Improving Operator Training

"...Our supervisors are responsible to train their new machine operators but, these new people continually quit, perpetuating the turnover. The supervisors say it is because we are hiring people who really don’t want to work. I think it is something else. What should we do to stop the trainee’s turnover?" B.K., Pennsylvania

It is something else and your statement that the "supervisors do the training" gives a clue as to what that something else is. Yours is another classic case of what happens when the motivation principle of satisfying human needs is ignored (for whatever the reason).

A previous "Industry Advisor" article offered some alternatives to hiring "warm bodies" and provided general solutions to machine operator selection, orientation and training. I will now focus only on the training and expand my thoughts to help you retain permanent, dependable, productive and happy organization members.

I know of company leaders who believed they needed to hire new machine operators until I showed them why they did not. I went past the smoke screens and pointed out how they were not doing all they could be doing and should be doing with the people already in their employ. I therefore suggest you first investigate often overlooked areas by asking, for example, have you studied all your job methods in detail? Work studies too often reveal new and improved methods which make operations easier, thereby reducing the need for additional labor. Why hire people if you really don’t need them?

Early turnover is proportionate to many things, among them is the amount of quality attention and training you give new hires early in their employment. Ignore that fact and your early turnover problems will continue. Therefore, effective training of new machine operators (or cross training experienced operators) needs to be done slowly while providing constant help, guidance and encouragement – throughout the learning period. Because of those facts you should rethink having your supervisors continuing the training of new operators. Why not delegate that job to a full-time, capable trainer. Your continuous turnover disqualifies your supervisors as effective trainers.

Your full-time trainer is the key to the training program. I’m suggest you find a "Mother Hen/Coach" personality; someone who willingly likes to help people and always keeps in mind that attitude and a sense of accomplishment is usually the only difference between a good trainee and a poor one. Then further train that trainer.

A good training program such as our renowned ASSETT^© Machine Operator Training Program, should be success-oriented, meaning the program is designed to provide the trainee with positive strokes during every training stage. This helps new machine operators get more job satisfaction while they are learning. To do this each trainee is allowed to progress toward your stated goals at a level that is initially comfortable to them. This is an essential technique and should be a vital part of your thought process.

To ensure success, training should be carried out in an enclosed area called a "vestibule" where up to eight trainees can learn in an atmosphere suitable to learning without disturbance either to or from the normal production unit. Moveable seven foot high partitions should be erected to reduce the self-consciousness of trainees while in the school. Each machine should be equipped with the work aids that will be used on the actual work floor. The Germans are masters in this type of training and have proven its cost-effectiveness. Place all trainees into this vestibule training program and disband your present in-line training. Trainees should graduate from the vestibule once they attain a minimum of 70% to 85% of the production standard for five consecutive days.

It has been shown that the most productive method of teaching is based on; repetition, goals, competition and feedback. While all of these are important, it is necessary to add another explanation to each exercise. A trainee must be told why an exercise is important, why the exercise is performed in a given way and why the exercise must fit into the overall sequence.

The program should be designed to provide, close personal attention during first and most critical days of employment. Professional training programs usually contain about 250 training exercises (an example exercise, used when training industrial sewing machine operators, is shown as Exhibit A). These exercises should cover the four stages of training: Stage 1, devoted to dexterity and the fact that 80% of most jobs is work-handling, rather than operating the machine. Stage 2, devoted to equipment familiarization. Stage 3, devoted to teaching basic skills and control of machines. Stage 4, training on actual materials and products.

In addition to reducing turnover, other goals could be; to reduce the high cost of the make-up – paid to both learners and experienced operators – improve your finished product quality and reduce the number of repairs and seconds. The training concept I recommend is based on two simple principles:

The simpler exercises lead to the more complex and each easily learned segment will be gradually combined by the trainee as s/he becomes proficient. Progress is carefully measured and communicated so the trainee has an intimate knowledge of their continuing progress. To ensure your training program's success it is necessary, for example, that the trainee's instruction should first concentrate on . . .

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