Usually, when students are sequestered in a large hall and given a difficult task to complete in a set amount of time it’s for an exam. But for Architectural Technology student Becky Dekleyn, it was something more.

Becky was representing Fanshawe’s School of Building Technology at last year’s Skills Canada competition – an annual event showcasing the best of Canada’s skilled trades and technology education. The event gives students and schools a chance to strut their stuff, as well as opportunities to network with industry, labour and government leaders.

As it turned out, Becky took the bronze medal for architectural design and drafting that night, so she had something to hang up beside the gold medal she’d won earlier at the provincial-level competition (Ontario Technological Skills Competition – OTSC). But first she had to pass an in-house qualifying round.

“When they announced the competition, I decided I’d give it a try,” says Becky. “During the qualifying round I discovered I knew a lot more than I thought I did. It was a great experience for all of us, being able to compete with each other rather than working together the way we normally do. It gave everyone a chance to see what they really knew.”

After Becky and classmate Lyndon Murray placed in the qualifying round, they went to work with Architectural Technology program Coordinator Gary Gerard. “It was like training for a marathon,” says Becky. “He’d give us speed tests – ‘you’ve got 20 minutes to draw this – go!’”

The training sharpened their time-management skills, and helped them realize where they had to focus their energy. The training paid off for both, as Murray scored the silver medal in the provincial competition.

This story is even more remarkable when you consider it was only the second time Fanshawe had sent students to either competition. Becky hopes the School will continue to be involved, and that other students will enjoy the same level of support from staff and faculty she credits for getting her to the national podium.

“Anyone thinking about it should just go for it. You’ll never get another chance to do this – it’s a great way to prove to yourself you can do what you know, and be happy with the work you produce.”

Two medals for Building Technology student Becky Dekleyn

Academic Newsletter Faculty of Technology

Fall 2012

Greetings from the DeanWelcome to the third edition of the academic newsletter. This issue showcases just a few of the stories and people from the Faculty of Technology.

Although I have only been Dean of the Faculty since January, 2012, I have been inspired every day by our compassionate and innovative faculty, staff and students. They are committed to education, both their own and each other’s, and to the community in which we live, learn and work.

Our programs in the School of Applied Science and Technology, Building Technology, and Transportation Technology offer our students opportunities to use the applied and essential employability skills they’ve acquired in the classroom in the real world, whether it is on the job, in regional or national competitions, or in community projects.

In addition, our gifted faculty work hard to develop our students as whole beings, in part by providing them with an outcomes-based education that prepares them for their careers, and in part by nurturing their natural sense of social responsibility so that giving back to the communities in which they live remains an integral component of who they are as people, now and in the future.

Whether it’s through the mastery of the mechanics of cars, trucks or planes, through the design or construction of a structurally-sound and sustainable home, through the development of skills in the science laboratory, or through the participation in an applied research project with an industry partner, our faculty, students and graduates are making a true difference in our community.

If you have any questions about our Schools or programming, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Vertha Coligan Dean, Faculty of Technology

vcoligan@fanshawec.ca

Becky Dekleyn fell in love with technical design in high school, and will graduate from Fanshawe’s Architectural Technology program next year. She’s currently working in her last co-op term at Nicholson Sheffield Architects.

Students at Fanshawe’s School of Building Technology know a lot about building houses, so a volunteer project with Habitat for Humanity was a natural fit.

While Fanshawe’s carpenter apprenticeship students have worked on four local builds for Habitat, last year was the first time construction technology students tackled a home requiring wheelchair accessibility. It was also the first time Fanshawe’s contribution included designing the project as well as building it.

Architectural Technology graduate Joel Foster, who worked with fellow students Ritchie Thomas and Rob Wilkins to design the home, says it was one of the best experiences of his life.

“It was a real eye-opener,” says Foster. “We worked with the accessibility code, of course, but our first design missed all kinds of little barriers we’d never thought of.” The design was revised, removing thresholds between interior and exterior spaces, widening corners to accommodate a large wheelchair’s turning radius, and building an oversized washroom.

“It wasn’t just accommodating the wheelchair either,” says Foster. “It was the type of care the client required. Some days he might have 12 hours of vomiting, so his mother [and caregiver] requested one big bedroom so she could monitor him 24/7.”

But Foster and his colleagues were worried about resale value – they didn’t think one large bedroom would work. So instead they designed two bedrooms with a sliding door between them – giving both mother and son some privacy when required, as well as improving the resale value of the house.

Foster says he learned something important along the way. “Our first instinct is to design what we want, and what we want to see,” he says. “But once you have the client in front of you, all that changes. You see what’s really important is what the client wants, and how you can make it happen.”

And the best thing about the project? “That’s easy. The chance to really make a difference – to change somebody’s life by making things better.”

Habitat for Humanity build life-changing for Fanshawe students

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Manufacturing Engineering Technology diploma leads to mature student’s dream jobOn a warm September day in 2009, Vaughan Scriver walked through Fanshawe’s doors with his 22-year-old son. The son was there to study Police Foundations, but Scriver wasn’t there just to drop off his kid. This former factory worker was finally going after the education his own family hadn’t been able to afford 30 years ago. At 46, he was going back to school.

“I had the grades coming out of high school back in the eighties,” he says. “But back then there was no financing.”

Instead, Scriver did a stint with the Navy, worked as a machinist, drove trucks, managed restaurants, joined construction crews, and eventually wound up on the line at Sterling Trucks. After 17 years at Sterling he was laid off when the plant closed, and he’d also been injured on the job. He figured there had to be a better way to earn a living. So, with the support of a WSIB retraining program and his eye on a management job, he enrolled in Manufacturing Engineering Technology at Fanshawe College.

Three years later Scriver is a new man. He made the most of his time at Fanshawe, throwing himself into campus life and student government, while simultaneously completing accelerated versions of both Manufacturing Engineering Technician and Technologist programs. He finished up with a slew of awards, including the prestigious gold medal for excellence in student leadership from the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC).

Today, after fielding four offers right out of school, Scriver has got the job of his dreams: site supervisor at Ingersoll’s Robinson Solutions. He loves his staff, and they love him.

Scriver says his successful leadership style has a lot to do with coming up through the ranks, but his time at Fanshawe helped even more. “I took a great course in industrial psychology, which really prepared me for managing people. It also prepared me to negotiate my first job offers, so I was able to get an even better deal.”

Scriver doesn’t hesitate when asked to name the top three things about his Fanshawe experience. “No question. The people, the top-notch education, and the whole experience of going to college. Best thing I ever did.”

What’s Scriver’s advice to anyone contemplating a mid-life return to school? “Be prepared – it’s expensive, it’s time-consuming – but it’s so worth it.”

Academic Newsletter Faculty of Technology

(TJ) Ritchie Thomas (Fanshawe graduate), Jim Leslie (faculty member), Solomon Asantey (Acting Chair, School of Building Technology), Dan Douglas (Acting Dean, Applied Research and Innovation), Joel Foster (Fanshawe graduate) and Rob Wilkins (Fanshawe graduate) at the grand opening of the wheelchair-accessible Habitat for Humanity home.

Vaughan Scriver credits his accelerated advanced diploma in Manufacturing Engineering Technology with landing the job of his dreams. The high-achieving mature student earned a slew of awards during his time on campus, established the Adult Learners’ Social Club and served as Student Representative on Fanshawe’s Board of Governors.

Bed bugs. Bad news for hotels, but good business for anyone who invents an effective trap. That’s what a London-based adhesive-coating manufacturer thought. Unfortunately, they couldn’t spare anyone to develop the project. What to do?

Call Fanshawe, that’s what. Thanks to a new capstone-project course introduced last year in the School of Applied Science and Technology, Fanshawe students are ready to take on exactly this kind of challenge.

The semester-long course gives applied science students the chance to integrate everything they’ve learned into one major project. Working in their chosen discipline (which could be electrical, electromechanical and/or manufacturing engineering), students plan, design and execute their final project from beginning to end.

“The industry projects work well for both students and local businesses,” says project coordinator Martin Volkening. “The students use their project management and technical skills in a real-world scenario, and industry partners often end up with valuable new information.”

Last year, students helped a local hand-soap dispenser manufacturer solve a tricky problem. Their hotel soap-dispensers were dripping onto sink basins, which then required extra cleaning by housekeeping staff. The company wanted a way to retrofit their original design to eliminate the “last drip.” The challenge for the students was to solve the problem without altering the original dispenser – the solution had to be “backwards compatible” with the existing design.

“They found a solution,” says Volkening, “and even though the company opted not to implement it, both sides learned something important.”

Another project saw students develop a fully automated greenhouse for the agricultural sector. The final project included a prototype greenhouse with automated temperature, lighting and ventilation systems. The technology was designed to allow end-users to increase tomato yields by using the automation to simulate two days and two nights in each 24-hour period.

“Some students have been a bit daunted by the additional work demanded by the industry projects,”

says Volkening, “but most have seized the opportunity to expand their skills, build their portfolios and make valuable industry contacts.”

The local business community has been very supportive. “In one year the program has grown so much we’ve got 15 projects for students to choose from this semester – and we’ll be looking at more in the future,” Volkening says.

Those choices include street-lighting analysis for the City of London, designing new equipment for a local food-services company, a noise-measurement study for a local window manufacturer – and, of course, the bedbugs.

Applied Science students solve tricky problems for local industry partners

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Academic Newsletter Faculty of Technology

Avionics program poised for growth

Anyone following the March 2012 meltdown of Air Canada maintenance provider Aveos could be forgiven for thinking Canada’s aviation industry is in deep trouble.

Nothing could be further from the truth, says James Mallory, coordinator of Fanshawe’s new Avionics program. “Commercial aircraft make up a fraction of Canada’s avionics landscape,” says Mallory. “The rest of the industry is enormous and very diverse, ranging from commuter aircraft to flight-school planes, along with thousands of helicopters used in everything from logging to fire-fighting.”

According to Mallory, the real crisis in Canadian aviation is a looming shortage of trained maintenance and repair technicians, which is why he jumped at the chance to write a program for Avionics Maintenance for Fanshawe’s School of Transportation Technology.

Launched in 2011, the program doubled its enrollment in 2012. Students learn to repair and maintain the electrical and electronics systems used in aircraft communication, navigation and data systems. After completing a two-year diploma, they go on to a two-and-a-half year apprenticeship. Afterwards, they’re able to apply for their category “E” aircraft maintenance engineer license from Transport Canada.

“It’s a fairly big time commitment,” admits Mallory, “But once they’re licensed there are hundreds of jobs, all paying excellent wages and with good, solid futures.”

Mallory also points out the avionics program has some tough requirements. These include a 95% required attendance rate and a minimum passing grade of 70%. Some students coming straight out of high school have trouble dealing with this level of responsibility, but Mallory shrugs it off. “The requirements are mandated by Transport Canada, so we can’t do anything about them. Besides, you really don’t want someone repairing your aircraft who only knows 50% of their job.”

The Aviation Technician program will expand next year to include training for the “M” class licence, which certifies technicians to do aircraft mechanical work. In the meantime, the current program has already begun changing London’s business landscape. Since the 2011 launch, the City has welcomed two new companies certified to perform avionics repair work, where previously there had been none.

“This was one of the reasons Fanshawe chose to launch this program and it’s working,” says Mallory, “These companies are here now because they see a base of potential technicians they can hire.”

Fanshawe College was recently approved to launch a new aircraft maintenance program for fall, 2013. This two-year diploma program, Aviation Technician – Aircraft Maintenance, will teach students how to test, diagnose and service the mechanical systems of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. The program, open to domestic and international students, will be housed in a newly-created facility located near the airport.

Current co-op student Jonathan Dayus (left) with Research Projects Coordinator Martin Volkening.

A few years ago, transportation technology professor Bruce Wells noticed something. Some of his students – particularly those with learning disabilities – were having trouble grasping the concepts he was demonstrating in the classroom.

What Wells was demonstrating was usually some sort of vehicle subsystem; his curriculum prepares students for careers repairing truck, coach and heavy equipment engines all over Canada. It turned out what these particular students needed was the opportunity to go over the demonstrated material several times. But Wells wasn’t always able to do this.

“Some of the classes are quite large – when there are 20 students in the lab, not everyone gets a close-up view of what I’m doing,” says Wells. “And students who don’t read particularly well have trouble reviewing from text alone.”

So Wells came up with the idea of creating video animations of the various vehicle subsystems (such as braking, electrical and air-conditioning). He reasoned that students could use the videos to go over the material as many times as they needed.

Luckily, there was a grant available through the Accessibility Centre especially earmarked for the study and support of learning styles of learning-disabled students enrolled in apprenticeships. Fanshawe also has the Learning Object Studio – a resource to help teachers develop interactive learning tools.

Working with Steve Torrens and Bruce Moore from the Studio, Wells went ahead and developed a video-animation of the truck/tractor air-brake supply circuit. He posted it on YouTube, and within months it had gone viral – garnering over one million hits. More important to Wells was the fact his students’ marks went up as well.

Since then, Wells, Torren and Moore have developed dozens of similar videos for Fanshawe’s motive-power students, all of which are just as well used.

In 2012, the project was awarded a Community College Impact Award recognizing excellence in teaching with technology. In addition, it was awarded the prestigious McGraw-Hill Ryerson Award for Innovation in Education – an honour that rewards innovative teaching practices that lead to enhanced student learning.

Wells is thrilled with the recognition, and with his students’ success. “Motive power is currently a vastly underserviced area – we simply don’t have enough truck and bus mechanics to go around. I’m glad these videos are helping students prepare for good, stable careers.”

Academic Newsletter Faculty of Technology

Innovative videos help students train for good, stable automotive careers

Bruce Wells (left) and Steve Torrens (right) pose with the multitude of awards they’ve won for developing innovative videos to help train students for automotive careers. Absent from photo: Bruce Moore.

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