Two articulated dump truck plant hire simulators have been commissioned to be built for the Services Sector Education Training Authority (Seta) under the governance of the Contractors Plant Hire Association to tackle the need for plant hire skills in South Africa. ThoroughTec, a South African supplier, was chosen to build the simulators.

The Services Seta launched the first of the simulators, the first in the world of this type.  A further two simulators (TLB type) have been commissioned and will be operational by October, brining the full number of simulators placed in the industry and sponsored by the Service Seta to four.

“As a body tasked with ensuring development in the labour recruitment and plant hire industry as well as other industries, we realised that there are inadequate skills or certification of competence of operators to satisfy the construction and hiring sector requirements for growth in the country,” says Services Seta CEO Ivor Blumenthal.

The introduction of the simulators will assist with the certification of all current and potential operators.

Operators will be issued with site licence certificates valid for a period of 12 months.  The site licence is an industry certificate and forms part of the first building block to national qualification.

“While the costs of simulators are high, we see this as greatly rewarding in the long term as we are contributing towards the development of skills in the country.  With construction work already in place for 2010 and beyond, this couldn’t have come at a better time,” adds Blumenthal.

Blumenthal says that this project has empowered the plant hire and related industries, ensuring the upliftment of South African operators.

The need of simulators, which offer safe, practical, hands-on-training, is on the increase.  Machinery to train operators remains costly, as it requires ongoing repairs owing to damage caused by inexperienced operators.