Autry Technology Center student Hunter Ehlers, Jerry Williams from Whitton Supply Co. in Oklahoma City, Lindell Newman, owner of Pioneer Construction, and Lyle Phillips, president of the Enid Home Builders Association, unload one of the two SawStop table saws being donated to the construction program at Autry in Enid. Courtesy photo
Editor’s note: This article was published in the Nov. 20 editions of The Journal Record business newspaper
Copyright © 2015 The Journal Record
ENID (JR) – The Enid Home Builders Association donated two SawStop table saws, as well as extra supplies necessary to accessorize the table saws, to Autry Technology Center’s Construction program.
The donation is valued at around $7,000.
“The Construction program at Autry is valuable to our community because it is producing our future workers,” said Lindell Newman, owner of Pioneer Construction and past president of the Enid Home Builders Association. “If these kids don’t have skills they will not be prepared for the workforce.”
SawStop saws sense electrical conductivity within the human body with a detector that is on the blade. This allows the saw to stop and the motor to power off in less than five milliseconds, according to SawStop. This table saw also rolls and can move from site to site, which helps with speed of construction.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2013, table saws injure more than 67,000 people each year. In the construction industry, table saws are used daily and by multiple people. Most students that enter the Construction program at Autry for the first time have never seen a saw and are unaware of the proper way to use one.
“This piece of equipment is the best of the best,” said Jeff Clark, Construction instructor at Autry. “I can take this saw to the site, which I couldn’t do with the old equipment. This is what the students will encounter in the workforce and we will prevent injuries as well.”
Lyle Phillips, president of the Enid Home Builders Association, taught at Autry as the construction instructor for 31 years. He understands the need for up-to-date technology and tools for the students.
“There are so many advancements that will continue to occur,” Phillips said. “Before we were using hand saws and sharpening them every night. Now, one man can do so much more which is more efficient. We want to make sure our future workforce is prepared.”
It is not only the technology but also the instructor that helps produce the best workers, according to Newman.
“(Clark) is an inspiration to these kids,” said Newman. “He is bringing the future forward. We are really having trouble finding help and (Clark) is teaching and producing the people we need.”
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