On the road Mobile Training sheds light on safe workplace regulations.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT: SUDBURY

Health and safety is an issue that is ever driving forward, a fact that is literally true for Mobile Training Consultants (MTC), who derive their mobility from a 26-foot, fifth wheel, RV trailer.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In an effort to bring knowledge, training and awareness about workplace health and safety to their clients, Sudbury entrepreneurs Denis Desroches and Marc Ranger have fully refurbished the fifth wheel to suit their educational needs.

"When we were starting out, our premise was that we can take the worker out of a working environment and right into a learning environment without the extra cost of sending the worker to a facility," says Desroches. "There's quite a bit of expense related to that, which we've minimized by bringing our mobile classroom to their site."

The unit has been wired to include such features as presentation and computer capabilities. Up to 14 people have been comfortably hosted within the trailer, and an additional 14-foot slide-out helps to accommodate even greater numbers if need be.

Although the moving classroom is proving to be a rather popular vehicle for delivering seminars and informational sessions on workplace safety, Desroches says that the two-man company also uses whatever facilities are most convenient for the client, including their own 400-square-foot office on Sudbury's Lasalle Boulevard. As MTC's business grows, plans are in place to possibly expand the facility to include a training room, and to hire on additional safety consultants.

Formed in April, Mobile Training Consultants was created when the two founders saw an opportunity to parlay their combined 22 years of safety coordination into a business. Since that time, the two have worked for a wide number of clients, including helping various hospitals and townships to develop a comprehensive set of safety policies and procedures.

"We noticed that things were lacking in the health and safety industry," says Desroches. "Nobody seemed to know their responsibilities with regards to the Occupational Health and Safety Act and that's where we want to bring our services to light."

The company now specializes in a variety of services, including the creation of joint health and safety committees, as well as raising young workers' awareness as...