Soldiers Earn Chainsaw Qualifications
Soldiers earned internationally-recognised qualifications as they sharpened skills required in post-hurricane operations.
Members of the Royal Bermuda Regiment worked with UK-based Kingswood Training over two weeks to develop chainsaw maintenance and cutting techniques as well as methods of dealing with windblown trees.
The cross-Government programme was led by the RBR and included crews from the Ministry of Public Works as well as participants from the Department of Workforce Development.
It provided an opportunity to recertify qualified chainsaw operators and to train new operators.
Steve Cackett, an instructor with tree surgery training provider Kingswood, said: “They learn about health and safety, PPE, risk-assessing; then we move into safety features of the saw and maintenance of individual components.”
Fellow Kingswood trainer Matt Moss added: “We talk about how they have been provided with a piece of kit, so they need to know how to spot any defects and take it out of action if needed, because it is quite a dangerous piece of machinery.”
Students received instruction on how to use a chainsaw, including pre-start checks, correct stance and position as well as determining which cutting techniques to use for different types of wood.
The individual windblown trees training is valuable for soldiers as hurricane relief work – one of the Royal Bermuda Regiment’s key responsibilities – typically involves dealing with trees brought down by a storm, rather than felling trees.
Instructors tailored the tuition to cover challenges found in Bermuda, such as areas of dense undergrowth and Casuarina trees, which can prove tough to tackle.
Upon completion of assessments, soldiers were City & Guilds certified in chainsaw maintenance, cutting and individual windblown trees competence.
Private Nikholas Roach, who is in the RBR’s A Company, which supports B Company’s disaster relief work, said: “This course definitely opened my eyes to a new kind of skill, coming from the infantry side you don’t always get to see these technical things.
“I’ve been in Coast Guard before, which meant I was learning how to work with boats, now I’ve learned how to use another kind of machine, so this widened my knowledge.”
The 24-year-old, of Paget, added: “Seeing other people use a chainsaw, you think it’s a big, scary, loud machine, you must be super technical to use it, but this course walked us through the steps.
“It’s just like any other thing – apply the normal safety precautions, maintain it; now that I’ve learned how to use it, I definitely feel a whole lot more comfortable.”
Corporal Paul Smith, 40, who has been in the Regiment for over two decades, was already familiar with chainsaw work and appreciated the depth of the recent training.
The steel pan player, of Smith’s, added: “Refreshers always help to keep fresh in our minds the skills and drills we have to use when we encounter different situations, but this definitely made me feel more confident about going out and using a chainsaw.”
- For more information about the Royal Bermuda Regiment or to join, visit bermudaregiment.bm or call 238-1045.