Page 25 - MetalForming December 2011

McGregor Metalworking\Workforce Development
www.metalformingmagazine.com MetalForming/December 2011
Tod Kuss performs maintenance on a robotic manipulator at OSMI Engineer- ing. (Photo by Brock Cox)
thing unique in manufacturing—col- lege credits. Graduates of the com- pany’s Pay for Skills program receive 40 credit hours, to be used toward an Associate of Technical Studies cer- tificate or a degree in Manufacturing Operations at nearby Clark State Community College.
Training Staff Provides Individual Instruction
While McGregor Metalworking embraces employee training and workforce development, many other companies shy away from the prac- tice, fearful of spending time and money on employees only to see them take their valuable company- paid skills and head elsewhere. That is the wrong approach.
“The one thing worse than train- ing someone and having him leave is not training someone and having him stay,” says Roger Sigman, one of two full-time training coordinators at McGregor Metalworking.
Sigman and Dave Buxton, the firm’s other training coordinator and a special projects manager, handle Pay for Skills training for some 50 employees, primarily at the Morgal and Rose City facilities. As training coordinator, Buxton provides training in his area of expertise, metal-stamp- ing presses, as well as satellite processes. In press operator train- ing, Pay for Skills begins with an introduction to the process, including how the pathways and levels work,
how pay rises with each training level achieved and how trainees can accomplish skill-level increases.
“From there we allot about an hour per week per student for for- malized training,” Buxton explains.
Trainers work with trainees until each lesson has been mastered—no one fails.
“Training start and finish lines are the same,” Buxton says, “but the time taken to reach the finish line can dif- fer for each associate.”
Adds Jeff Powell, Ohio Stamping & Machine general manager and one of the developers of McGregor Metal- working’s Pay for Skills program, introduced in the mid-1980s: “As associates climb the training ladder, our Pay for Skills program ensures that everyone is trained to the same level of expertise and performs tasks in the same manner.”
Completion of Level One Pay for Skills training is a requirement for employment, but associates don’t have to continue with succeeding levels.
“We strongly urge associates to continue the training,” says Sigman. “Refusing to participate is factored into retention decisions, and carries greater weight than seniority.”
Why would associates abandon training and forgo the opportunities it provides?
“Some associates are intimidated by the educational process,” says Pow- ell. “They fear formal education and testing, and fear failure. We explain that with our system you can’t fail.”
Pay for Skills demands commit- ment on the part of the associate, and the company continuously shows its commitment, even in tough times.
“2009 was a terrible year for man- ufacturing and a terrible year for us,” recalls company chairman Dan McGregor. Noting that in 2009 the company did not realize a profit, McGregor says that it invested 9025 hours in training at a cost of about $175,000.
“We had to reduce staff,” McGre- gor continues, “but we still invested in our remaining associates when
manufacturers were just cutting. We made sure we were ready for 2010 and beyond.”
McGregor, in fact, was ready for 2010, and the investment in associ- ates has been remarkable. Consider that in 2009, the company had 223 employees. By 2011 the roster had expanded to 353.
Workforce Development Pays Dividends
The benefits of a higher-skilled workforce has boosted business at McGregor Metalworking, and proved that training and success go hand-in- hand.
“For years we have been making parts for one of our fitness-industry customers,” says Dan McGregor. “In 2008, some of our associates visited the customer’s facility and witnessed construction of a treadmill frame, and learned how to produce the assembly more efficiently. Over the course of 18 months we worked with that customer to redesign the tread- mill base as a weldment rather than as several parts bolted together. Nor- mally, to produce this assembly we would have stamped parts at Ohio Stamping & Machine and Morgal, and transfer the parts to Rose City for welding. The redesign, however, con- sisted of more than 50 parts and a final assembly weighing 140 lb. So
“As associates climb the training ladder, our Pay for Skills program ensures that everyone is trained to the same level of expertise and performs tasks in the same manner,” says Jeff Powell, general manager of Ohio Stamping & Machine and one of the developers of McGregor Metalworking’s Pay for Skills program.