Online Training Success for Hatch Stamping Co.

June 8, 2022
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Among the beneficiaries of Precision Metalforming Association’s (PMA’s) METALFORM EDU online training program: Hatch Stamping Co. and its 1300-plus associates operating out of 13 manufacturing and technology centers, and warehouses. With operations in Michigan, Tennessee, Mexico, China and Europe, Hatch Stamping supports the automotive industry via the use of stamping presses, weld cells, robots, assembly cells, and wire and tube forming equipment to produce roofing, fuel, chassis, interior, seating, alternative-mobility products, and braking parts and systems to automotive OEMs, Tier Ones and Tier Twos. While its core competency is highly engineered metal stampings, the manufacturer also performs design and engineering, tool and die builds, prototyping, welding, and assembly.

1-Training-Hatch-Stamping-METALFORM-EDU-PMAHaving first used METALFORM EDU courses in 2020, Hatch Stamping purchased an additional 100 seats in April 2021. Online training via METALFORM EDU proved valuable to the manufacturer due to the pandemic preventing an ability to conduct in-person courses, as well as the need to keep employees on shop floors to meet production demands. The need to provide identical training content at multiple locations and cost efficiency, according to Suzanne C. Morrison, Hatch Stamping director of marketing, and Linda Smith, marketing/training coordinator, were driving factors in choosing METALFORM EDU.

“We have employees living and working all over the world, and across various shifts and times of the day,” Morrison says, describing the flexibility that online training available through METALFORM EDU offers. “We needed to find a training alternative to not only sitting people in a classroom but one that provides options for our team. Online options give employees flexibility to fit training into their schedules, whether inside or outside of work. In-class learning doesn't allow that. And, everyone receives the same training, so it’s standardized, unlike what may happen with different instructors conducting training in different locations.”

Of the 100 METALFORM EDU seats purchased last year, 90 have been assigned, with the remainder reserved for use by the Hatch Stamping Quality Team. Thus far, METALFORM EDU courses used by the manufacturer include Supervision/Leadership, Die Setter and Quality as well as miscellaneous courses of interest to employees throughout the organization. In addition, the corporate training team reviews courses for possible inclusion into the established curriculum.

The METALFORM EDU training provides a strong basic overview of concepts and subjects that enables further investigation of related topics, or easy application to current positions, offer Morrison and Smith in assessing the quality of this training and its advantages. Other advantages include standardized training of several individuals, including the same topics and points; the ability for trainees to proceed at their own pace; and the solid content contributed by industry experts, primarily those in the metal forming industry.

2-Training-Hatch-Stamping-METALFORM-EDU-PMAThe variety of training content available through METALFORM EDU also proves beneficial, according to Morrison and Smith, who cite general-business and communications courses tailored to manufacturing environments as an example. Such training provided by in-person methods tends to be more expensive and not conducive to employee work schedules or the variety of locations, they note.

Ease of use makes METALFORM EDU a more effective training option for Hatch Stamping. Even employees that have not had the opportunity to utilize online learning options quickly are able to navigate through the courses.

“We set up a leadership program here, and had to decide what courses to include,” says Smith, providing a real-life example of implementing a METALFORM EDU training program. “We determined what was needed, such as the communication and team-building courses, and then produced a program outline and a timeline for employee completion. We settled on 34 courses, which we divided into two 17-course sections, with about three months allotted for finishing each session.

“We produced a flyer announcing this program, and set up METALFORM EDU user accounts, with emails sent to attendees containing their login information and training links,” Smith continues. “We also included program navigation documents provided by PMA and METALFORM EDU to help the course attendees navigate the course sites. It was straightforward and seamless.”

With its effective use of METALFORM EDU, Hatch Stamping plans to build out more hybrid training, combining METALFORM EDU courses with inhouse content as well as on-the-job and other outside training.

“METALFORM EDU,” concludes Morrison, “provides the flexibility we need—the core concepts and information offered in these courses are very strong, specifically those geared to the metal forming industry.”

Industry-Related Terms: Core, Die, Forming
View Glossary of Metalforming Terms

 

See also: Precision Metalforming Association

Technologies: Training

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