Page 31 - MetalForming May 2012

Roll Forming Corporation\Workforce Development
from that 2001 recession, RFC set forth a growth strategy based on benchmarking its large OEM cus- tomers—companies Leathers calls “number-one companies in their individual markets.” The hit list includes Boeing, Herman Miller, Steelcase, John Deere and Caterpillar, “all of which run very effective man- ufacturing operations,” says Leathers. “We took best practices from each and applied that knowledge to build our own continuous-improvement (CI) program.”
To emphasize his commitment to CI, Leathers adds:
“In manufacturing, we do two things, launch new products or work on CI. And if you’re not doing either, you’re missing the boat.”
While a lot of manufacturers talk a good CI game, RFC put some prover- bial meat on the bones by developing a gain-sharing program that moti- vates employees to take ownership of their processes, and work each and every day on CI. The company devel- oped an algorithm that it runs monthly against contributions from measurables such as scrap and cycle- time reduction, throughput, prof- itability and quality. It nicknamed the gain-sharing program STEPS— Successful Team Effort Provides Sat- isfied Customers.
Quarterly STEPS bonuses are awarded based on the measured suc- cesses from CI initiatives. Since the CI program launched in 2003, quar- terly bonuses (equally distributed to every employee) have increased by 95 percent. RFC’s goal is to double current bonuses in the next three years.
What’s allowed the company to make such a radical jump in how it rewards its employees? “What we learned about 4 years into the pro- gram, when results had plateaued,” says Leathers, “is that you have to continuously improve the continu- ous improvement program.”
How has CI—and more succinct- ly—CI of CI—affected overall com- pany performance?
RFC Expands its Pay for Skills Programs
Roll Forming Corp. launched its Pay for Skills Roll Operator Training Program in the 1990s and has since enrolled more than 50 operators in the pro- gram. Twenty-eight of the firm’s 43 roll operators currently are enrolled in the program, seven of which are master operators.
“We want our operators to progress,” says train- ing facilitator Patty Sweasy, “but we don’t force it. And when we do get our operators into the pro- gram, retention rate is very high. Once operators enter the program and identify a career path, they rarely, if ever, leave us.”
Roll operators progress from trainee, with an
average starting pay of $12/hr., to apprentice, quali-
fied, certified and master levels. Training courses
required to jump from trainee to apprentice focus on
mill setup and preset, with additional coursework in
coil changes and welding, mill maintenance and
feeder operations, among other topics. Trainees
work in production for 9 to 15 months before they
can test up to apprentice, at which point they earn
approximately a 20-percent pay increase. Apprentice
training then features several hours of statistical-process-control coursework, plus courses in troubleshooting and advanced setup. After another 12 to 18 months on the floor, apprentice operators are ready to test as qualified operators, and earn another 15 to 20 percent pay increase.
Qualified operators become eligible to test as certified operators after substan- tial coursework in geometric dimensioning and tolerancing and PPAP. They also take a train-the-trainer course. After another 1 to 2 yrs. in the plant, they can test as certified operators, and then begin to work toward becoming a master operator.
Roll Machine Operator Pay for Skills Program
Level
Trainee
Apprentice
Qualified
Certified
Typical Coursework to Move to Next Level
Setup, preset, coil changes, maintenance, feeder operations
SPC, troubleshooting, advanced setup
GD&T, PPAP, train-the trainer course
Feeder programming, root-cause analysis, corrective actions
Coursework to rise to master operator, of which there are 10 at RFC’s three Shelbyville plants, involves advanced training in feeder programming, tooling and process development and in root-cause analysis and corrective actions. Becoming a master operator also requires completion of CI, root-cause/corrective-action, and new-job tryout projects, without assistance.
“We expect our master operators to move around the shop as needed,” says Sweasy, “to troubleshoot, mentor and train our other operators.”
The program has been so successful that RFC has mimicked it in other skill areas. For example, in 2000 it launched a pay-for-skills program in tool and die apprenticeship. Nine of the 13 employees that work in the tool-and-die depart- ment have completed this program, and another employee is two years into the training. In 2009 the company launched a similar program in laser welding that now includes 15 operators, and in 2011 it initiated pay-for-skills program for quali- ty technicians that boasts eight participants.
www.metalformingmagazine.com MetalForming/May 2012
Time Spent in Plant to Move to Next Level
9-15 months
12-18 months
1-2 yr.
1-2 yr.
“We expect our master operators to move around the shop as needed,” says training facilitator Patty Sweasy, “to troubleshoot, mentor and train our other operators.”
Pay Progression
20% raise as an apprentice
15-20% raise as
a qualified operator
15-20% raise as
a certified operator
15-20% pay raise as a master