Online interactive conveyor training
Covid-19 has introduced a number of hardships on bulk material handlers, including limiting their options for critical training to improve conveyor safety and productivity.
With in-person visits curtailed for the foreseeable future, Martin Engineering has developed an extensive array of tools to continue its decades-long 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.
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 that has served bulk material handlers so well over the years. Designed to keep attendees engaged and organized 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 company’s preferred platform is Zoom, but its expert trainers also have experience with Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Webex. The Martin team has taught approximately 2000 attendees using video conferencing since the onset of the virus. The company also engages with customers in a variety of other ways, including free webinars on critical concepts and best practices, as well as blog posts with insights by leading professionals detailing their experiences in the bulk handling industry. Customers can always reach Martin’s industry experts via phone, live chat, email or social media, and its industry reference books in the “Foundations”series can be downloaded in any of five languages from the company’s website at no charge. Martin has a long history of investing in conveyor training for its customers since putting out its first problem/solution literature in the 1980s. The company followed up with its first edition of “Foundations” in the 1990s, a 500+ page volume that has become an internationally-recognized resource for safety, maintenance and operations training – with more than 20000 print copies in circulation 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 emphasizes 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.
