One of Pro Mach’s divisions uses a written exam as part of its new machine training program, and I wondered how machine operators reacted when faced with taking a written test. After reviewing a sample exam for a Wexxar/BEL case former, I became even more curious about operator reaction. The nine page exam, complete with schematics, looked like it came right out of a technical college course. What happened to operators if they failed?

Peter Zepf, director of service and HR, Wexxar/BEL, started the written exam process at this Pro Mach division. Zeph said the exams are assessment tools that enable the instructor to determine how well each person in the training session understood the overall process and key parameters of operating the machine, not the pass/fail tests I imagined. Zepf added that Wexxar/BEL PMMI certified trainers review every incorrect answer with the test taker and ask the person to explain the process used to arrive at the response. The trainer helps the operator grasp the internal logic of the machine and the thought processes for arriving at the correct interpretation and answer. Trainers do that with every person in the group.

Doesn’t that take a lot of time? “A lot less time than a service call,” Zepf says. He said that most operators don’t mind the written exam. In fact, after completing the course and receiving their certificates most graduates feel a sense of pride in their mastery of a state-of-the-art packaging machine.

Some end users report consistently fast changeover, while others say machine uptime is high and service calls are low compared to packaging machines supplied by companies that offer less stringent training. One end user submitted the Wexxar/BEL training materials to a State agency and the cost of the training was reimbursed from a workers’ improvement fund. Zepf said that in some instances end users retain the course materials and exam and train new operators themselves.

Here’s the question: Are you satisfied with the overall quality of training provided by machine builders? Vote yes or no. I welcome your comments.

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I am a firm believer in the role of certification to help people take their experience to an industry recognized level of expertise. I’ve found that those who earn certification have a profound feeling of accomplishment and conduct themselves with a noticeably higher level of professionalism.

If a person is going to train others on the use of equipment, earning a training certification is especially important. The reason is that knowledge of a technical subject is no guarantee that a person can effectively teach a diverse group of adult learners about that subject. In fact, some of the most technically astute people I know should be kept as far away from a classroom as possible. They are simply poor communicators.

The PMMI trainer certification helps ensure that an individual knows how to create an environment conducive to learning as well as teach others rather than merely presenting them with information. Here are some of the skills that a candidate must master to become a PMMI certified trainer:

• Assess training needs (and pre-training needs) and address them with customers
• Facilitate the learning experience by using a variety of training techniques
• Provide user-friendly aids: checklists, performance checks, and troubleshooting guides
• Customize a training plan specifically to meet the needs of adult learners
• Work through cultural and generational differences
• Identify the training/learning “gaps”
• Measure performance goals
• Evaluate the training return on investment
• Develop a realistic follow-up and ongoing training plans

Two of these bullets stand out for me: Customize a training plan specifically to meet the needs of adult learners; Work through cultural and generational differences. Everyone learns in slightly different ways and if the trainer doesn’t have a clue about how to tailor the information or discern who thrives by reading, listening, viewing, or hands-on teaching methods then the effort can’t be as effective as it might be. One size does not fit all.

No one wants a poor training experience, not management, not line personnel. Poorly trained workers can’t maintain optimum uptime and overall equipment effectiveness, not to mention ensure that quality standards are met, minimize waste, and know how to safely operate equipment.

Here’s the question: Do you prefer that OEMs have their trainers certified to the PMMI standard? Vote yes or no. I welcome your comments.

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A customer called us recently to say the machine we installed a month prior had run smoothly at peak throughput and then suddenly started having real problems. We rushed out a service technician and within 15 minutes the machine was back up to speed. The problem was that an operator had forgotten how to make a particular adjustment that he’d been taught during training at start up. This experience with the customer drove home the point that one training session at start up is simply not enough for most operators. People do not retain all the key facts of operating a machine after a single introductory session.

Over the years, we’ve found the optimum schedule for learning to be an introduction at the plant during start up, a follow up session the next day, and a third time a week later. Most of the training is done at the customer’s plant between the supplier technician and the customer’s staff. If the training can be at the supplier facility, the result would be greater. If that sounds like too much training, compare it to the alternative in machine downtime and lower than expected throughput.

Obviously, time spent away from the plant is difficult to arrange because staffs are so lean. Training at the supplier facility, however, provides the optimum learning environment because personnel are not distracted by day-to-day responsibilities. Try the three-step approach to training for a few pieces of critical equipment and then compare the operational results to other lines at the plant where training was limited to one session at start up. I believe you will find a significant difference in productivity between the two methods.

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