Wolfgang Schoor

I grew up within medium sized farming communities near the city of Bonn, Germany. Having been around work horses since childhood, and working with horses and horse drawn farming machinery as well as motorized equipment, horses and the evolution of mechanisation have played a huge role in my life growing up back in Germany.
As I got older, and had to decide a working career, I decided to become a jockey in the city of Cologne racing stables. After encountering weight issue, I had to make changes and yielded to the opportunity to become a multi-faceted tradesman within the precision wood, metal, building and implement and mold making trades. In other words, if you don’t have it, could not buy it, then we had to make or manufacture it. For me…this still hold true these days.
Later in years, I formally studied equestrian history at the Canadian Lakehead University. The focus of my studies has been to establish the role of horses and machinery within the new world and evolving machinery/ automation in Canada.

Home Town in Germany	Wood&Metal work German Apprentice	‘Fussballer’ Wolfgang	Fine wood work

The first picture above is the topographic view of my home town region and farming communities. The second picture shows Wolfgang as a young Carpenter and Joiner/fine wood and implement work apprentice in Germany. The third picture depicts my involvement in a famous junior league from Germany. The forth picture shows Wolfgang’s fine wood and precision design work. The wagon wheel was designed and built as a light fixture for a truck stop in Ontario.

I am especially interested in the Canadian Horse breed, dating back to 1700 something, where the French King, Louis XIV, imported a number of horses from his herd to new France… now the province of Quebec. These horses became the breeding stock to establish meaningful relationships between communities into what later became Canada as we know it now. These horse types later influenced other horses breeding stock throughout North America and became known as the …’Little Iron Horse ‘.

Another breed of horses I have an interest in, are Spanish mustangs, who still roam in the wild in the western part of British Columbia and the north western United States. These horses’ types have also helped within the introduction of horses into the north American continent as a whole.

The Cayuse which is a North American wild or tame horse descended from horses taken to the new world by the Spanish in the 16th century, although its ancestry has been difficult to establish with certainty it is thought to have descended from Spanish Barb horses and cross bred from horses from France which had been imported. The Cayuse is notable for its combination of speed and endurance.  There is a new theory with the development based on modern day DNA testing techniques…these horses may have been introduced from Russia by way of Alaska. These horses’ types have helped with establishing livable winter cities of the Canadian west. Most recently, I am intrigued to learn about the… ‘Yakut’s’, a winter hardy breed which may have been introduced to Canadian West from Russia.

Spanish Mustang Mare Isabella	Quaterhorse Gelding Goldy	Thoroughbred Mare June	Wolfgang trick-riding with Goldy

30 or so years ago, in Canada, the workforce within the building construction industries needed reliable motorized means of travel, to and from work places, because of the vast distances, harsh weather conditions, and minimal opportunity for public transportation to get too and back home from work. As a result, I have had the pleasure of owning and working on many great, and some not so great cars, used and new trucks and motor cycles….as well as some guitars….

… one of such great cars was, an 1958 Austin Healy, a 1952 ½ Chevy, a 1956 Dodge Lancer, a 1959 Ford Mercury, a 1964 Falcon, a 1964 Ford F350, a 1965 Ford Galaxy 500, other various trucks and vans, such as the 1974 orange camper Westphalia, from the major north American and foreign car manufactures such as my wife’s car, a Vauxhall, and other vehicles from the 70’s, 80’s 90’s 2000 and so on…I must mention, out of necessity, I fixed misused guitars to make them playable, until I was able to buy a new one for myself…wow.

1958 Austin Healey	1974 VM Westfalia Camper	1977 Hercules Motor Cross	Acoustic ‘Maya’ Guitar

Most vehicles I bought where misused vehicles, as a consequence, I ended up doing a lot of learning, reverse engineering and a lot about fixing cars, trucks, motorcycles and other mechanical devices. The guitar in the picture is a …’Maya’…acoustic guitar, bought in Haney BC with all my savings at the time…I still have it and sometimes play it. There where times this Maya guitar was my best friend, it allowed me to measure how I felt. Wow…

In order to earn a sustainable and honorable living in Canada and being an accomplished tradesman from Germany, I achieved proficiency as a Carpenter & Joiner Tradesman, Carpenter Foreman and Construction Supervisor in Canada. The following pictures are a handful sample of my involvement within the construction industry as a whole.

I reside at Villa House Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, which has been my home base for over 30 years…while working and studying all over different places.

I have retained my love for the building sciences, architectural and engineering designs, and…sometimes, if there is time to play my guitar… and of course my love for horses. The pictures above are of my home base-home office named…‘Villa House’… for the last 30 years, which is an ongoing self-funded research project to create and quantify an ergonomics based social and physical living environment in terms of building, civility and people performance, with an eye to: sustainability, usability, livability and affordability. Most of my work here at Villa House was done between jobs. This research project is now completed, and some of the outcome of my research has become published works. While currently I don’t own a horse, I intend to sooner then later own horses of all sorts… again.

For more recent updates and information, please visit the Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/WolfgangErgonomosSchoor/photos
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Supervisor, Consultant, Design Manager and Tradesman

My learning and multi functional focus have a broad base. This multi-talent focus has been the ingredient and catalyst to master many approaches to safe work and healthy living allowing me to become a professional that has developed business user friendly capabilities through both educational and practical experience for more than 35 years. I am very proficient when it comes to safety, cost control, and quality.

I can declare with certainty, that my skill set ranges from the traditional merchant and trade craft guilds roots to our now highly technologically advanced building construction processes along with its commercialization. I have learned to look back from time to time and realize, this traditional learning process still yields added value on many occasions. If you think my experience can add value to your project, please let me know… I will gladly explore the associated potential of mutual benefits.

Click Here to learn more about my experience and qualifications.

Inventor/ Product Developer

German-born “…socially conscious inventor…” holds registered patents, industrial designs, registered trademarks and copy rights in Canada and the United States for construction tools, engineered lumber and building systems, life safety systems related to fire free cooking. He can help others with managing and developing their ideas from concept to product.

Click Here to view the article “Socially Conscious Inventor”

Ergonomist… with a focus of built and construction environments

He formally studied at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo Ontario; the Lakehead University; Thunder Bay Ontario, and, Confederation College of Applied Arts and Technology in Thunder Bay Ontario; main focus of studies where and still are…history, technology transfer, construction technology, human factors, biomechanics and system design engineering related to ergonomics, which is the body of knowledge that deals with human abilities, human limitations and other human characteristics that are relevant to design… Wolfgang Schoor applies this knowledge to tools, systems, tasks and construction jobs for safe, comfortable and effective human use. Professional Memberships as Ergonomist: 1) Canadian Ergonomists Association; 2) Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of California, USA,.

Click Here to learn more about Ergonomic Health and Safety.

Villa-House

Has been Wolfgang’s Thunder Bay’s home-base since 1988. It is operated as a multi-use residential rental business, has features within the frame work of an applied science. Wolfgang has conducted research in building performance and its relationship to people behavior.

Click Here to learn more about the Villa House.