If there was one thing that stood out at ConExpo 2011 last week, it was the recognition by equipment and product suppliers of the need to close the gap between the technologies they have unleashed over the last several years and their acceptance by potential users. Those of you who were among the 120,000 attendees to the event can attest to the heavy focus on training evident throughout the 2 million square feet of displays guaranteed to batter into submission the legs of all but world-class marathoners. Nowhere was this more evident than in the dozens of simulators that attracted lines of attendees to the gargantuan equipment pastures filling the Las Vegas Convention Center’s mammoth North Hall.
In the past we have treated training on a regular but relaxed basis…but no more. The lead article in our June Technology issue focuses exclusively on the subject, but that’s only a beginning. Starting with our July/August issue, we will present a regular department on the subject, looking at its many aspects at work throughout the field…another reason to be a Grading & Excavation Contractor subscriber.