Komatsu training academy opens its doors

Komatsu Australia has set up a new education hub at its Komatsu Technical Education Centre (KTEC) in Brisbane, specifically designed to provide nationally recognised and customised training to customers.

The Komatsu Training Academy (KTA) is a nationally registered training organisation (RTO) and is headed by Janine Temple, who has more than 17 years’ experience in training and management development roles at leading industry associations, including the Australian Mines and Metals Association, the Civil Contractors Federation, and the Housing Industry Association.

According to Temple, KTA offers a range of training online, on-site, at customers’ premises or at the company’s dedicated facilities in Brisbane and other centres.

“Through our team of specialist industry-qualified trainers, we can deliver a broad range of customisable courses, including leadership and management training, operator proficiency development, and specialised technical training and skills development,” she says.

Temple says a major focus of KTA’s courses is moving beyond basic competency training, and into more advanced proficiency development.

“All too often today, training is merely focused on churning out numbers of trainees,” she says.

“In contrast, at KTA, we are focusing on what is really needed: up-skilling for increased production, improved fuel efficiency, reduced wear and tear, lower operating costs, better preventive maintenance, and greater safety.”

“There is a major difference between a key technician or operator who is merely competent, compared with one who is truly proficient at their job – and these differences can translate into significant benefits to a company’s bottom line.

“This philosophy is very much in line with Komatsu’s total machine management approach, harnessing our information communications technology (ICT) and intelligent machine systems to drive productivity and reliability improvements, and reduce operating costs.

“An important element of this is having highly skilled operators and technicians who fully understand the machines and the technology behind them, allowing them to take full advantage of these developments.”

Courses available through KTA cover a variety of mining, construction and utility machine types - including backhoe loaders, dozers, crushers, dump trucks, excavators (conventional and hybrid), graders and wheel loaders, as well as general systems and technologies.

While KTA will be able to deliver its training and educational programs through its branches across Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, as well as at customer worksites and facilities, the hub of its operations will be Komatsu’s KTEC headquarters in Brisbane.

KTEC has more than 2600 sqm of dedicated training facilities, including seven classrooms, seven technical/electrical laboratories and a large machine operator’s workshop.

It also features a number of simulators for operators of different skill levels to safely learn how to operate a range of machines.

According to Temple, KTEC was originally established to train up Komatsu’s own service and support staff, until now.

“It has evolved to become an important element of our total customer satisfaction experience by ensuring we offer the best trained OEM support in the industry,” she says.

“As a result, we were increasingly being asked to provide technical training for our customers’ own service technicians, and over the past few years, this has become a growing business for Komatsu Australia.

“Our vision is to see KTEC recognised as a centre of excellence in heavy equipment training throughout the Asia-Pacific, from which KTA delivers training to customers and sites in the region.”