Borum is launching a specialised training course to help the road marking industry meet the need for well-trained staff to ensure better profitability and higher quality.
A shortage of well-trained operators is a constant source of worry for the road marking industry. Borum, the Danish manufacturer of road marking machinery, is hoping to relieve these concerns with a series of tailored courses to train operators.
The course, called Borum road marking Academy, is an additional service from Borum who already offers on-site training with each new machine they sell.
Because road marking is seasonal there is always a need to train additional operators, and that holds whether they have bought a new machine or not, according to Ole Munch, Borum’s managing director.
Especially in Northern countries such as Russia, operators often go out and find other jobs during the winter break and then when spring comes again, the company has to start all over again.
“It’s getting more difficult for our customers to find qualified operators - so they have to hire nonqualified operators and give them basic training before they can start to work on a road marking machine,” he says.
Uptime equals profitability
“Our strategy is that our machinery should have as much uptime as possible. We support that in many ways – by making our machines straightforward to use and easy to service, but also by making them in such a way that an operator understands how to handle them. The Borum road marking Academy is an extension of that strategy.”
Launching at the beginning of 2009, the Borum road marking Academy will offer training to both new and experienced operators. The academy’s teaching is built up in modules, so Borum can put together a training course tailor made to the operator’s experience and his employers’ needs.
Operators will receive both theoretical and practical, hands-on advice from specialist technicians on how to use the machine as safely and efficiently as possible. The basic course lasts one to two weeks with groups of at least five operators.
Borum road marking Academy will also be offering ‘super users’ courses to train operators so they can be trainers within their own company.
“Keeping a machine running on a motorway is expensive,” says Ole Munch. “But not having it running is even more expensive. An operator who knows what the machine can do, can operate it efficiently and he can prevent production stops before they happen. This will add significantly to the profitability of the machine.”