International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) Local 31 (Houston, TX) recently hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of their newly modernized training facility and a state-of-the-art mobile welding unit that will be used to train and certify elevator constructors across Texas.

Elevator constructor apprentices and mechanics, along with officers from the Local, IUEC leadership, Texas building trades organizations, and Harris County government officials gathered to tour the facility and learn more about how the IUEC’s National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP), a USDOL Registered Apprenticeship program that trains new apprentices in the fundamentals of conveyance industry work and provides Continuing Education and industry certifications for mechanics, is at the forefront of the vertical transportation industry’s most advanced training.

“As mayor, I could be at a hundred places right now, but this is where I want to be – and this is where I need to be,” said John Whitmire, Mayor of Houston, TX, who visited Local 31’s union hall to tour the NEIEP classrooms and speak to those who had gathered for the event.

IUEC Local 31 Business Representative Jonathan Balderas led us through a tour of the building, beginning with the museum area set up in the lobby. In the museum area, there are displays featuring plaques and awards the Local has received for their work in the community along with a variety of historical elevator equipment. (It’s a similar setup to what one would find in the Elevator History Museum at the NEIEP Instructor Training Center in Warwick, RI). “This has been a dream of ours for the last decade,” Jonathan said.

IUEC Local 31’s training facility houses several NEIEP classrooms in which apprentices attend weekly hands-on training sessions that teach them the fundamentals of elevator construction, service, repair, and modernization, and journeyman mechanics participate in continuing education courses to sharpen their skills and earn the industry certifications they need.

As part of a national ‘Classroom 2.0’ initiative led by NEIEP Executive Director David Morgan, NEIEP classrooms across the United States are being upgraded to create an improved learning experience for students that is standardized in all NEIEP classrooms. From better tables and chairs for learners, to smartboards instructors use to facilitate interactive virtual training activities, to hands-on practical lab activities tailored for each semester’s curriculum, these new and improved classrooms provide an ideal setting for elevator constructor apprentices to learn the basics of the trade and mechanics seeking to expand their skill sets.

Ryan Schuett, Business Manager for IUEC Local 31, was proud to bring Classroom 2.0 to Houston. “Wherever you go throughout the nation,” he said, “this is what a NEIEP classroom is going to look like.”

Along with NEIEP Assistant Executive Director John Caughey, NEIEP Director David Morgan traveled from the program’s headquarters in Attleboro Falls, Massachusetts, to Houston to attend the opening ceremony. He demonstrated for us one of NEIEP’s classroom labs that students use to practice basic wiring techniques elevator constructors use in the field.  “We really like the way that local 31 has taken these labs where the students can actually come on and wire this lab up, get to the back, make sure that they’ve done everything right,” he said.

Assistant Director Caughey showed us the Virtual Hydraulic Lab (VHCL) Simulator, a popular lab used in a continuing education course for mechanics. Adjusting the valve systems in a hydraulic elevator requires an advanced level of skill, and attempting to perform this work on operational equipment in the field can be a daunting task for those who are new to the trade. Having the opportunity to practice on real elevator valve equipment in a safe, controlled environment allows them to get a feel for the work before attempting to make adjustments in the field for the first time.  “The beauty of having the valve simulator here – it’s a comfortable environment for the instructor and the students to adjust the valve without having to affect a running elevator,” he said.

Jonathan then took us through the NEIEP classrooms, where IUEC elevator constructor apprentices and mechanics attend courses. “So this is a standard classroom setup, lockout (tagout) stations, safety posters with the Nine Safety Absolutes,” he said.

He explained how instructors incorporate NEIEP’s hands-on practical labs into their regular learning activities, and demonstrated the use of a new Motor Starter Lab for the curriculum of Semester 400, where apprentices learn how AC motors work.  “We use this station for our motor starter lab,” he said, “so our apprentices will be able to have the availability to wire different configurations (including wye, delta, and wye-delta) of motors.”

In addition to the hands-on labs, NEIEP Executive Director David Morgan introduced some of the program’s new virtual training tools, such as the Virtual Hydraulic Controller Lab, which was developed as an advanced version of a troubleshooting tool based on an existing hydraulic elevator control lab. NEIEP’s Virtual Hydraulic Controller Lab course teaches troubleshooting methods through numerous fault scenarios, each representing a separate trouble call that requires demonstration of a logical procedure for finding the fault.

“This virtual environment will allow an apprentice and /or a mechanic to go in and actually troubleshoot an elevator and all its components,” said David Morgan.

NEIEP Instructional Designer Emily Carter demonstrated another virtual training tool, the Virtual Traction Elevator. “What I’ve got up on the board right now is our Virtual Traction Elevator environment set up to mimic what you would see in a real environment, in a safe way that they can interact with,” she said.

Beyond using VR technology in the classroom, NEIEP uses VR tools into its outreach and recruitment efforts, too. Lester White, Head of Development at NEIEP, showed us NEIEP’s VR recruitment tools. David Morgan explained how helpful this is at events like the recent Skills USA conference, where the most talented vocational high school students from across the U.S. gather to compete in construction and technology challenges. NEIEP attends Skills USA every year to recruit the best and brightest young people into the trade.

“That virtual is priceless,” he said. “We’re able to show the general public what it is to be an elevator constructor.”

The highlight of the event was the opening of IUEC Local 31’s brand new mobile welding facility. Funded entirely by the Harris County (TX) Commissioner’s Court in partnership with the Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the mobile welding unit will provide a ten-week training and welding certification course not just for the 645 members of IUEC Local 31 in Houston, but for IUEC elevator constructors in other parts of Texas as well. “It’s the first of its kind in the United States,” he said.

NEIEP’s CE0019 Welder Training Course helps apprentices and mechanics acquire the skills to pass the 3G/4G welding certification (in accordance with AWS D1.1 Structural Steel Code), focusing on AWS SMAW certification procedure specifications.

“Bottom line is this mobile welding facility puts Local 31 at the front of the pack, not just in Houston, not just in Texas, but nationally,” said Newton Blanchard, an IUEC Regional Director who covers Texas and the southeast.

NEIEP Manager of Educational Resources Doug Cullington took us through the welding trailer and told us about the setup and purpose of the equipment within it – including four welding stations with fume extraction, vent hoods, fans, air conditioning, and heat.  “In this situation, they’re set up for an overhead weld – this would be a flat vertical, welding straight up,” he explained.

Doug told us the mobility of the welding facility was going to be a huge asset to elevator constructors in Houston and beyond. “The idea that this is mobile, we can move it from different location to different location,” he said. “Instead of having the individual – the students – traveling long distances, we can run this to them, get as certifications that possible open it to Texas…. you want to get as many certifications we can out on the street and this is the way to do it,” he said.

Jonathan Balderas thanked some of the organizations that made this possible – Harris County Texas Commissioner’s Court, the AFL-CIO, Gulf Coast, NABTU, Local 31’s apprentices and mechanics, the Elevator Industry, Work Preservation Fund (EIWPF), and NEIEP. ElevatorInfo even got a shout-out for helping to publicize the opening and share information about the training center with the elevator industry.

Christian D. Menefee, Harris Conty Attorney, spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Today is what it looks like when you take federal dollars here with organized labor, and pair that with local government. When we work together, there is nothing we cannot achieve.”

Houston Mayor John Whitmire was optimistic about the future of the program. “We have a great city and great people and certainly organized labor has contributed to our greatness, and with a program such as this, the best is yet to come.”