Page 31 - MetalForming January/February 2022

processes and people for consistently producing quality parts.”
Core Competence
Knapheide employs some 900 peo- ple on the shop floor, 70 percent of who perform welding operations across three shifts using inverter-based gas- metal-arc-welding (GMAW) power sources, stationary RW machines and six hand-held RW guns.
The company established an internal welding program in 2001 to train employees on the science of welding, so they could better understand prob- lems and how to solve them. As senior personnel continue to retire, the original 24-hr. training program has expanded to two full weeks of training. Given today’s hiring challenges, training becomes more essential and is in fact mandatory for all potential operators, regardless of extent of welding experi- ence. Prospects are hired for their prom- ising work ethic and team-oriented atti- tude, but they usually need to learn RW mechanical skills and related technology.
“About 30 percent of our training is classroom-driven, with the balance hands-on,” says Murry. “At the end of the training program, the student-employees develop and build actual products off of the assembly line with no pressure to meet specific productivity goals. That way, when they get to the shop floor we know they have the required skillset. We supply everything trainees needs except for their steel-toed boots.”
Meeting the Need
After implementing a successful GMAW training program, Murry earned responsibility for RW training, which had been managed by the manufac- turing department. After spending con- siderable time exploring available train- ing curricula, Murry realized that nothing met Knapheide’s needs. He jumped at an invitation to participate in the development of the AWS CRWT training, attending AWS committee
meetings and providing 13 company employees to take a beta test exam.
“We wanted training that would help us develop our inhouse training pro- gram, as well as training for our welding team so that they could train our oper- ators,” says Murry. “In addition, we want-
Fabrication: Resistance-Welding Training
Knapheide Manufacturing Co. senior welding specialist Lane Sparrow (right) discusses results of a spot-peel test with resistance-welding machine operator Dan Smith. Sparrow recently earned the Certified Resistance Welding Technician credential from the American Welding Society.
ed to learn how to troubleshoot equip- ment, write our own weld schedules and understand such things as the differ- ences between welding stainless steel and galvanized steel. After our team completed the CRWT seminar in August 2021, I can confirm that the course did an outstanding job of covering all of the information that we need to succeed.”
Ray Michelena, senior seminar instructor, SME, CRWT for T. J. Snow,
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