EDUCATION
Building Professional
Responsibility
Foundation drill rig operator program begins in North America
It’s long overdue, but education and certification for foundation
drill rig operators will finally be available through
a comprehensive online course developed by experienced
industry and teaching professionals.
Kevin Sharp, general manager of Northstar Sharp’s
Foundation Specialists, has been involved in the drilling
industry for 35 years and has seen great advancements in the
size, power and technology of foundation drilling equipment.
And yet until now, across all of North America, there has been
no formal training for the hundreds of junior operators working
on such powerful and dangerous equipment.
“My dad started in the drilling business in 1962,” said
Sharp. “Back in the day, the only training you got was when
the ‘old guy’ got off the seat and you got on. And many times,
they didn’t want you in the seat in case you took their job. But
today, we’ve come to the point where we don’t have a surplus
of tradespeople who can run drill rigs.”
Sharp also talks of injuries and deaths on job sites, all too
often because of insufficient experience, if any, in the operation
of foundation drilling equipment.
“Any training mostly comes from the rig manufacturers;
they’ll do a week-long session, but just on that rig, nothing
else,” said Sharp.
Developing the program
Determined to bring credibility and safety to the industry,
Sharp called the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
(NAIT) in Edmonton to see if they would be interested in
developing a drill rig operator program. After this first phone
conversation, Tina Wood, account manager for corporate
and international training at NAIT, knew such a program
would reflect the school’s leadership in technical training
and applied education while also fulfilling a real need in
the industry.
“I spoke with my supervisor about this exciting opportunity,”
said Wood, “Next, we asked Kevin to have a few people
in the industry come and talk about it in more detail. He not
only brought industry members together, but he involved
people from all over North America. It was amazing how passionate
everyone was about seeing this program happen.”
In 2015, an advisory committee made up of industry
members and several NAIT teaching specialists began the
task of mapping out a curriculum. By September 2017, the
first formal certification program for foundation drill rig
operators was announced, consisting of nine online theory
courses organized into two levels along with extensive workintegrated
learning.
By Deb Smith
DYZIO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
“We asked Kevin to have a few people in
the industry come and talk about it in
more detail. He not only brought industry
members together, but he involved
people from all over North America. It was
amazing how passionate everyone was
about seeing this program happen.”
– Tina Wood, NAIT
PILING CANADA 9