R E A L I T Y W O R K S S U C C E S S S T O R Y

Future Millwrights Using Next-Gen Welding TechnologyStudents who enroll in the Union Carpenter and Millwright Skilled Training Center in Wayland, MI undergo rigorous training. The center, which is associated with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, offers a 4-year apprenticeship program for people interested in becoming a millwright, a profession that involves installing, maintaining, diagnosing and repairing equipment like compressors, pumps, conveyors, gas and steam turbines, and monorails. By the end of the program, graduates will be eligible to obtain their journeyman’s license and a job as a millwright (and earn an average annual salary of $50,000 in the US). They will have also had the chance to earn upwards of 10 different certifications, including their 2G and 3G welding certifications, which Millwright Instructor Nate Christensen uses Realityworks’ guideWELD® welding training tools to help prepare students for obtaining. “When contractors call us out there, they know the kind of tradesmen and women they’re going to get,” said Christensen. “We want to mold them into those good millwrights by the end of the first year, so everything we do prepares them for the next step.”

Pretraining with technologyIn students’ first year of the apprenticeship program, courses include an introduction to millwrighting, instruction on precision tooling, technical math,

rigging and Welding 101. Before bringing Realityworks’ guideWELD® VR welding simulator into his Welding 101, Christensen had noticed a shift in his students. Instead of coming into his classroom with prior welding experience, like he used to see, most of his students had never welded before. As a result, anxiety levels were often high -- too high to receive proper training. Enter guideWELD® VR, which offers immediate feedback on basic welding techniques in a safe, virtual environment.

“We’re getting more and more men and women fresh out of high school who have never spent time welding before, like on grandpa’s farm,” said Christensen. “I use VR to get students started practicing

Nate ChristeNseN

Apprenticeship InstructorUnion Carpenter and Millwright Skilled Training Center,MI

Above, a millwright student uses the guideWELD LIVE real welding guidance system to continue training during live welding.

puddle control, manipulation with the Stick or MIG gun, and other fundamentals. When they’re ready and comfortable, I’ll take them into the booth, but by then, they’ve already had that ‘prestep’ to ease them into it so anxiety isn’t as high.”When his students are feeling comfortable with the basics of welding and are ready for live welding in a real welding booth, Christensen will have them use the guideWELD® LIVE real welding guidance system to further hone their muscle memory using actual coupons. Designed for use during live, arc-on welding, guideWELD LIVE provides corrective in-helmet training on the same core techniques students first learn using guideWELD VR. According to Christensen, most students are ready to work on joint setups in the real welding booth without any guidance after only a few days of using the

virtual reality and live welding guidance systems. “When I brought these tools in for the first time, I had one of my experienced welders put the LIVE system through the gambit, and the one guy specifically messed up – he’d weld on a funky angle. Then, he would do what the [feedback in the] hood showed him to do to fix it - and he saw that it was a good weld,” Christensen recalled. “The tool works well for getting them to the point of having proper muscle memory developed.”

Certification preparationChristensen also teaches an advanced TIG and Stick welding course, which students complete during their third year of the program in preparation for their 2G and 3G welding certifications. Although his students are typically comfortable welding by that point, some are still uneasy and unsure of themselves. To help those students, Christensen has them weld using the guideWELD LIVE helmet one more time (a practice he hopes is done less and less in the future, as both guideWELD LIVE and guideWELD VR are more regularly incorporated into Welding 101 and students have more opportunities to master basic skills and get comfortable welding). “This tool is a stepping block for me as far as how I use it,” said Christensen. “The experienced welders, for instance, have their own way of welding, but in those cases, I’m using the tool not to teach, but to help them understand the basics, the angles, the speed.”

“I use VR to get students started practicing puddle

control, manipulation with the Stick or MIG gun, and other

fundamentals. When they’re ready and comfortable, I’ll take

them into the booth, but by then, they’ve already had that ‘prestep’

to ease them into it so anxiety isn’t as high.”

- Nate Christensen, Apprenticeship Instructor, Union Carpenter and Millwright Skilled

Training Center, MI

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Above, a millwright student uses the guideWELD VR welding simulator to practice basic skills before entering the welding booth.

Christensen’s efforts are working. He recently taught an advanced class in which eight of the 10 students obtained their 2G and 3G welding certifications at the end of class - the most he’s seen before. “This has been a huge success in my eyes,” said Christensen. “Having that many students get their certs is a warning that not only are the tools you have working, but what you’re teaching is working. Even the seasoned welders are enjoying the LIVE welding hood.”

A new way to recruit studentsAs an instructor and member of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, Christensen regularly attends area career fairs and speaking opportunities. Since he acquired Realityworks’ guideWELD training tools last fall, a single guideWELD VR has been his constant companion at these events - and it’s been a “huge hit.”“I’ll bring VR to show students one of the ways we’re staying up with modern technologies, how we’re trying to evolve our training - give them a glimpse of what they’ll see when they come into my Welding 101 course,” said Christensen. “A lot of the younger kids, let’s face it, they love video games and virtual reality. VR engages them, gets them active and ready and excited, knowing that they’ll be able to utilize this in the classroom.” Christensen also uses these speaking engagements to emphasize his understanding of

students’ comfort levels regarding welding and to showcase the steps he’s willing to take to ensure students are ready to learn and develop skills. “I tell them they don’t need to have that anxiety when they come to class - that I have the equipment and programming that will get them comfortable by the time they get into the welding booth,” he said. Christensen shared that he also uses competition to engage prospective students in conversations about welding and the center’s programming. guideWELD VR assesses users on their work angle, travel angle, speed, nozzle-to-plate distance and straightness, then provides a cumulative score, so when people try it at events, they can instantly see how they perform compared to others.“Millwrights are very competitive,”

“When I brought these tools in for the first time, I had one of my experienced welders put the LIVE system through the gambit, and the one guy specifically messed

up – he’d weld on a funky angle. Then, he would do what the

[feedback in the] hood showed him to do to fix it - and he saw

that it was a good weld.”

- Nate Christensen, Apprenticeship Instructor, Union Carpenter and Millwright Skilled

Training Center, MI

www.realityworks.com© 2020 Realityworks, Inc. All rights reserved.

JOIN US ON Connect with us to join ongoing conversations about engaging learners, technology tips and issues facing all areas of education.

The guideWELD LIVE real welding guidance system uses in-helmet feedback to assist students during live welding.

Christensen said. “I’ll coordinate a competition of who can get the best score, with a gift or giveaway as a prize, and depending on the size of the gathering, it’s a big success.”

Funding the future“We need welders,” said Christensen. “Industry is always growing and a lot of the old-timers are retiring. Utilizing my knowledge base and what you guys offer can really mold them and get them to a place where they’re not only comfortable but are producing high-quality welds, getting their certs and using those skills in the field.”At the center, students begin using their skills in the field almost immediately. Most of Christensen’s students work full-time and attend school part-time. The center offers courses five weeks a year, and the

welding shop opens for a week every month so students can practice welding and prepare for certifications.“We have students from all ages – students fresh out of high school to men and women in their 40s and 50s who are looking to be part of something bigger,” said Christensen. “When they aren’t going to class, they’re on the job site working, collecting a paycheck and using the skills they’re learning here.”The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Apprenticeship Program is self-funded. Contractors pay an hourly contribution rate for every affiliated employee per a collective bargaining agreement. This contribution rate pays for classes, books, and training tools like guideWELD VR and guideWELD LIVE, among other items. According to Christensen, staying up to date on new training methods and working to ensure his students have the opportunity to experience those training methods is part of the entire center’s mission to graduate top-tier millwrights.“Contractors are investing in us to ensure they have highly skilled workers in the field, and in return, we work to ensure our students are highly skilled,” said Christensen. “It’s a partnership, and it’s why we continue to evolve our training.”

www.realityworks.com© 2020 Realityworks, Inc. All rights reserved.

JOIN US ON Connect with us to join ongoing conversations about engaging learners, technology tips and issues facing all areas of education.

The guideWELD VR simulator provides immediate feedback on work angle, travel angle, speed, nozzle-to-plate distance and straightness.