How Forsyth Forestry Training is giving the next generation of forest machine operators the skills they need

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?

When I left school, I was a car mechanic and MOT tester for several years. I then drifted into helping with servicing forest machinery for some extra money. I decided that perhaps sitting in the cab with the heater and radio on would be preferable to lying underneath the machine getting wet and cold. That was more than 20 years ago, and in that time I have been a machine operator, works supervisor and trainer.

HOW DID YOUR INTEREST IN TRAINING DEVELOP?

When I started working for the Forestry Commission as an operator – even though I had my FMO tickets – I had to go through its operator training. I was impressed by the way it was structured and how much extra info it gave me and I started to think then that I would like to be able to help others in this way. Many years later, an opportunity came up within the FC training team for a machine trainer and I decided to give it a go.

Bob Forsyth.

HOW DID FTT GET STARTED?

It started in January 2017. The main incentive for me to start out on my own was that the FC training team was being reconstructed due to England and Scotland going their own ways and becoming Forestry England and Forest and Land Scotland. Due to this, my role would be changing and I felt I would be doing less face-to-face training, which is what I enjoy most about my job. After much deliberation, I handed my notice in and started planning how I was going to go out on my own.

HOW HAVE THINGS DEVELOPED IN THE YEARS SINCE?

FTT is only in its fourth year, so I am not sure too much has changed other than the obvious effect that COVID-19 has had in the last year. When the country went into the first lockdown things stopped for me completely for a while as everyone worked out what could be done safely to keep the industry moving. Slowly, things began coming back, particularly assessments which could be done socially distanced, but even then, it was only work I could travel to from home as staying away just wasn’t going to happen. COVID-19 has changed how a lot of my courses had to be structured. Using technology to have virtual meetings and deliver training remotely became (almost) the norm. I have been creating training videos to replace classroom elements of courses. I think one of the biggest developments I have seen in the last few years is that contractors are starting to train more new operators, mainly driven by the fact there is a real shortage of operators and that the average age of an operator is still increasing. I think this is a really positive thing as we need to bring more young people into the industry.

WHAT TRAINING IS OFFERED?

FFT can deliver a wide range of training and assessments from both City & Guilds and Lantra. I also offer some in-house certification for units not covered by either. This includes all the current FMO units and those which have been taken away, such as all types of forestry machine base, harvester, forwarder, mounding, drainage, ploughing, scarifying, continuous mounding, skidders, skyline, highlead, chippers (both hand-fed and loader-fed) sit-in ATV, sit-astride ATV, agricultural tractors, plant machinery, abrasive wheels, MEWPs, flails/mulchers and stump grinders. I can also offer a range of manager/supervisor/operator training such as: pollution control, electricity at work, risk assessment, manual handling, harvesting supervisors, establishment supervisors, cable crane supervisor, working at height on machines, recovery and debogging and more. Courses can be bespoke and tailored to whatever you need, so even if you don’t see what you are looking for in the list above, then give me a call and I will always try and come up with the solution you need.

WHICH ARE THE MOST POPULAR COURSES?

It’s hard to say as I deliver such a wide range. I would say I have run more new machine operator training courses this last year or two than for a long time. As lockdown restrictions ease I am being asked for a lot of supervisor events and the need for FMO assessments has never gone away.

Courses such as cable crane supervisor training provide new and existing supervisors with the skills and confidence to get the most out of their staff.

WHEREABOUTS ARE THE COURSES RUN?

My courses are all over the country, from the very north of Scotland to the south of England. I have also delivered training and carried out assessments in both Northern and Southern Ireland. I think it’s important with machinery training of any kind that we do it in the conditions the operator will be working in to make it relevant to them. I will travel to wherever I am needed.

READ MORE: Forestry Commission acts on UK bark beetle findings

CAN YOU DESCRIBE AN EXAMPLE OF A COURSE YOU MIGHT PROVIDE?

A course I ran recently was a chainsaw supervisor event. Because of COVID-19, we couldn’t run this as normal as it would involve having everyone in a classroom for half a day. So months in advance, I created a training video going through the information that would normally be done inside. I also sent information regarding the materials the delegates would need on the day such as relevant FISA guides. The day before we were to carry out the on-site element of this event, another trainer and I set up the site we would be using, ensuring it was safe for the course members to access. We then created an area of felled trees where we could look at ‘stump forensics’ and discuss what signs to look for, also providing guidance on the importance of not jumping to conclusions just from what you see on one stump. This area included examples of good practice and also the signs to look for if corners are being cut. On the day, we also carry out controlled felling examples of various techniques, often guided by the delegates but always including how to safely deal with hung-up trees of various sizes, directional felling and dealing with windblow.

IT’S HARD FOR CONTRACTORS TO FIND OPERATORS, BUT YOUNG OPERATORS OFTEN STRUGGLE TO FIND WORK. WHY IS THAT?

I think we have to remember it is a massive cost to a contractor to train a new operator up from scratch. It isn’t really the cost of the training and assessment, as in the overall picture this isn’t the expensive element. It is more the fact that it could be six months or even a year for someone starting from scratch to get up to full productive speed, so potentially for a good few months they are being paid, burning fuel and adding wear and tear to the machine, but not making the contractor any money. This can be more than a small contractor can take as the bills still need to be paid and machines need to be productive. Then there is always the risk that the new operator doesn’t make it and changes their mind. It’s not for everyone, and plenty of very keen young operators find after a few months the job isn’t what they thought it was. The other issue is that the contractor can go through this difficult period with a new operator only for them to get their assessment and then leave and go somewhere else where they get the benefit of a competent operator.

FFT can offer training and assessment on any machine used in forestry, from harvesters and forwarders to tractors, skidders, excavators and ATVs.

WHAT TRAINING PROBLEMS WITHIN FORESTRY NEED TO BE ADDRESSED?

I think as an industry, training doesn’t always keep up with the new types of machinery being used as there are so many variants and machines designed for other industries being used that it can be difficult. I do think, as an industry, the training of new machine operators needs to be looked at again.

WHAT IS THE KEY TO EFFECTIVE TRAINING?

Patience! Being able to relate to the trainee. I would never ask a trainee to do something I couldn’t do and I would always be willing to explain and demonstrate how it’s done and why it’s done. It’s also about managing expectations; it’s not as easy to be productive as the good operators make it look. This is something I have come across a lot and young trainees can get frustrated when it doesn’t happen as quickly as they thought it would. Train them to be a good operator in the long term, not just to pass the assessment.

WHAT SETS FFT APART?

My passion for training people and helping them do their job more effectively and safer. I ensure that every course I run and every operator I work with receives the best training possible to maximise their potential.

www.forsythforestrytraining.co.uk

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