It is suspended in the air, yet it is rock-solid. It is sturdy, but it already started to run. We are talking about La Pilona, a school with 21 graduates who now, thanks to the education they received at La Pilona, are technicians with the knowledge and hands-on experience needed to operate metrocables in Colombia, today and for years to come.
The company Metro de Medellin along with the Group of Studies in Industrial Maintenance (known by its acronym GEMI in Spanish) of Universidad EAFIT, provided the infrastructure for the training, which was acknowledged in an official ceremony in La Aurora station, line J (San Javier neighborhood) of the cable car system. The school’s name, La Pilona (“pylon”, a tall tower-like structure used for carrying electricity cables) is a reference to the 20 and 40 meter tall towers that support the aerial cable system along the metro lines. It is a small-scale operation for the training and education of industrial maintenance technicians, who periodically conduct tasks within the system.
This place of learning was designed as a solution for aerial-cable experts so that they could exclusively devote their time to the training and development of skills to operate and maintain these types of structures, says the mechatronic engineer José Fernando Osorio Brand, coordinator of GEMI research group. Metro de Medellin training tasks were previously conducted at night when the cable-car system was not open to the public.
“Opening a school is another step we have taken for knowledge management. Hands-on practice for all processes will be possible in La Pilona School, for both; the incoming personnel and those requiring training. It is possible to simulate element assembling and disassembling because all of the components of the cable car towers (Pilonas) are available for use. The school is equipped to practice all activities, from a routine action, such as a pulley changing, to the changing of a rocker arm system which is a more frequent intervention”, says Jorge Ramos López, head of the Department of Areal Cables at Metro de Medellín.
This new training academy, which is now an asset of the transport company, is the result of a project called Laboratory Workshop for Aerial Cable Transport Systems, that was signed in July, 2017 by Metro de Medellin and Universidad EAFIT as part of the agreement of science and technology that allows the sharing of knowledge between institutions.
As a result of the scientific cooperation between the university, the enterprises and the State, the first Laboratory Workshop was delivered in August 2018 to conduct equipment tests and improvements to this type of transport system. This is a unique global model that puts together several subsystems to conform an aerial cable in a single space. As a complement to this agreement, La Pilona was added to the project not only for the training of technicians of the Metro company, but also for the personnel of other systems throughout the country.
“Connecting education, enterprise and the State is so important that it can be said that the development and industrialization of our region depends upon it. This connection is so strong that has lasted for many years. The school has allowed the industry to document and shape knowledge, as well as to solve complex problems. This is why collaborative work with universities has always been considered invaluable”, stated Tomás Elejalde Escobar, general manager at Metro de Medellín.
As part of the project, in addition to the design of the structure and the execution of the civil work, Universidad EAFIT transferred knowledge to a group of 21 new technicians, who will be responsible for the routine maintenance of this system. They were trained to operate the 95 towers that form the network of aerial cables in Medellín.
“It is not only a commitment to the safety and well-being of all commuters, but also to the human talent, it is an application of the knowledge acquired. In La Pilona we can undertake complex tasks in a safe and controlled way, as well as the routine activities related to the operation. The handling and moving of loads requires careful training and studies, and this is a place that allows for the development of these skills and abilities in each one of us”, added the maintenance technician Sergio Zapata, one of the graduates of La Pilona school.
Some of the objectives of the school are to increase the safety, trust and availability of the cable-car transport system. It is estimated that; the commercial operation of the sixth line for the Metro cable will start in the last quarter of this year. It will connect all the Northwest of the Aburra Valley in El Picacho area (Comuna 6).
“The Metro cable is a massive transport system that operates 20 hours a day. Technicians previously only had around three hours at night to practice. Medellín has six aerial cables so; a lot of personnel is necessary to support the operation and maintenance of these systems”, says researcher José Fernando Osorio.
Since its creation in 2000, GEMI Group of EAFIT has conducted applied studies in the transport, energy and mining sectors and is led by Leonel Francisco Castañeda Heredia, who has worked with Metro de Medellin since 2003 to generate new knowledge applied to support aerial cable transport systems. During this process, the group has obtained five patents in Colombia and two in the United States.
“It is not only the building of infrastructure, it is also the generation of accumulated knowledge that will stay in the city. The certification that we granted to 21 new technicians in maintenance and operation of cable cars means the construction of unique social capital, which is a meaningful gain.”, expresses Juan Luis Mejía Arango, rector of Universidad EAFIT, who highlights the certification of the Metro personnel, many of whom are young people who graduated from public institutions.
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Alejandro Gómez Valencia
EAFIT Information and Press
Telephone: 574 2619500 ext. 9931
Emaili: jgomez97@eafit.edu.co