Locking up fab skills at Sask Polytech

Cossette enlisted two students to help him design a plasma-cut placard with the Bike Regina logo that could be affixed to each completed rack.

Student projects are valuable learning tools, especially when the students have a chance to see the results of those projects in a public space; it adds a great sense of pride to see others interact with their work.

For this reason, Saskatchewan Polytechnic (Sask Polytech) has its Fabricator-Welder certificate students complete one project every year that will be out in the public eye.

Over the past few years, students have built firepits for the annual Frost Regina festival in February.

“The festival has several large-scale fire pits we have built for them,” said Joe Cossette, a welding and metal fabrication instructor at Sask Polytech. “We design the firepits and the students cut parts, fixture the parts, and weld them up.”

This past year, however, students got the chance to work on a slightly different project when Bike Regina cold-called the polytechnic to see if students could help build some bike racks.

Boosting Bike Use

Bike Regina is a small advocacy group aimed at supporting and increasing the cycling culture in Regina.

“When the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District (RDBID) started asking us about racks, we started brainstorming who we could get to fabricate them,” said Brandon Wright, a Bike Regina board member. “We had made some racks of the same design ourselves at a friend's farm but knew we didn't have time to make more. We contacted a few weld shops for quotes. The quotes were a little too cost prohibitive and we wanted to offer racks that were comparable to what could be purchased from a large manufacturer. We reached out to Sask Polytech to see if the students needed projects like this.”

Student-Managed Results

Over the course of two months, 13 Fabricator-Welder certificate students manufactured 30 bike racks based off technical drawings provided by Bike Regina. “Students processed the raw materials, developed a plan for fixturing, and created a small assembly line to complete the fitting, welding, and post-weld processing such as sanding and cleaning. They also did quality checks on the projects as they came to completion. This project perfectly aligned with our curriculum for the year,” said Cossette.

Beyond the structural work involved in making the racks functional, Cossette enlisted two students to help him design a plasma-cut placard featuring the Bike Regina logo that could be affixed to each completed rack.

“Our CNC plasma is an older machine and has just been replaced by a waterjet, so I’m really pleased by how the three of us worked on it and set the plasma up properly for the placard,” said Cossette. “The machine cut them all really well, which wasn’t easy. Getting the precision on the machine took a bit of work. You have to take into consideration what's going to be there and what's going to be missing after you do the cuts. Certain letters like Bs, As, and Rs, you have to make bridges and you have to decide what looks aesthetically pleasing when you're doing that so that it doesn't look like somebody just took a set of stencils and spray painted it on. There's a lot of forethought that has to go into that process before you can actually cut it, especially with ‘Regina’ being in cursive.”

The bike racks are meant to encourage cycling in and around the city.

Building Partnerships

Cossette will generally reach out to local organizations if he thinks there might be an opportunity to have his students engage with the community this way.

“All the welder-fabricator students have a year-end project that they complete—usually a smaller backyard firepit or a tool box,” Cossette said. “These extra projects add to that skill set. It helps them learn how to properly finish a job so that when it does go out into the real world and people are looking at it, especially other welders, they are going to notice the finish. You want to make that job as flawless as possible. It gives them that extra sense of pride, and an awareness of that completely different lens others bring to your work.”

Meantime, Bike Regina has a new partner that it can depend on for future projects.

“The new racks that Sask Polytech made this year have only been installed at one private business so far,” explained Wright. “In 2019, we made some racks of the same design which are getting daily use at a local brewery called Pile O' Bones Brewing Company. The reaction to those has been very positive. Our organization is doing as much as we can to promote cycling as a form of transportation. These bike racks are enabling people to ride and feel comfortable leaving their bike securely locked outside at their destination.”

Of the 30 racks the students made, 20 were sold to RDBID and will be installed downtown upon completion of the 11th Ave. rehabilitation project.

“They are currently in storage while the street and sidewalk construction is underway,” said Wright. “They will be installed as the phases are completed over the next four years. We are hoping to sell the remaining 10 racks to any interested local businesses or facility owners that want to offer bike parking. We hope to maintain the relationship with Sask Polytech to produce racks as needed each year.”

The 34-week program gives students their level one equivalent training for metal fabrication and welding.

“We are always looking to grow and have more students come through and fulfill the needs of the market,” said Cossette. “There’s such a shortage of talent in the market, so the more people we can get signed up, the more we can help develop those skill sets in the community. Projects like these bike racks help with that engagement and keep both the students and instructors enthusiastic about the learning process.”

Editor Robert Colman can be reached at rcolman@fmamfg.org.

Bike Regina, bikeregina.org

Saskatchewan Polytechnic, saskpolytech.ca

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