Training CAE personnel to reduce intervention times

As mentioned in recent interviews with Technical Director Luca Papandrea and Head of the Design Department, Ermes Fabbri, the company is working to improve the execution speed of field activities. How? We present some of the solutions identified to achieve this goal.

Two highly specialised courses were held this month for most of CAE's external technicians:

1. Working at height on ropes. This specific training serves to prepare personnel to perform tasks at height using ropes as an access and positioning system. The 32-hour course provides the knowledge and skills needed to perform these activities safely by addressing specific risks and using the correct rope access, positioning and rescue techniques. Participants learn how to ascend, descend and move on ropes, and how to perform anchoring and use rebelays, on both artificial and natural structures. The technicians were also obtained the rope work supervisor certificate, a specific 8-hour training course for those who have to supervise, coordinate and monitor teams of working at height using rope access and positioning systems, which is necessary to identify risks and ensure safety during these activities. These courses are essential for working safely at work sites, including landslides, at high altitudes, on buildings, bridges, etc.

2. Truck-mounted crane licence. A 12-hour theoretical and practical course with main objective of enabling technicians to use the crane correctly in different operating situations, carry out checks to reveal any anomalies, plan lifting safely and tackle any emergency situations. This training will be particularly useful when moving and relocating hydrometric stations, which are often connected to work sites for bridge or road resurfacing.

These courses serve the dual purpose of increasing the safety level of workers and allowing CAE to directly follow various activities in order to take independent action in most work sites. This reduces the organisational and logistics steps and intervention times, particularly for “small jobs” such as moving hydrometric stations, integrating sensors on bridges, etc.

Another solution designed to speed up activities is the use of a new modular pole, equipped with a pulley system that was specially designed by CAE to be installed easily and independently, even without the use of a crane when, for example, the site is inaccessible to large vehicles.