February 2008 Edition
CONTROLLING INTEREST
Randy Pearson
Siemens Energy & Automation
Company Folklore has its Place, but Formal Training Profits Everyone
Knowledge passed down from veterans to newbies is a valuable resource in a shop, but formal training through technical schools and equipment suppliers has an impact on profits for both the shops and shop equipment manufacturers
Tribal knowledge has a place in the world
of machine shops. Those with hands-on experience dealing
with sophisticated controls, drives, and setup devices, as
well as the quality-checking instruments in their shops, are
invaluable sources for knowledge and practical
problem-solving strategies.
When these "shop elders" talk to the next generation of
machinists, they are talking to the workers they were a generation ago. Despite
advancements in computer technology and the ways young people sometime occupy
their time — playing video games instead of reading Modern Applications News,
for example — there's one special characteristic of all machinists: The need,
maybe even the passion, to use a tool to make something. By imparting the how-to
knowledge from one generation to the next, machinists of all types have
prospered throughout the centuries.
Training offline, whether at a vocational technical school, on-site at a shop, or in a manufacturer's educational facility, always pays off
Undervalued
Today there is another source of knowledge and it's one that
far too often is a low priority at many shops. It's the training offered by
vocational technical schools, machine tool builders, and the manufacturers of
the sophisticated computer controls.
Good training often occurs when one operator shows another
how something can get done better, faster, and with more efficiency. It is also
true that the best training requires parallel simulation of a CAD program
operation, workpiece setup, machine cycle, or tool change strategy outside the
envelope of the shop's work cell.
Offline instruction can be, and often must be, a precursor to
the startup of an operator's work life. For a shop owner to think this activity
is a low priority means the shop will be at a competitive disadvantage in the
future.
The closer training is to reality, the easier the transition to the shop floor and the sooner the payoff
The fact is that technology is ramping up at an accelerating
rate and that's-the-way-we've-always-done-it won't work anymore. It's been
documented that shops can realize a 20 percent or better improvement in their
performance, from the first part, when a machine tool and its controls are used
properly and to their full advantage.
Likewise, the control suppliers and machine tool builders, by
supplying the vocational technical schools and their own training facilities
with the latest technologies, can improve their own bottom lines with better
machine operators who are brand-loyal to CAD and other shop technologies.
The industry must realize that training is not a cost, it's
an investment. It's an investment we all need to make if the industry is to
remain solvent in the U.S.
Randy Pearson is the Siemens sales support manager for U.S.
dealers and OEMs. His special interest is the training aspect on CNC machine
tools.
What do you think?
Will the information in this article increase efficiency or save time, money, or effort? Let us know by e-mail from our website at
www.ModernApplicationsNews.com or e-mail the editor at
pnofel@nelsonpub.com.