The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has announced that it is training over one thousand workers on the operations of the new locks of the Panama Canal Expansion. Once this first training phase is completed, the courses will be standardised and offered to additional members of the workforce.
The training of Panama Canal workforce is a requirement under the new locks' contract. The different project's subcontractors, responsible for the electromechanical equipment, will offer the courses.
Technical Paper: The Panama Canal: The Early Years
Valve and accessories supplier Hyundai and Bosh Rexroth, supplier of the valves' hydraulic cylinders, motors, and controls, will offer training courses.
Training has already been provided on high-mast lighting, fenders within the chambers, bridge cranes, and the controls of the new locks' equipment.
The newly expanded locks will have three different types of valves controlling water flow, including the main culvert valves, which control the water flow from Gatun Lake to the upper chamber, through the locks chambers, and finally to the ocean.
Technical Paper: The Third Lock Expansion
Panama Canal personnel participating in the training include future operators and lockmasters of Agua Clara (Atlantic) and Cocoli (Pacific) Locks, as well as engineers, systems reliability, and information technology personnel.
The canal's workers are critical to the ACP's ability to provide reliable, efficient, and safe service and fundamental to their success is the continuous training the canal provides.
PTI will soon be hosting a key terminal training and automation conference at the Grange Hotel in London, which aims to bring authorities on robotisation and automation together to explore how equipment and systems integration can empower a workforce.
