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The Fluid Power Training Institute™ Opens in Trinidad & Tobago
FPTI™ founder, Rory S. McLaren presents Mr. David Buffong of Trinidad & Tobago with the first-ever FPTI™ Instructor Certification awarded outside of the U.S.A..
From its humble beginnings in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Fluid Power Training Institute™ has grown into the most respected fluid power training organization in the world.
It all began over two decades ago when the institute’s founder, Rory S. McLaren, travelled to countries around the world to teach hydraulics. According to Mr. McLaren, while most countries had hydraulics training in one form or another, he was disappointed to learn that the training was generally of very poor quality for a number of reasons:
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Technical schools that offered hydraulic training were “floundering” because of poorly trained instructors, poor fund allocation, and impotent advisory committees. |
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Machinery and equipment manufacturers were providing training, which was very poorly managed and executed. Once again, instructors were poorly trained, budgets were strained, and training programs were not supported by management because training was generally classified as a “necessary evil.” |
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Leading fluid power organizations lacked the foresight to bring about “standards of excellence” for fluid power training. |
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Unfortunately, the student of fluid power paid the price for the fluid power industry’s lack of vision. Accordingly, it is safe to say that the fluid power industry is the largest industry in the world, which employs the least number of properly trained people.
Fortunately, Rory had vision along with a clear sense of delivering fluid power education brilliantly - and the rest is history. His first objective was to define the job description for a “Fluid Power Technician.”
Next, he needed to assemble a team of professionals who would help him develop a training curriculum that would cultivate world class fluid power technicians. In the course of a few years Rory and his team of professionals set and met objectives which culminated in the best fluid power training system in the world.
In the space of a few years they accomplished the following objectives:
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Wrote a full set of “generic” student reference materials. |
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Developed sets of dynamic, full-color, PowerPoint presentations which covered all aspects of fluid power system and component service, maintenance, and troubleshooting. |
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Designed and built the most innovative, “hands-on” hydraulic training simulators in the world. |
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Developed “train-the-trainer” workshops for hydraulics instructors. |
Having achieved these objectives, the most important one was still to come - to put this world-class hydraulic training system into action around the world.
On the relatively small, twin island state of Trindad & Tobago - Mr. David Buffong, had a vision somewhat similar to Rory’s. He recognized that the people of his country needed world-class fluid power training to facilitate his country’s need for highly skilled maintenance technicians to support T&T's vibrant economy.
“Factories are springing up everywhere, machinery and equipment are being delivered to the island on a daily basis, and the oil and natural gas industries are thriving. We need to train our workforce so they can work safely and productively to support our growing economy,” explains Mr. Buffong.
“Our need for properly trained fluid power diagnostic technicians is arguably more critical than the U.S. or Europe due to the fact that we are in no position to troubleshoot using the “process of elimination” approach. We simply cannot “run down the road” and purchase hydraulic components. They have to be imported from countries around the world and this is an extraordinarily expensive and time-consuming process,” says Mr. Buffong.
Mr. Buffong is no stranger to fluid power education. He has undergone training in England and the U.S.A., and holds the Fluid Power Society’s Instructor certification. Mr. Buffong was well aware of the serious flaws in the current fluid power education system. However, after discovering the Fluid Power Training Institute™ on the internet , and after a lengthy telephone conversation with Mr. McLaren, Mr. Buffong believed that “his prayers had been answered.”
Mr. Buffong has successfully completed the Fluid Power Training Institute™’s rigorous instructor certification course - in fact he is the only instructor outside of the U.S.A. who currently holds this distinction.
According to Rory McLaren, Mr. Buffong is more than qualified to make the Fluid Power Training Institute™ of Trinidad & Tobago and the region, an overwhelming success.
To meet the challenge, Mr. Buffong built a state-of-the art-training center in Trinidad which is equipped with the most advanced hydraulic training simulators in the world, designed and built by the Fluid Power Training Institute™ in Salt Lake City, Utah.
We are pleased to have a person with Mr. Buffong’s vision and relentless pursuit for excellence as part of our growing organization. We wish Mr. Buffong along with the people of Trinidad & Tobago and the region, all the success they deserve.
The first series of workshops will be run in Trinidad on the following dates:
PRACTICAL HYDRAULICS:
January 28 through February 1, 2008
TROUBLESHOOTING HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS & COMPONENTS:
February 11 through February 15, 2008
Contact:
Mary McCoy - Training Coordinator
Fluid Power Training Institute™ - Trinidad
Lot # 1 O'Meara Rd. & O'Connor Drive
Arima
Trinidad West Indies.
Ph: 868-642-4484
Fax 868-642-1045
fpti@hightowertt.com |
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