How's Your Training Program?

We don't train, we just try to keep temps from destroying equipment beyond repair. Been working industrial maintenance since the early 1980's and it's always been the same. All employers want to hire experienced personnel, but if you have experience you're overqualified (i.e. you might expect more than $10 bucks an hour). The only thing I see going on is a manufacturer may team up with a community college to put new workers through a crash course training program, but there's nothing like hitting the factory floor to find out that these programs are primarily HR feel good fluff with an iota or two of engineering input. If you want real training, you'll have to get it on your own via OJT. To survive the probationary period when you are basically worthless, do a lot of cleaning. All bosses like that and it will carry you through until you're worth your paycheck.

Hi Blogger,

To your sentence: "Has your company taken training employees into its own hands?"

If not, you will fail rapidly. The company bought equipment following their needs, placed to the right place to be more efficient, the company knows, at least one manager or worker, what and how to work with these equipment to produce what the company sell. This company must train every individual using the equipment the fulliest way possible to get out the best, the fastest way, and at lower cost possible.

Train, train, and train again, Gil.

NB: The most efficient way to obtain the best performing workers, hire people that never worked in the industry you are.

In-Company-training, is a must. But at the same time it tends to repeat the habits that have grown within the workgroup. Not always are all of those habits productive.

We have found that mating in house with supplier or specialist training once a year gave us the best of both worlds. New ideas from outside with specialized methods from in house, gives sharper performance overall.

Hi another Guest,

If you hire people who never worked in your industry, you cannot develop bad habits or you don't teach the right way or the right things to do. Ignorance dictates to act the correct ways by following the teacher. If your workers already used the equipment you have, they will do the way was teached at the first time by someone else, which is not your method. When you hire a bunch of people from the competition, you get the worsth, the good stay at the competitors' place. Also, people don't like changes!

I explain: Do you know how to use equipment? If yes, it's easy to teach people to imitate your movements and actions, and tell people that's the only way to work here. Write down every action. You control the quality and you know what's happening. The results give you the answer about the quality of your teaching. I know, not everyone is a teacher but you put on paper as standard operating procedures, you and your workers can correct to make better performance.

Let us know if it can work at your place, Gil.

Hi Guest,

Use statistical process control, other charts for each worker and you get the answer who does good and who works counter-productive. Correct and/or hire new people to get satisfaction. Your position is in jeopardy, Gil.

Hi Rebuilt,

You have a good answer but the compensation should go to Lee Iaccocca. Who distribute this "good answer" compliments?

Many good answer did not, don't, and will not get any appreciation. Why? Gil.

Yes, I believe you work for a school system. I was first amazed by the lack of training given to maintenance personnel who run the various community colleges. Then I learned many only have one instructor experienced in maintenance repair and operation, and sometime none. Some just use an instructor reading out of out dated books and putting together a course on the fly for a local manufacturer.

But sometimes I run into smart community colleges where they offer their students diversity in maintenance training, not just one instructor's information or lack of. Some also contract experts in particular fields to come in an teach a topic to local manufacturers and to teach the schools own maintenance staff. That happens at our company a lot, community colleges having our instructors come there to teach PLCs to local manufacturers and to the college's actual maintenance staff. (http://www.bin95.com/plc_training.htm)

On these days we (The Company) know the importance of training, because the employees turn over.

We staring on 2010 using Training Within Industry (TWI).

Check more information on the web. it is an good training and standardizations tool.

Hi Freeman,

What's that: "employees turn over"? When you hire people never worked in the industry you are in, they stay to work for you because they learned how to work in your company. Also, you have to handle people the correct way and you get high productivity, guaranteed. I hired, teached people and they are stayed to work, most of the time for me and not for the company because I protected them to work better and better. Don't forget rewards! People and teaching need relationship that is the important.

If you read, and I am not teaching what to do, previous comments, it can help you, your company, and your position in the company, Gil.

Hi Freeman,

Happy New Year!

At place of throwing out money for TWI, which training everyone and everything, buy one or a few books of SHIGEO SHINGO and study them for teaching your workers what and how to do things at your place. It's concentrated on production. Employees turn over comes when your training is made by someone else. You must train your people! It's your responsibility and not use outsiders whom teach everything to everybody. Knowledge is focus on the important needs of you and/or your company.

In "your company", you are the lonely person who knows what to do at "your place", isn't it?

Do it, and let us know the results, Gil.

Dormant.........quiet and inactive, as during sleep......drives me crazy.

One of the first budgets cut during tough economic times is training. Many companies are smarter than that now days. But many also follow the old way blindly out of habit.

But there are ways around it. Here are some ways to help companies afford to maintain a continuous training improvement program.

Seek reimbursement through the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 [WIA - html] administered by each state.

Utilize a Train the Trainer program (send your own in-house trainer to seminars/workshops, to return and teach other employees) not best quality results depending on in-house trainer's own experience and educational skills, but better than none.

Purchase industrial training material for employees (real-world simulation training software, books, training equipment, training videos, etc.) Self learning, learning through experimentation not as good as instructor based training, but better than none.

All three examples have great ROI (Return On Investment)