Engineering co-op student Matthew Gougeon poses with the MineMaster Commander.
By Chris Carniello
After 36 years in business, Tracks & Wheels Equipment Brokers Inc. took on one of the most extensive projects in company history - an underground mining personnel vehicle called MineMaster Commander. The creation of this vehicle in fall 2016 required extensive manpower, experience and knowledge to complete, and 3B Systems Design Engineering co-op student Matthew Gougeon was on the frontlines.
“My official title at Tracks & Wheels was engineering co-op student, but I had the opportunity to work across the organization with a few different teams on different projects,” explains Gougeon. “The majority of my work was directly with the engineering department helping with electrical designs and programming controllers for the vehicles.”
The MineMaster Commander is a state-of-the-art new class of underground mining personnel carrier. “I worked, with the support of the engineering department, to move forward the technical design and prototype build of a small electric vehicle,” explains Gougeon. “The majority of my work revolved around refining an existing design in terms of electrical components, and integrating systems on the vehicle.”
Working for a company that is at the forefront of innovation, Gougeon credits his academic background for his work-term success. “I find that academic knowledge helps me make more informed decisions about my work, and allows me to build defensible recommendations around my decisions and opinions,” says Gougeon. “It has been very helpful in preparing me for my work term.”
