don’t have the time or manpower to do this type of training anymore,” he says.
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“We’re going beyond the basics. We are teaching trainees to fully understand what they are dealing with in industry. For example, they can identify log attributes, understand customer requirements, and know the various cuts. Quality Control is vital and they will be taken through log sorts, so they understand the details of log making and know all the specs; they’ll be doing some log making, too. Then they can practice loading them onto a trailer that we have out at our Waipa campus in Rotorua.” The Toi Ohomai approach is being aligned to closely resemble how forestry training schools are operating in Scandinavia, but with a Kiwi twist. The Toi Ohomai model is designed to be more flexible as New Zealand’s logging systems are more diverse than Scandinavia, and to match the needs of logging contractors, as well as the students themselves. The courses range from anywhere between 12 weeks to 21 weeks depending on what training is required, making it more flexible for contractors to send employees to undertake shorter, more focused stints when needed. But for novices, there is the full 21-week course covering the core study (health and nutrition, the environment, fire, first aid, etc.), followed by six weeks on machine skills, and quality control as well as traditional training to gain units on the chainsaw. “We have a series of rolling intakes run over the course of a year, which is what the industry asked us to look at,” says Mr Stringfellow. “So we hope to have people coming out regularly in small numbers so we can
forest talk
Toi Ohomai’s Richard Stringfellow stands in front of the Cat 324 loader used for training students.
feed new employees into industry. “The contractors seem to be happy with us taking people out of their crew for several weeks, judging by the feedback we’ve got. We’ve been told that a student training for nine weeks with Toi Ohomai is at the equivalent skill level of a worker training for six months on site in full-time employment. Due to current production targets, it is difficult for workers to get sufficient training time on a machine needed to gain the right level of skills. Having unlimited access to the simulators gives students a strong familiarity with the controls at their own pace in a safe environment. Then they only have to get used to the weight and feel of the live machine, which we provide for them.” Mr Stringfellow says the new training programme is attracting interest from contractors outside of its main central North Island catchment and Toi Ohomai has also assisted Otago contractor Mike Hurring with the loan of an additional laptop-based simulator for his training courses. The most exciting development is the possibility of creating a training crew programme. “We would like the opportunity to harvest small woodlots that are too small for contractors to commercially log, so that students can work under strict supervision and put their training to good use in a practical way,” says Mr Stringfellow. “It is something the industry has promoted and we are currently investigating how we can make this happen.”
Another focus for the Toi Ohomai team is to attract more students to attend its courses, to keep the industry fed with desperately needed new recruits. Mr Stringfellow says the rolling intake structure of the courses will help because it means students can slot in throughout the year. The institution is being more pro-active in planting the seeds of a career in forestry with future generations. “We’ve kept in close contact with local schools and recently PF Olsen arranged a site visit for the day, introducing high school forestry students to a forestry crew for a day. We want to continue that,” says Mr Stringfellow. “And when they came in and saw our simulators in here and our live machine and the drones – the technology that’s in forestry now – it really got them excited. We are trying to change the perception of forestry by doing that. “We still get kids who say they have gone home and said to their parents they want to do forestry but have been told no, it’s too dangerous, because they don’t know what’s out there now. So, we need to get out and educate the mums and dads as well.” Part of that process will include extending the outreach to intermediate school pupils and their parents, in addition to secondary schools. “We need to sow some seeds early,” adds Mr Stringfellow. “By the time they get to high school they have often made up their minds.” NZL
February 2018 | NZ LOGGER 13
iron test
The Log Champ LC 550 can operate from very compact landings, making this spacious site a luxury.
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February 2018 | NZ LOGGER 21
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Movers & Shakers Story & photos: John Ellegard
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breaking out
Change is as good as a holiday, they say. So life must be one big vacation for Peter Stephens and his crew. That’s because they are always on the move, getting to work in more forests over the course of a year than is the case with most corporate harvesting contractors.
Above: The Stephens Logging crew enjoy the good conditions here in Kinleith, after coming out of a soggy Mamaku Forest.
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