“Full Job Mastery” means “Maximum Worker Capacity” – A Verifiable Model for Measuring and Improving Worker Value While Transferring Valuable Expertise 

By Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

It is no secret that with the traditional model of “vocational” education, the burden of the job/task-specific skill development falls on the employer. It is not economic feasible nor practical for educational institutions to focus content for every job area for every employer. So they, instead, focus rightly on core skills and competencies – relying on the employer to deliver the rest. This is where the best efforts of local educational institutions and training providers begin to break down even if highly relevant to the industry sector.

Employers rarely have an internal structure for task-based training of their workers, so even the most aggressive related technical instruction efforts erode against technological advances as every month passes. If core skills and competencies mastered prior to work are not transformed quickly into tasks the worker is expected to perform, the foundation for learning task performance may crumble through loss of memory, loss of relevance or loss of opportunity to apply them.

Retiring Workers and the Tragic Loss of Intellectual Property and Value

According to Steve Minter in an IndustryWeek Magazine article on April 10, 2012, “Only 17% of organizations said they had developed processes to capture institutional memory/organizational knowledge from employees close to retirement.” Who is going to train their replacements once they are gone? Would the learning curve of replacement workers be as long and costly as the retiree’s learning curve? Would operations be disrupted and, if so, to what level?

Eroding Organizational Capacity: The “Unstructured, Haphazard and Ad Hoc Task Training Effect”

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

If you work long enough for a variety of employers, there is one theme that seems to run common to all – the lack of structure to the all important job-based training that one would expect. Often we are shown our workstation, introduced to the area manager and then we wait for some guidance and training for what is expected of us. Sometimes we wait in vain. Sometimes we are subjected to bits and pieces of information and take it upon ourselves to make sense of them rather than wait.

None of our core skill bases and work-based task mastery history are, alone, sufficient enough to substitute for the need to know the best practices for performing the tasks for which the new employer hired us. If an employer hires a new employee not having a structure to quickly transfer job expertise from the incumbent experts to the new-hire, it is fair to say this runs counter to good business practices and economic principals. Yet unstructured, haphazard and ad hoc task training is the norm.

Regional Workforce Development Partnerships That Enhance Economic Development Efforts

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

Most area economic development goals are simple; expand the tax base so revenue is available to maintain and sustain the local socio-economic system. Strategies to accomplish this may differ but often include adding to the employment base of the community and/or region, since an effort to expand consumption – mandatory and discretionary – produces a “multiplier effect” as money circulates through the community. This goal can be reached by local and state governments offering tax abatement, cash and/or infrastructure improvements to companies seeking to relocate, or which are in an expansion mode. At least that was the simple vision of economists past.

It is fairly a proven fact, however, that in the past two decades the results of these tactics have become mixed as large corporations became larger and used their clout to seek incentives and cheap labor throughout the world. Commitments to local communities providing the incentives often evaporated faster than the ink on the documents dried, and corporations hopped from state to state, country to country, upsetting the stability of local tax bases, economies, communities and regions.

Vocational Training in High Schools – A Model the United States Should Revisit and a Lesson From the Past

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

I know this dates me, but in high school in the 1970’s I participated in a very good vocational electronics program. It was 2 ½ years in length and was conducted in addition to the traditional high school curriculum. I felt fortunate to attend and complete the program, as did my friends who were enrolled in electronics and the other craft training programs such as automotive, drafting (precursor to CAD-CAM), metalworking, welding and woodworking. Each one of us in the vocational electronics program went on to achieve higher degrees and/or successful careers after receiving our certificate of completion at graduation.

“…my point is this and begs the question every technical school graduate asks themselves even today, ‘How can I be marginally or completely obsolete 2 weeks after graduation”

Read the full June 2016 newsletter, including linked industry articles and online presentation schedules.

Appreciating the Value of Labor

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

For expanding and improving businesses that have the capital for the investment in new equipment or processes, attempting to become or remain competitive, the level of investment is not as important as the return on that investment. This consistent practice of determining where to best place capital for the highest return should apply to labor. What is “paid” for labor is not as relevant as the value it adds to the operation and, ultimately, profit; the return on worker investment.

The lack of appreciation for the difference in “training cost” and “training investment”  is understandable because it is rarely contrasted. The college textbook entitled Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods and Uses, defines “direct labor cost” as the “Cost of labor (material) applied and assigned directly to a product; contrast this with indirect labor cost.” Indirect labor cost” is defined as, “An indirect cost of labor (material) such as supervisors (supplies).” There is no mention of an expected return on investment. Generations of cost accountants have been taught that there is no good that comes for higher labor costs, which to them is determined by the level of staffing and wage levels. There is no differentiation between strategic labor costs and uncontrolled labor costs.

Who is Responsible for the Shortage of Skilled Labor?

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

Some critics say that employers have repeated the phrase, “we just can’t find skilled workers” to ease their guilt from outsourcing good paying jobs to lower wage labor markets. Some say they say this to justify low wages in the U.S., and some say it is to make the case to congress that the worker visa programs need to be opened up to allow technically skilled foreign workers who are willing to work for a reduced wage enter the labor market. While all of these may be true or could have been true at one time, no one doubts that the affects of the past few decades have greatly disrupted the continuity of a strong U.S. labor force and its ability to advance.

In an article written by Michael Collins for Industry Week last year entitled “Why America Has a Shortage of Skilled Workers,” the author makes a convincing argument that the so-called shortage was in large part self-inflicted. This article should be on every manufacturing operation manager’s, every accounting department manager’s and every corporate executive’s reading list.

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“Realistic Job Previews” Can be a Useful Tool for Measuring a Prospective Employee’s Transferable Task-based Skills       

by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc.                                              

The hiring process can be difficult for both the employer and the prospective employee. A wrong decision can cost each party a lot of time, money and opportunity. An unwanted outcome based on the employer not providing an accurate picture of the job, work environment and work expected to be performed can be avoided with a “Realistic Job Preview.” (“RJP”).

Wikipedia points out that “Empirical research suggests a fairly small effect size, even for properly designed RJPs (d = .12), with estimates that they can improve job survival rates ranging from 3–10%. For large organizations in retail or transportation that do mass hiring and experience new hire turnover above 200% in a large population, a 3–10% difference can translate to significant monetary savings. Some experts (e.g., Roth; Martin, 1996) estimate that RJPs screen out between 15% and 36% of applicants.

When RJPs are less effective, “According to researchers there are four issues that challenge RJP:

Proactive Technologies, Inc. has worked with many employers over the years, establishing cost-effective, task-based structured on-the-job training programs. For each employer, every effort is made to tailor the worker training system to accommodate the employer’s budget, job classifications (even unique training programs for each job classification in each department), business goals and manage the system through all types of change. Unlike some products or services that require the employer to change practices that work in order to utilize them, the PROTECH© system of managed human resource development  is built around what is working for the employer, incorporating established information such as work processes and specifications, safety standards, quality standards, etc. This approach minimizes the need for the employer’s culture to drastically change what works for them, focusing instead

Is an Apprenticeship Without Structured On-The-Job Training an Apprenticeship?

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

Career and vocation-focused training is a pivotal point in every current and future worker’s life. This world is overwhelmed by forces that make the effort more difficult for the education and training providers, more urgent and critical for the learner, more scrutinized by the employer and constantly measured against time; how long the training takes (which determines costs) and the relevance of the skills acquired to the targeted job which is always moving to the next level of technology. If the training is not “continuously improved” and maintained to be predominantly current and accurate, the graduate may find that jobs for which the new-found skills were targeted now marginally or, even worse, no longer exist.

In theory, apprenticeships offer a promising approach for traditional trades and crafts. As of 2008, more jobs can be registered as apprenticeships with new models accepted by the U.S. Department of Labor. If the program is based on a sound structure and methodology (one that can work for any type of job classification), an apprenticeship capstone – the job-related, employer-based training – would be maintained current and accurate for at least the employer apprenticeship host. Without this component, an apprenticeship experience may be as hollow as some of the for-profit educational chains which are often criticized for high costs and low placement rates. Read more.

Grow Your Own Multi-Craft Maintenance Technicians – Using a “Systems Approach” to Training

Dr. Dave Just, MPACT

Since partnering with Proactive Technologies, Inc. in 1994, together we have advocated the use of a “systems approach” to training that includes a combination of related technical instruction and structured on-the-job training to develop multi-craft maintenance technicians, as well as other job classifications, within a company. This is a viable option to paying thousands of dollars per year to employment recruiters to locate these technicians on a nationwide basis…who still need to be trained once hired.

The systems approach to training, if built correctly for your company, forms the infrastructure of a highly effective, low cost apprenticeship (registered or not) model. This model can quickly and cost-effectively produce the multi-craft maintenance technicians you need, who will be qualified to perform the tasks required at your facility. Based on detailed job/task analysis data – collected by Proactive Technologies’ experts using your internal subject matter experts who have the final review – worker development materials are generated by Proactive Technologies’ PROTECH^© software system for immediate use. Most importantly, technical support to the project includes project implementation management, so you can focus on running your business. Read article.

Pay-for-Value Employee Programs

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

Everyone is aware that the United States trade agreements with other countries and regions facilitated a substantial movement of good paying U.S. manufacturing jobs to lower-wage labor markets in other countries. The effect of the loss of middle-income jobs on consumer consumption, and subsequently industrial investment and growth, has been increasing in its significance and the connection to sustained GDP growth has become more evident.

In the short run, a lower-wage workforce reduces direct labor costs and allows corporations to realize higher earnings, but as the lower-wage workers form unions and demand higher pay for their labor those advantages start to diminish. As nations start to codify safety and environmental regulations, the advantages to relocation shrink. After adding in the logistical costs, disjointed supply chain challenges and socio-political instability corporations start to look for even lower-wage labor markets for relocation – a temporary solution.

Structured On-The-Job Training Programs for Salaried Personnel

by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc.

It is not just the hourly workers that, once hired, run into the “Bob, this is Sally. Why don’t you show her around” form of “training.” In environments where no structure exists to deliberately train hourly workers, supervisors and managers are similarly shown their desk and wished “good luck.”  Yes, the company may offer a series of management courses that explain contemporary management theories, but often the most overlooked training is for the tasks against which performance is ultimately measured.

We frequently hear anecdotal stories about supervisors who are “thrown into the mix” of not only having to lead their workers to measured levels of performance, but concurrently learn their own job from their surroundings as best they can. Other supervisors and managers may be under the same pressure to focus on output, so they may be rarely available to mentor a new manager. Most likely, nothing was ever written down. Even worse, supervisors or managers who are new to the entire operation may have to learn what it is their employees do by observation before they can attempt to lead them to better performance.

Even Corporate Finance Departments Struggle With the “Skill Gap”

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

In a February, 2016 issue CFO Magazine article entitled “All in the Family,” author David McCann discusses the problems facing CFOs regarding “talent management. He identifies four problems they face in looking ahead to the year 2020:

• 70% of finance positions will experience a change in skill requirements over the next five years. However, HR competency models lag the new skills requirements.
• Only 36% of employees have a real understanding of internal capabilities. HR can design standard career paths but cannot push employees to the right opportunities.
• Traditional training only has a 3% impact on finance skill development. Training vendors often fail to apply courses and content to a given team’s day-to-day work.
• Recruiting is not able to identify who would be a strong financial analyst beyond backgrounds and accreditation, limiting the scope of potential strong ties.

Read the full March 2016 newsletter, including linked industry articles and online presentation schedules.

Recurring Training Cost vs. Decreasing Training Cost

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

There is no way to avoid the recurring costs of classroom or online-delivered training. Historically, classroom training has been priced on a “per seat” or “per event” basis. It is model that has continued to today. Many online courses have used this pricing structure, as well, probably because it is familiar to everyone. Some online training providers offer “block pricing” based on number of course credits offered or “subscription pricing” based on the number of attendees during a set time frame. Nevertheless, these are recurring cost models given thorough scrutiny by accounting departments for evidence they are necessary and “add value to the business model.”

In the November and December issues of the Proactive Technologies Report’s two-part article titled, “Costs Associated With Unstructured, Haphazard Worker Training,”  I touched on the notion that there is another approach to worker development that can clearly be seen as more of an investment than recurring cost. It is the formation of a job task-based, structured on-the-job training infrastructure that, once established, has declining per person costs for each additional trainee.

Training The Skilled Labor You Need – An Investment That Keeps on Returning

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

In a recent Manufacturing Institute-Deloitte survey, 82% of manufacturers surveyed reported encountering a moderate or serious shortage of skilled workers to fill their positions.Over the next decade it is expected 3 ½ million manufacturing jobs will likely need to be filled. Skill gaps are expected to result in 2 million of these jobs remaining unfilled. More than 75% of manufacturers report that the skills shortage has hampered their ability to expand and 69% of manufacturers expect the shortage in skilled production workers to worsen.

In a recent article in IndustryWeek by Glenn Marshall – formally with Newport News Shipbuilding – entitled “Closing the Nation’s Skills Gap,” Marshall discusses a program used during World War II to rapidly develop the skilled workers needed to quickly ramp up U.S. manufacturing to meet the needs of the war effort. Obviously there was a shortage of skilled workers; U.S. manufacturing had never been required to produce at such levels. In many cases workers were using new technology, so skilled workers could not possibly be available. The need was exacerbated by the fact that the world was in crisis. Read more.

Internships of Value – For Employer AND Intern

by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc.

In my college years, a number of my classmates participated in internships in an effort to gain real-world work skills and experiences, and to be able to add a line to their resumes. Over the years when we compared notes, it seems the results varied from company and by job area. But the common sentiment was that the experiences were not as helpful to building workplace skills and personally fulfilling as they could have been.

According to a NACE (“National Association of Colleges and Employers”) 2015 survey entitled “Internship & Co-op Survey,” “The primary focus of most employers’ internship and co-op programs is to convert students into full-time, entry-level employees (70.8 percent and 62.6 percent, respectively).”  So, it appears most employers view internships as a potential recruitment tool and a way of evaluating candidates for employment.

Task-Specific Performance Reviews – An Accurate Metric for a Structured On-Job-Training Outcome

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

We have all been through it. For decades this has been the topic of comedy shows and movies…the dreaded annual performance review. And when it is over, we might tell our confidants how non-reflective of reality and unfair it was. We calm down over the next few months and grow more anxious each month as we get closer to the next one thinking we are at its whim.

Why are they used? Are they supposed to be a good measure or performance or just a way to meet a human resources department obligation. More times than not they seem like a justification for not giving a wage increase than guidance on how an employee can continually improve and contribute to the organization.

Use Business Cycle Lulls to Develop Unused Worker Capacity…With Minimized Costs

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

For those of us who have been around a while, business cycles come and go. Yes, there are the not-so-typical but horrific business disruptions like the S & L Crash of 1986, Stock Market Crash of 1987, Dot.com Crash of 2000, and the Crash of 2008 (with scandals like the SBA and HUD woven in between), but if a business is run sharply and lean enough to survive these disruptors they most likely focus on using the downward part of the a busy cycle to perfect their operations, build capacity and prepare for the upward part of the cycle.

One important business asset is often overlooked in this preparation. A lot can be done to build and increase worker capacity (during a period when workers are paid to perform at less than capacity) so that they, too, are ready for a sustainable recovery on the upward swing. An employer is paying labor costs for each worker it retains through the slump anyway. Why not utilize every labor dollar spent in a downturn to make it worth more on the upturn? Read more.

Read the full February 2016 newsletter, including linked industry articles and online presentation schedules.

Special Offer to South Carolina Manufacturers – REMINDER – Deadline Approaching!

Proactive Technologies, Inc. announced in November, 2015 a special opportunity for South Carolina manufacturers who, prior to the “Economic Crash of 2008-2011,” participated in a structured on-the-job training program through one of the UpState community or technical colleges. The response has been exciting! Proactive Technologies developed the materials for the structured on-the-job training program – many registered as apprenticeships – and is in a unique position to provide an economical “quick restart” to the worker training program and support for the program’s continuation, which in each case was structured to the actual tasks employees are required to perform.

Proactive Technologies would like to suggest, for those of you who are interested but have not yet responded, that you express your interest in the discount program before this offer deadline of January 15^th is reached. This will allow your company more time to schedule an online teleconference presentation (see schedule and instructions below). You should have received an email detailing where we left off on your organization’s program. Contact us at our website if you need it resent.

Standardizing “Best Practices”

Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

When it comes to the term “best practices” for process-driven tasks, there seems a wide range of understanding of the concept; some better than others. According to Wikipedia, “A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark. In addition, a “best” practice can evolve to become better as improvements are discovered…Best practices are used to maintain quality as an alternative to mandatory legislated standards and can be based on self-assessment or benchmarking.^[1] Best practice is a feature of accredited management standards such as ISO 9000 and ISO 14001^.[2]

This credible definition of the concept is representative of a consensus opinion that I have seen in the field at organizations who strive for high quality performance. However, how many individual interests derive their best practices, or what they display as their best practices, seems often to operate at the edge of the definition yet close enough to claim that best practices have been achieved. In truth, proclaiming a process as a best practice may be soothing to the locals, it may not have the same credibility with clients, potential clients or auditing agencies.

The Accelerated the Transfer of Expertise^TM

Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc

The American Heritage Dictionary defines expertise as, “specialized knowledge or skill; see expert.” Expert is defined as, “Having or demonstrating great skill, dexterity or knowledge as a result of experience or training.” Transferring “expertise” to a new worker is a much different process and experience than simply conveying knowledge. One measure of gaining expertise is the utilization of the knowledge in the skilled performance of a task.

When it comes to task-based expertise, this definition can be applied with a little elaboration. Some examples of technical task performance are: setting up a multi-axis NC lathe to material, machine and engineering specification; welding exotic metals; sterilizing surgical instruments; or troubleshooting an electronic circuit board. These all represent higher order skills developed over time and with practice. Knowledge of “how to” never is enough when it comes to high-order skill requirements of technical tasks. Read more.

Keeping Employers Engaged in Regional Workforce Development Projects

Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

Billions of dollars have been spent on workforce development projects funded by the state and federal governments in the last 20-30 years. However, from the tone of the discussions surrounding workforce development projects and participants today, it seems that the same things that were troubling employers in 1980 are still troubling them today.

Getting an employer to sign up for a grant-funded workforce development project should not be that difficult, if the brands and reputations of the institutions promoting the project are sound, and the project concept appears logical, achievable and will in all likelihood contribute to the employer’s business model. But once the pitch has been made to the employers and the bold outcomes projected, keeping the employers engaged for the duration of the project and beyond can be difficult. Read more.

Read the full January 2016 newsletter, including linked industry articles and online presentation schedules.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Proactive Technologies, Inc. would like to wish you, your staff and families “Happy holidays and best wishes for a safe and prosperous New Year!”

Special Offer to South Carolina Manufacturers
ProactiveTechnologies, Inc. announced a special opportunity for South Carolina manufacturers who, prior to the “Economic Crash of 2008-2011,” participated in a structured on-the-job training program through one of the UpState community or technical colleges. Proactive Technologies provided the structured on-the-job training component and is now offering a special discount offer to “pick up where we left off.” The offer has been extended to January 15^th, 2016. In addition, for any South Carolina manufacturers who have not yet experienced the PROTECH© system of managed human resource development, we have a great offer for you as well. Read more.

Costs Associated With Unstructured, Haphazard Worker Training (part 2 of 2)

Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

The November issue of Proactive Technologies Report’s Part 1 of “Costs Associated With Unstructured, Haphazard Worker Training,” offered a number of examples of unstructured, haphazard and ineffective worker training that I experienced in my early years in manufacturing. We all have had similar experiences throughout our lives to draw on, I am sure. It is still perplexing that – in view of all of the advanced systems, process controls and metrics that keep an enterprise operating competitively – management would assume that such a “hands-off” approach to developing the critical worker component wouldn’t detract from the other metrics. Why would management expect anything more than skeptical results?

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New equipment that leads to decreased output, more workers added but productivity and capacity falling, or more workers producing product but most of it going into the scrap or rework bin. All of these counter-intuitive outcomes – signs of inadequate or non-existent task-based training – will eventually grab upper management’s attention!
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Enterprise Expansion/Contraction and Worker Development Standardization

by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc

One challenge faced when expanding, contracting or acquiring an enterprise is adjusting the scale of the workforce development strategy(ies) that already exist(s) to the increase/decrease in the number of workers while maintaining a consistent ratio of output, quality yield, safe performance and process compliance. Contrary to an accountant’s perspective on staffing level adjustment, there should be serious consideration given to the range and depth of each worker’s acquired skills; an “inventory” of each employee prior to the official act of expanding or contracting. We take a physical inventory of product, equipment, parts, etc. to assess value, so why would we treat a human asset any different?

Obviously an expansion strategy is different than a contraction strategy, but when it comes to determining the value of a worker it is similar for both strategies. How an organization addresses the development, measurement and maintenance of that value may differ widely. Let’s look at both scenarios. Read more.

Making Worker Training Comply With Quality Initiatives; The Role of Worker Training/Certification Versus Worker Audit by Quality Assurance

Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

When attempting to comply with the worker training provision of ISO, AS, TS, or NADCAP, it is important to keep in mind the intent of the requirement. The goal should include avoiding an “overshoot” with unnecessary additional work and/or creating an infrastructure that is hard to manage and prone to noncompliance. Often interdepartmental rivalries interfere with logical discussions of how to meet the requirement without creating an internal institution to manage it.

Typically, the guidelines for each of the major quality initiatives listed contains a section that provides a fairly open requirement for worker training to make sure the worker component of the quality system is sufficient to ensure that process-based tasks can be performed as designed. If they cannot, the effectiveness of the rest of the quality assurance system will be thrown into doubt. The section provides enough guidance but places the responsibility on the registrant to end any past practices that were inconclusive and open to questions: Read more.

Read the full December 2015 newsletter, including linked industry articles and online presentation schedules.

Special Offer to South Carolina Manufacturers
ProactiveTechnologies, Inc. announced a special opportunity for South Carolina manufacturers who, prior to the “Economic Crash of 2008-2011,” participated in a structured on-the-job training program through one of the UpState community or technical colleges. Proactive Technologies provided the structured on-the-job training component and is extending a special discount offer through January 15th, 2016 to “pick up where we left off.” In addition, for any South Carolina manufacturers who haven’t yet experienced the PROTECH© system of managed human resource development, we have a great offer for you as well.

Prior to the Crash, Proactive Technologies had set up for many South Carolina manufacturers structured on-the-job training programs (some for multiple job classifications) that were in the process of implementation. This was in combination with related technical instruction to provide the employer and trainees a robust registered apprenticeship program. Some employers reached the apprenticeship registration stage, some had not. With the Crash came changes in client staffing, short-term priorities and workforce development contacts, so several of the programs went dormant though many continued through to today.

Costs Associated With Unstructured, Haphazard Worker Training (part 1 of 2)

Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

I have met with many employers, in most industries, since 1987 when providing technical workforce development services. Often I am led to draw upon my own experiences when I worked in product configuration management, quality assurance, quality control and human resource development positions before starting my own company. After all, it was my frustration with the state of common practices in improving, measuring and managing performance that led me to start my own business. I hoped to help other employers address the issues that I was not allowed to in the positions I held due to interdepartmental friction or strict organizational boundaries associated with larger corporations.

I have many memories from that period, but there is one that continues to perplex me when I see it manifested at companies I visit. Sometimes I get the shivers and a foreboding sense of déjà vu.

Education-Employer Partnerships That Work

By Frank Gibson, Program Manager – The Ohio State University Alber Enterprise Center

A lot is being said these days about “employer-responsive” worker training programs. I think all educational institutions want to believe they have all the answers to all of the challenges employers face. Although I have found that we have many of the answers for many disciplines, it is important to realize our limitations and either find other resources to fill the gap or be truthful with the client so that they might look elsewhere for those answers and solutions.

The Ohio State University – Alber Enterprise Center has been around since 1996 and was founded on the premise that we provide educational and technical consulting services to business enterprises throughout our region to help them grow and prosper. Whether to help them train their workers to the latest in technical skills or train their management on the latest management theories and best practices, the Alber Center has assembled an extensive network of institutional and private training providers to meet their needs and have continued to expand our network to help our employer-clients maintain their competitive best.

When is Illustrating Technical Materials Useful to the Learner?

Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.

Technical process documents standardize work processes in an attempt to maintain task performance at a consistent level of output. From organization to organization, process documents may vary in usefulness though required by ISO/AS/TS certification. Some may be too vague, too specific or too cluttered into lengthy paragraphs designed for human error. Nevertheless, the intended purpose is to offer guidance as to the “best practice” way of performing work. Whether illustrating technical documents is useful in achieving that goal is dependent on a few factors.

Technical processes, illustrated or not, are most useful to a worker when learning a task for the first time. Unless in a checklist format where step-by-step initials are required to document that no steps are missed, most process documents are reduced to a “reference status” Even though management and auditors want to believe process documents are followed intently each time, that is usually a “staged” behavior. In reality, once committed to a worker’s memory many documents are not seen by the user until the audit is scheduled. Unfortunate but true.

OH Incumbent Worker Training Voucher Grants Round 4

by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc.

A fourth round of the Ohio Incumbent Worker Training Voucher program became available for applications on October 14^th. At that time, those employers submitting the grant application would have had the best chance for approval. “Funding approvals for this program will be on a first-come, first-served basis” according to the OH IWT Guidelines.

If your organization was late to the party, there may still be an opportunity for those employers who were not able to conceive a project and prepare an application for grant funding. According to the OH IWT Guidelines, “Once the training funds are completely committed, the Ohio Development Services Agency will hold subsequent applications in a “queue,” in the event that additional program funds become available.” Read More.

ATTENTION OHIO EMPLOYERS:  The OH Incumbent Worker Training Voucher Grants Round 4 Submissions Started October 14, 2015! What Now for Latecomers? by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc. Approximately $20 million in grants were awarded over the last three years by the Ohio Incumbent Worker Training Voucher Program, funded by contributions from the Ohio casinos. The first three rounds of grants targeted critical industries – manufacturing being one of them. A fourth round became available for application building starting September 28th, with a submission start date of 10:00 am ET on October 14th. At that time, those employers submitting the grant application would have the best chance for approval. According to the OH IWT Guidelines, in addition to the quality of the proposed training activities, “funding approvals for this program will be on a first-come, first-served basis.” With over 600 employers being approved each round, anyone submitting an application on October 14th had a better chance of being at the front of the line to have serious consideration before all funds are obligated. ATTENTION LATECOMERS: There is an opportunity for those employers who were not able to conceive a project and prepare an application for grant funding. According to the OH IWT Guidelines, “Once the training funds are completely committed, the Ohio Development Services Agency will hold subsequent applications in a “queue,” in the event that additional program funds become available.” click here to expand Even though the OH IWT website states that “all funds have been committed,” they will be reviewing the applications for the next 60 days and many applications may be rejected or the amount asked for scaled back, freeing up funds for the late applicants.So if you are still interested, the sooner you get an application submitted, the better your chances are of qualifying for funds either if some committed funds are released, or new funds are added to the program. This is, by far, the easiest grant money to use and the paperwork, once set up, is relatively easy to comply. Proactive Technologies, Inc. has assisted client-companies to successfully apply for, manage, document and receive reimbursement for almost $2,000,000 in projects in just the last 2 years alone! A substantial amount of that amount was reimbursed to the clients by the state of Ohio to lessen their initial out-of-pocket investment on a project that can lead to maximized results! Click here for more information. This is a reimbursement program. Once the employer applies and is accepted, the employer completes the approved training and submits the receipts and rosters to the OH IWT. The employer will be reimbursed for 50% of the cost. If the proposed training isn’t held and no cost incurred, the employer simply has nothing to submit. For Round 4 information, visit the OH state’s website click here.

Apprenticeships That Make Money? Not as Impossible as it Seems (part 2 of 2) Setting Up an Apprenticeship Center Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc. In the September issue of Proactive Technologies Report, I discussed what seemed to be the obvious differences in European and U.S. apprenticeship models in the article “Apprenticeships That Make Money? (part 1 of 1)“. I suggested that visionary U.S. business leaders consider creating a revenue-generating “apprenticeship center” within the organization to cover the costs of the apprenticeship and, in some cases, make money. How could that be accomplished? In continuing the discussion I would like to offer a possible strategy. American manufacturers turned to lower wage labor sources, such as Mexico, China and India, during the last 30 years to lower their production costs in the hope that they would be more profitable. It is now understood that with lower wage costs comes additional supply chain costs which can, if uncontrollable, erase some or all of the gains a lower wage level might offer. click here to expand But what if some of the services or operations to manufacture products or sub-assemblies that were, or are to be, off-shored could be done internally – at the labor cost of “training wages” as done in Europe – using equipment that would otherwise have to be idled, sold or shipped? What if those training wages could be furthered reduced by state grants? Could employers find that the source of lower wages is in their own back yard? Although the following approach for determining if an apprenticeship center/cost-reduction center is right for your organization is simple, it should be scalable to any organization with slight modifications. Read More

Training Workers in a Roller Coaster Economy Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc. Often an afterthought, the need for structured on-the-job training is just as critical during a time of contraction as during a time of expansion. During cutbacks in staffing, work is redistributed to remaining employees as workers with expertise are inadvertently let go. Sometimes more attention is paid to worker seniority and wage levels than the potential loss of the accumulated investment in worker expertise and related replacement costs as a result of hasty workforce reductions. Unfortunately, selling the need for an investment in a training infrastructure can be a harder sell to management who might be reluctant to make the case for fear of being perceived as being too “spend-happy” rather than seen as appropriately proactive. However, if no consideration is given to such planning that fact will subsequently reveal itself later in the form of transition costs – lost capacity and decreased operational productivity. click here to expand “How an organization prepares for change determines if they will survive or succumb to it.” It can be said that if the organization was running efficiently before a cutback, worker expertise must have helped since the numbers now show that output and yield have been reduced. If the organization was not running efficiently before the cutback, and cutting workers has little effect on output and yield, perhaps the reason was there was a lack of expertise in running operations. Either way, developing expertise and preserving it through adversity should be seen as worthy goals by any organization. Read more.

Certifying and Auditing Workers, Subcontractors Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc. When auditors sample worker performance for compliance with process documents and quality standards, they observe the employee perform the steps of the defined process and watch for accuracy. That is necessary for assuring repeatable quality output. Yet process documents and references to quality standards do not a training strategy make. Technical documents were never intended to be training materials. Depending on the engineer’s style, they may be too technical or too verbose for the average user. Rarely are technical documents tested for readability (against the reading levels of the intended users) let alone repeatability. click here to expand The experienced worker who has somehow learned to interpret the process document and fill the gaps of missing information to perform the task as envisioned, has the opportunity to repeat that process in a self-standardized way in lieu of proper training. They retain the best practice through repetition. But new-hires and transfers have different skills and abilities and may not be able to identify and assembly the various bits of information into a coherent, repeatable best practice without guidance and structure. The learning curve may become unnecessarily long and costly. For this among many reasons, structured on-the-job training is critical to efficient process performance and indicative of higher levels of productivity. Read more.

Read the full October 2015 newsletter, including linked industry articles and online presentation schedules.