WRITTEN BY JEFF BENJAMIN, PLC DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CERTIFICATION
The Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast (PLC) is not known as a logger “training” organization. In fact, the word training does not even exist in our mission and vision statements. No one joins the PLC and asks, what do I have to do to become a logger? No one comes to us looking to be trained on how to successfully run a logging business from the ground up. Rather, our purpose is to educate and promote logging as a profession to the public, and to serve our members as they provide professional logging services to landowners and the forest products industry.
Logging contractors join the PLC because they recognize value in the work we do on their behalf — advocacy, promotion, and support. Safety and risk management have always been a focus of the PLC to ensure its members remain profitable by reducing losses. As a result, we have developed many “one-off” training initiatives to address specific needs in the industry. For example, in 2010 we first offered safety
training workshops throughout the region during mud season. Our partners in the insurance industry shared safety issues they were seeing on a recurring basis, and we worked with our members to address those issues. Over time this has become an annual program with more than a dozen logger and fleet safety workshops and 15-20 CPR courses offered throughout the region. More than 1,000 loggers participated in these workshops last year alone.
The Master Logger Certification Program® has also offered spring workshops over the past two decades. With a focus on best practices and responsible logging, these workshops provide on the ground learning opportunities for loggers throughout the region. More than 150 loggers participated in the workshops last year. The result is that the program has also developed a significant amount of valuable content and resource material over the years.
That is why we have decided to organize our training and outreach efforts into one program called the Northeast (NE) Professional Logger. All training and continuing education material, including in-person workshops and online videos, will be promoted under the “brand” NE Professional Logger. We realize that being a professional logger means operating in a safe manner, taking responsibility for high standards, and having advanced technical skills.
The three tenets of the program — Safety, Responsibility, and Skill — apply to entry-level operators as well as experienced logging contractors. NE Professional Logger has over 20 online, entry-level modules for safety (including: PPE, separation of operations, first aid, lock-out & tag-out for logging equipment, and flammable & combustible liquids), and for responsible logging (including: forest & harvest certifications, protection of water, erosion control, forest management, protection of ecosystems, forest rules and regulations, and logging business fundamentals).
Professional loggers recognize the need for continuous improvement and skill development. As such, we offer ongoing training opportunities to: 1) reinforce safety and responsible logging practices; 2) introduce new technology (e.g. Avenza mapping software); and 3) develop new skills in business, leadership, and communication. Through our partnership with the Maine Community College System, we also train the next generation of logging equipment operators and truck drivers through the Mechanized Logging Operations and Forest Trucking Program (MLOFT). Finally, we offer the classroom portion of commercial driver licensing (CDL) education so new truck drivers can obtain their CDL permit. Development and reinforcement of technical skills is an ongoing practice for professional loggers and the PLC takes this role very seriously.
NE Professional Logger is the umbrella program where we organize, develop, and deliver our training programs. You can find more information about upcoming workshops, online courses, and resource materials on our website at plcloggers.org. Remember that access to these events and materials is free to Master Loggers and members of the PLC.
