The two welding programs operated by the Red River Technical Vocational Area (RRTVA) have been outfitted with new personal protective equipment kits, thanks to a pair of grants from the Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB). Both the Morden and Morris programs received 20 packages, each worth $750, for a total of $15,000 worth of equipment per program.
Each kit contains:
1 - Bag 3M™ Speedglas™ Carry Bag, SG-90, black
1- Beanie 3M™ Speedglas™ Welding Beanie, 06-0500-54, black
1- Welding Helmet 3M™ Speedglas™ Welding Helmet 9002NC, 04-0100-20NC-CA
1 - Earplugs 3M™ E-A-R™ Classic Earplugs, 310-1060, uncorded 30 pk
3 - Eyewear 3M™ SecureFit™ 500 Series Safety Glasses SF501SGAF-BLK, Black, Scotchgard™ Anti-Fog Coating, Clear AF-AS Lens
10 - Respirator 3M™ Particulate Welding Respirator, 8515, N95
1 - Spats Weldready
1- Jackets Lincoln Electric or Weldready
1 pair Gloves Lincoln Electric
"It definitely helps offset some of the costs," said Ian Hiker, instructor at the Morris location. "A welding helmet should last five or six years. A jacket, you'd probably get a semester or two out of it. A pair of gloves, you might get half a semester out of them."
"The cost of Personal Protective Equipment for welders is very expensive and welding jackets, safety glasses and other items need to be replaced on a regular basis. The cost to operate our welding shop is not cheap, so receiving these 20 PPE kits is truly great for our program," said Riaan Strydom, the instructor at the Morden location, in an email statement.
Each of the programs are a CWB Certified Test Centre and as a result, the instructors are subscribed to the organization's email list where they learned of the grant opportunity. They applied in October and by mid-November had received word they were successful. By the end of the month, the kits had arrived.
