Despite tough economic times the United States is still the leading manufacturing nation in the world. This past Tuesday night President Barak Obama spoke to millions of viewers in his State of Union address. In his speech he reminded the American public that manufacturing has long been the backbone of the American economy and if invested in, the industry can boost our economy back to stability. While there have been struggles over the past years, the percent of GDP that manufacturing fills has remained nearly the same for more than 30 years. Businesses also provide a great portion of taxes that help run state and local governments and manufacturing is in close second, contributing nearly 20% of business taxation.

With the government taking a stand on improving the manufacturing industry and employers becoming more confident when it comes to hiring, a chance to train presents itself. Initial training and retraining are equally important when it comes to industrial skills. Manufacturing laborers often work in a wide variety of areas within the plant and without proper training it is almost certain they will not be able to perform their job safely or correctly. By allowing your workforce to improve their industrial skills and expand their expertise you’re giving them a chance to help themselves and your business.

ITC Learning is dedicated to providing quality courseware to help train your industrial employees. The goal of any industrial training skills program is to minimize downtime and maximize productivity, but at ITC Learning we take industrial skills training a step further by offering not only safety and mechanical training but also process training, control training, boiler training and much more. In an unsure time there is one thing you should be sure confident in, and that is the capabilities and the talent of your team. By providing comprehensive courseware that includes animations, audio and interactive exercises trainees receive a well-rounded learning experience. Additionally, all ITC content has undergone a thorough SME review to ensure accuracy and can be tailored to your business. Contact ITC Learning today to find out how interactive online courseware can increase your bottom line.

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December of 2011 has been noted as the month in which manufacturing grew at the fastest pace during the past six months. Hiring in U.S. factories continued to rise, with plants hiring more people more quickly since June of 2011. New orders also increased which shows a positive future in store for production. According to the Institute for Supply Management, in November the manufacturing index rose from 52.7 to 53.9-any reading above 50 marks expansion.

With the end of 2011 indicating expansions in the manufacturing industry, stocks surged on the first trading day of 2012 partly due to news that manufacturing also grew in India and China. The industrial average of the Dow Jones was reported to have gone up more than 250 points during the first hour of trading.

After the recession was officially over in 2009, factories were the first area of the economy to see improvement. And now, consumers have become more confident and in turn are spending more money. The Conference Board says its consumer confidence index increased in December to the highest point since last April. This greatly affects the economy as consumer spending accounts for approximately 70% of the economy.  Economists predict that car sales also went up in December due to increased sales in November. Not only will those increased sales boost output of automakers but also for other industry suppliers such as steel companies and tire makers. The Department of Commerce reported that orders made for long-lasting goods also rose in November, mostly due to increased commercial aircraft orders.

Unemployment applications continue to drop as well, which proves companies have laid off fewer employees and are expanding their workforces. During the past three months, weekly applications have dropped by almost 10%. With such positive outlooks for 2012, an Associated Press survey of economists predicts a steady expansion of 2.4% in 2012.

As confidence grows and agencies continue to hire, proper industrial training increases in importance. ITC Learning offers SCORM based online courseware which is dedicated to improving the industrial skills of your employees. From control training and process training to air compressor repair and boiler training, ITC Learning administers all necessary training skills in an online format that is sure to educate your workforce.  Contact us today to learn how our manufacturing training courseware can make a difference in your output.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net & Salvatore Vuono

Training should be relevant to your organizational needs

The training program that you put in place must relate to the day to day tasks of your employees and should make a distinct connection with the workplace or even your employee’s specific workstation. If this connection is not made, training becomes unrelated and employees are likely to get bored and pay little attention.

Incorporate hands on training

Online courseware, like ITC Leaning’s, is a great way to allow industrial employees to expand their knowledge on their own time and in a comfortable setting. But while reading and doing practice assignments can be helpful, nothing is more beneficial than hands on training. Integrate real life situations into your training program to ensure employee will know what to do when they are no longer reading words but are actually working with industrial equipment. Describing how a process should be done is very different than actually being able to perform the task in a real life scenario, once training is completed.

Spell it out

Your trainees should know exactly what is expected from their training. Explain to your learners how their newly acquired industrial skills will apply to their day to day work. Let them know the basic knowledge they’ll need to have in order to perform well in the training courses and what they are expected to learn from the program as a whole.

Track progress

The only way to know if your industrial training was effective is to follow up. Assess skill sets before and after training to determine if your program was successful. Let your learners know that they will be evaluated on their applied skills once training is over, this may help engage them from the start.

Industrial training is a pertinent aspect of operating an efficient and proficient industrial organization. If not done properly, a lot of time and resources can be wasted. Make sure your goals are well defined and your selected courseware is accurate and up to date. ITC Learning strives to provide superior online courseware for your employees in an effort to improve industrial skills and help your business succeed.

Air Compressors

• Drain the tank every 4 hours to reduce the chances of rust building up.
• Never set air pressure greater than an attachment’s rating.
• If you are using a compressor powered by an engine, check the oil level before each use.
• Let the engine cool completely before you refuel.
• Clean the air filter often to prevent dust and debris from reaching the pump.
• Follow the maintenance schedule regularly to ensure your compressor performs safely and effectively.

Pneumatic Tools

• Always read the manufacturer’s instruction manual before operating a tool, no matter what your skill set, you should be fully educated on each specific tool before using it.
• Blow excess air out of the line before connecting any tool.
• Double check to ensure the tool is properly and securely attached to the hose.
• Wear safety goggles, gloves and hearing protection when operating an air compressor and pneumatic tools.
• Do not use compressed air for cleaning purposes unless you utilize an attachment that will reduce the air pressure at the nozzle to 30 psi or less.

Industrial equipment and tools such as air compressors and pneumatic tools should always be operated by a capable and trained professional. To guarantee your staff is adequately trained, utilize the ITC industrial training courseware to educate them on safe practices.

“The dramatic year-over-year growth further underscores the manufacturing renaissance that is taking place,” said Douglas K. Woods, President of AMT.

To get a detailed report, you can check out the full report that even breaks down tech consumption at the regional level. But, with an emphasis on streamlining and investing in manufacturing technology, there comes an added expense in educating employees on the new processes.

Five ITC Tools That Can Help

ITC Training  Tool #1: On-Line Products

ITC offers a complete line of on-line courses, from electrical skills training that address AC/DC Motor theory to mechanical training series that offers equipment repair courses. Additionally, the on-line courses are SCORM and AICC compliant. No matter how you plan to deliver the modular content to educate your employees on your new equipment, this ensures you’ll be able to deliver up-to-date industry best practices.

ITC Training  Tool #2: CD-ROM Courses

This resource is a comprehensive CD-Rom catalog that ranges from the above to an extensive instrumentation skills series that can address things like boiler control or even process operations. Additionally, the CD-Rom courses also have a compliance series, important for the evolving manufacturing environment. Most courses are also available on DVD.

ITC Training  Tool #3: Train the Trainer

Roles are being redefined on all fronts, so training those who will be training the new workplace employee is important. ITC’s DVD courses offer a special Maintenance Management Series.

ITC Training  Tool #4: Custom Courseware

With the evolving workplace, ITC can customize a training course with your specific needs in mind. Some companies ITC has catered to include: Viacom Cable and Rogers Cablesystems, Caterpillar, U.S. Navy Information Assurance Program Offices and more.

ITC Training  Tool #5: Learning Portal

Time is always of the essence. ITC Learning has developed iKnow, one of the best instructional learning portal designs in the industry. You can optimize online delivery, track employee progress, easily deliver online courses and it is fully interactive.

What does SCORM compliant mean?

SCORM stands for Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model (SCORM), which is a set of specifications that, when applied to course content, produces small, reusable e-Learning objects. A result of the Department of Defense’s Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) initiative, SCORM-compliant courseware elements are easily merged with other compliant elements to produce a highly modular repository of training materials.

SCORM in layman’s terms

Basically, in a general sense, SCORM compliance means that videos and e-Learning tools ensure that it can be played across multiple platforms. Think of it in the context of a DVD release. Say, MGM launches a DVD, but it can only be played on MGM DVD players. Well when you want to watch a Warner Bros. DVD, you have to purchase a Warner Bros. DVD player. You don’t want 10 different DVD players to watch 10 different movies. That’s what SCORM compliance is. You and your business aren’t interested in downloading 10 different video platforms for e-Learning content. SCORM uses a universal code so companies across the board can use the same material. The benefits, along with streamlining the process, allow for a universal adoption of training standards as well. So when a company hires workers that are certified or trained in a particular area, they are hiring an employee with universal training.

E-Learning online courses

The goal is to streamline and simplify the e-Learning experience. Not only do we meet SCORM compliance standards with our instructionally sound and easy-to-use training videos, we minimize bandwidth and security concerns.

Would you ever consider running an auto repair business out of a truck? It’s not the first place to start, but it is possible. Branden Riggs started his company, Highway Auto Repair, with a truck, some tools and an air compressor. While Riggs noted he would’ve been able to operate without the air compressor, it certainly made things easier, allowing him to move effortlessly along Casa Grande roads and sometimes the freeway, helping broken down motorists.

Riggs has found a new home now, in downtown Casa Grande. Would it have been possible without an air compressor? Probably. But it would’ve come with a little more sweat. Not to mention, spare tires were always flat and Riggs said he needed something to fill them up. It all adds up, and now he and business partner Daniel Barnes are excited about the new digs.

“We have plenty of room to do what we want to do, and we have plenty of room to grow,” Riggs said. The new shop also includes 12 pneumatic hose slots, just waiting to be filled with air compressors, and inevitably, the two will be prime candidates for air compressor repair and maintenance training.

Why air compressor repair and maintenance training?

Barnes’ story may not be the same, but for industrial employers, they have long recognized air compressors as a must-have. There is an immediate ROI for air compressor repair and maintenance training, especially when the pneumatic giant can get an otherwise derailed assembly line back on track or a forklift with a bad wheel moving pallets at light speed.

As we discussed in our “Air Compressor Maintenance” post a couple of months ago, this mechanical component is sometimes critical to the industrial manufacturing operation. Unfortunately, even the most maintained air compressors suffer the elements and need to be fixed. ITC Learning offers a comprehensive two-part course in air compressor repair and maintenance training.

Air Compressor Repair: A two-part course

ITC Learning’s Activ® interactive multimedia training offers a two-lesson mechanical training CD set, giving participants the knowledge to understand, disassemble, inspect, troubleshoot and repair reciprocating air compressors.

Class One: Reciprocating Compressors: Principles and Troubleshooting

The main objective of this course is to inform and teach participants to troubleshoot and execute the most common air compressor repairs.

Class Two: Reciprocating Compressors: Disassembly, Inspection, & Repair

The second CD is a more comprehensive look at air compressor repairs, including disassembly, inspection, clean and repair.

For instance, since a paper pulp processing plant will probably use bearings everyday this can lead to premature bearing failure. But when bearings fail, they need to be replaced as quickly as possible. But sometimes it’s necessary to have your mechanics evaluate the bearing to identity the problem so they know what not to do or look for in the future. Although it might seem that having your mechanics evaluate the bearings will increase the amount of time it takes to get the new bearings replaced, doing this a few times can actually decrease maintenance time and cost.

ITC Learning’s mechanical training courses are designed to help companies reduce bearings failure rate through educating their employees in how to remove, inspect, select, handle, install, and troubleshoot bearings according to the manufacturers’ instructions and best practices. Our mechanical training classes will also show them how to replace bearings as well as maintain and identify the indicators of bearings failure using the right tools. Since all bearings need lubricants in order to function, we’ll teach your employees to properly lubricate them. From our courses your employees will take away methods to prolong bearings life, improve productivity and in essence reduce bearings maintenance cost. ITC Learning’s mechanical training program is essential to prolong the overall lifespan of your equipment.

In fact, ITC Learning offers a wide range of mechanical training courses to keep industrial companies staffed at all times. By utilizing our training courses, your employees will learn about the different elements necessary for them to do their jobs. The courses will also teach them how to maintain, modify, and fix different types of equipment at their plant. Regardless of the complexity of your employee’s mechanical jobs, ITC Learning has the mechanical training classes to suit your company’s needs.

By utilizing ITC Learning’s training program, even if you have only one trained mechanical professional on staff during each shift they should be able to fix any small or large problems that may arise. In today’s economic market, a well-trained employee is important to the continued success of your organization. This is one place where not providing adequate mechanical training can be detrimental to your company. So regardless of the mechanical task, as long as there is technology and machinery, there will be a need for well-trained mechanical employees.

Even though many of your new and current employees might feel they don’t require mechanical training, they will be pleasantly surprised about how differently hand tools are used in a manufacturing facility or plant. While a screwdriver and a wench can be used for many jobs, in a manufacturing plant not just any hand tool will do. You don’t want your employee to use the wrong tools resulting in costly repairs to your equipment. With our mechanical training courses in place, your employees will learn how to properly hold the tool, choose the correct tool for the job, inspect the tool for damage, ensure the tool is in good working order, and follow safety procedures. Once your employees are fully trained, you can count on them to use these hand tools without worrying that they will damage your more precious equipment. Training for simple mechanical skills is a wise way to ensure that your employees know how to accurately do their jobs.