Page 39 - MetalForming June 2009

Excellence in Safety...continued
Trans-Matic Manufacturing Co.
Trans-Matic also underwent a process to reintroduce basic safety rules. Employees, team leaders, managers and executives became fully immersed in safety-policy development. The revised policy was presented to all employees in the Safety Policy Handbook. Other communication tools evolved as well. The safety manager attends daily pro- duction meetings at least three times a week to discuss safety measures, policy changes and emerging trends. Trans- Matic also produced a 5-Minute Safety Talk document to provide safety-train- ing information to employees, safety bulletins to update the company on any safety issues that arise, and safe work instructions.
Training styles expanded from class-
room-style lectures with large class sizes, to individualized training in a private office. Equipment operators view train- ing materials, take written tests and receive evaluations on power-equip- ment operation.
In 2005, Trans-Matic dismantled its large safety committee in favor of small- er work teams assembled for specific projects and issues. In 2008, the firm established a safety steering committee of 12 employees, including an appren- tice, toolmakers, team leader, managers, and administrative and executive team members. The safety steering commit- tee is preparing Trans-Matic for the Michigan OSHA MVPP Star Award application and OHSAS 18001 certifi- cation. The committee also continues to
identify ways to increase and improve employee involvement.
Trans-Matic’s program has yielded excellent results, as reportable injuries have continued to decline over the last several years and now are 20 percent below industry averages. From 2005 to 2008, Trans-Matic reduced its OSHA- recordable incidence rate by 65 per- cent and its DART incidence rate by 92 percent.
The Pitcher Insurance Agency Safety Award, sponsored by Pitcher Insurance Agency, Chicago, IL, acknowledges either an effective comprehensive safety pro- gram or a specific innovative idea in the context of an effective safety program. Trans-Matic Manufacturing will receive a $1500 cash prize.
Clay, was recognized for developing a standardized training program for all automatic press operators (APOs). The goal of this program was to develop a way to formally train press operators (below) given that the company had grown and was unable to keep up with hiring quali- fied APOs, and that press
technology employed by the company had increased in complexity. The pro- gram also stemmed from Pridgeon & Clay’s business strategy that included standardizing the way the company runs its presses and trains its employees.
Excellence in Training and Education
The Minster Machine Company; Pridgeon & Clay
The Minster Machine Company, Min- ster, OH, and Pridgeon & Clay, Grand Rapids, MI, have been named cowinners of the 2009 A.R. Hedberg Training and Education Award.
Minster was honored for its Future Workforce Development Initiative, cre- ated in response to the need for a high- er-skilled workforce to meet market demands for innovation and technolo- gy advances and the need to replace a retiring senior workforce. The initiative targeted two areas of the company: engineering and OEM assembly.
To pursue and develop engineering talent, Minster directed its efforts toward trainee engineering programs (part-time high school), intern oppor- tunities (early-college summer work terms) and co-op opportunities (advanced-college work terms).
Given Minster’s senior workforce in the OEM assembly area, the company formed an apprentice program to stop the loss of skills and actually increase the overall skills in this area. The program consisted of six major phases: general training, crown cell assembly, bed/ upright cell assembly, clutch cell assem- bly, slide cell assembly and final cell assembly. The company tracks class-
room and hands-on apprentice training, (above) and each apprentice must pass all evaluation tests. New apprentices enter the program yearly and receive continuous training for 30 months, at which time they become fully trained machine-tool builders.
The OEM assembly program has become a pilot for other programs within Minster, including service technician, machine- tool builder, welding, pre- cision machinist, mecha- tronics, remanufacturing and foundry-molding apprentices.
The other cowinner of the award, Pridgeon &
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