In response to a demand for technical knowledge on a limited range of specific topics, which have become increasingly relevant in the current climate, training provider TFT Woodexperts has announced the introduction of a suite of fixed-price, multi-venue short courses, to be rolled out in 2019. The topics are: fire, water, plywood and hardwood.
The timber industry has responded very well to the qualifications and the training courses that Woodexperts currently offers, but in keeping up with current trends and demands for something different, these new workshops are to be offered on a low-cost basis, in half-day sessions (apart from hardwood, which is a full day as it normally includes a mill tour). These short sessions should more easily fit in with companies’ time constraints and budgets.
“Our industry should be in possession of the basic facts and science behind how wood products respond to fire,” said Jim Coulson, Woodexperts director. “This is actually fairly straightforward and simple, but needs some further explanation and study to ensure we have the answers to the questions we are asked, and that timber continues to be considered as suitable for use in construction. This workshop sorts out the facts and dispels the myths that currently beset this crucial area.
“Moisture in timber is one of the most misunderstood and frequently mis-judged areas that our sector becomes involved in,” he continued. “Using real-life issues and examples, the workshop sets out the basic science of the response of timber to moisture, how different woodbased materials respond to it, and the correct method of measuring and monitoring moisture in timber at all stages of procurement, supply and use.
“Plywood is a timber product the industry can’t do without but which is manufactured and supplied in so many forms and specifications that dealing successfully in this material can be fraught with difficulties.
Understanding the different types, use-classes and manufacturing processes, for the many types of plywoods, this workshop is a masterclass in these panel products and their basic uses, where mistakes can often occur, and can sometimes prove very costly to put right.
“Finally,” said Mr Coulson, “hardwood timbers, chosen often for strength characteristics or attractive appearance, are some of the most costly, difficult to source and controversial products that our industry supplies. Understanding the science of how trees grow and the climate and geography of where they come from is a basic requirement of this workshop, together with an understanding of the many different properties these timbers possess, their recommended uses and how to give advice and help in these areas.”
Workshops will be held in each of four venues across the country, central London, east Midlands (Lincolnshire), north (Ripon, Yorkshire), and south-west (Swindon). The exception is hardwood, which will be at Swindon as it includes a sawmill tour. Three of the topics, moisture, plywood and hardwood, have already taken place but for further information on dates and venues, see the website at www.woodexperts.com.
The format will be a half-day workshop, 08.30 to 12.30 or 13.00 to 17.00 and the price is £50 + VAT, per person, a nominal charge to cover costs of room hire, tutor’s travel and so on. The hardwood workshop is a full day, from 09.30 to 16.30, which costs £100 + VAT per person.
Places at all four venues are strictly limited, and payment is made in advance, with the booking. It is also planned to hold workshops at individual companies’ premises, should there be sufficient demand.
