May 11th, 2010
Most people know what’s good for them. We know it’s better to slow down at the yellow light than to speed right through. We know it’s better to pay attention to the road than to text or talk on the phone while driving. Yet we still multitask while operating a vehicle going 45 miles per hour or more although we know it’s not safe. We like to think we know what’s best good for us, but often times we don’t. So instead of making an excuse about why your company doesn’t need an industrial training program, you should consider the benefits.
Here are the two most common excuses for not having an industrial training program:
1. No time to develop and manage the program. You might believe you don’t have the time and energy to devote to an industrial training program, but ITC Learning offers a wide variety of training courses that once they’ve been started practically run themselves. If you choose ITC Learning’s products for your training needs, you don’t have to worry about writing and devising the different courses. Our industrial training courses have already been created and you simply need to let us know what type of training classes you need, and when you need it.
2. The belief that training will increase expenses. In fact, training is the best way to increase productivity and reduce accidents. Plus, by outsourcing your industrial training needs, you’re reducing the cost of sending your employees to classes off-site. With an in-house training program you can train more people, more often. Plus, having an industrial training program in place makes a lot of sense when you hire a lot of people in a short period of time. When companies fail to provide adequate training and education, the results can be disastrous for the equipment, employee morale, and the company.
Posted in Industrial Training, Training Classes | No Comments »
May 10th, 2010
Every once in a while, we are challenged to do something different or great. But because everyone deals with challenges differently, some people embrace them and others run away. Today, manufacturing organizations face many challenges including having to effectively train their employees to perform complex tasks.
If an equipment operator is asked to perform a task he has never done before, he might break a critical tool which will cause the project to take longer to be completed. Even if you provide the operator with instructions and schematics, they may be unclear and he’ll probably take just as long to complete the project. When problems occur in projects like this, substantial re-work can increase the cost and put your plant behind schedule. Yet, these two examples are common problems faced by manufacturing companies everywhere.
If an organization wants to effectively train their employees to perform complex and infrequent tasks, then they need to provide them with proper manufacturing training to maintain those skills as well as accurate materials for them to reference. At ITC Learning, we offer a comprehensive curriculum of manufacturing training courses as well as reference material for your employees to utilize whenever they need to perform those kinds of tasks. By doing this, manufacturing companies should be able to increase productivity as well as reduce equipment downtime and cost. Without an effective manufacturing training curriculum with quality reference materials, these types of issues can continue to plague and challenge companies everywhere.
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May 7th, 2010
Hand tools are commonly used in everyday life by everyone. We use them to change a flat tire, repair the sink drain, and put the bookcase together. But this doesn’t mean that your employees don’t require mechanical skills training. Some of the hand tools used by mechanics in an industrial setting are used in a different capacity and are even held differently. A few of the topics covered by ITC Learning’s mechanical training courses include clamps, vises, pliers, screwdrivers, wrenches, and mallets.
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.
Posted in Industrial Training, Mechanical Training | No Comments »
May 6th, 2010
Remember those tests in high school where the answer was either A, B, C, A and B or all of the above? Even though you studied for the test you just couldn’t figure out the right answer because they were all so close. But when you finally got your test back you were surprised to find out that the answer wasn’t A or B like you thought, but all of the above. So when it comes to your manufacturing plant, what comes first: A the people, B your equipment, or all of the above? Well, in this case the answer is all of the above. Your employees are your most precious resource because they’re the ones who keep your manufacturing plant running smoothly. Without them your equipment will go unrepaired and production will come to a standstill. By providing your employees with plant training, you’re ensuring that they know what to do, and when to do it.
If you selected B, the equipment, as your answer, then you’re leaving your machines in untrained hands. Simply telling your employees to get the job done doesn’t help, if they have little experience or no training. In order for your organization to be competitive, you have to consider and realize that plant training will have to play an important role. It is essential to the continued success of your company.
If and when you decide to purchase new equipment, your employees will not be able to take advantage of all its great features if they have to train themselves. However, if you had a plant training program in place you can expect higher productivity levels and fewer accidents. So if you want to improve the quality, speed, and performance of your equipment you can start by training your employees to operate and maintain them properly. With ITC Learning’s plant training courses, training doesn’t have to be a centralized function that can only be done at a set time with a set group of people. Our plant training courses can be done on-demand to fit your employees’ work schedule.
Posted in Manufacturing Training, Plant Training | 1 Comment »
May 4th, 2010
Valves are an extremely important component in our society. Without them there would be no fresh water, public restrooms, or automatic heat. If you look around your house, you’ll find that valves are built into your piping system. As in your house, valves control the flow of water, but in an industrial plant they can also control the flow other materials such as oil, gas, and steam as well as the rate, pressure, volume, and the direction of the materials.
If your manufacturing facility uses water or gas in the process of creating your products, then it’s vital to have trained valve maintenance professionals on staff. Whether you operate a chemical processing company, beverage manufacturing plant or industrial plant, your employees need to have proper maintenance training experience. ITC Learning’s maintenance training courses will show them how to operate gate and globe valves as well as the right tools and measuring instruments to use. It will also teach them about the different parts of a gate valve, how to disassemble and assemble a valve, inspect it for problems, and make minor and major repairs when necessary.
By utilizing ITC Learning’s maintenance training classes, your employees will be trained to become experts at fixing unscheduled shutdown and other problems to ensure the optimal operation of your facility, or pipeline. This is necessary because the longer your equipment downtime, the more revenue you’ll lose. Having trained maintenance employees on staff is necessary for any manager that wants to run their facility as efficiently, and profitably as possible.
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April 27th, 2010
The other day at Starbucks, I overheard a man ranting to his friend about having to attend a training class at his new company. He didn’t understand why this was being required of him since he has over six years experience in the field. As I waited in line for my coffee, his friend reminded him that he shouldn’t be so sure that he already knows everything and he could actually learn something new. This conversation reminded me that regardless of the industry providing training to experienced employees is still important. It can help them to learn about the people, their work responsibilities and familiarizes them with how things are done at the company.
Although not all positions in an organization require a fresher course. Some positions, especially certain jobs in a manufacturing industry, demand experienced hires to learn how that company operates and their work practices. Many newly hired manufacturing employees will prefer to start right away because they feel their experience and knowledge are sufficient to do the job. But every company as its own set of standard practices that determines how employee should do their job.
Not adopting to a company’s style of work can lead to conflicts and lack of motivation causing the employee’s performance to suffer. It’s always good to have a manufacturing training program in place that orientates the new employees with the work practices, the equipment and the operation procedures. Despite having the required experience, training employees for their new position will help them to perform better in their new role.
ITC Learning offers flexible manufacturing training classes that can be done via web, DVD/Video or CD-ROM. In addition, we can custom design a class to fit the company’s training needs. With training classes in place, your company can continue to increase efficiency, reduce employee turnover and encourage employees to utilize their advance technical knowledge to increase productivity.
Posted in Manufacturing Training, Training Classes | No Comments »
April 12th, 2010
There are so many parallels to achieving excellence in sports and in an organization’s engineering and maintenance efforts; however, at their core, all successful organizations have at their foundation a strong emphasis on a continuing training program. When we are watching a sporting event, and we are mesmerized by a phenomenal act by an athlete, it is so easy not to realize that what we witnessed, was only possible through the hard work and consistent practice put in by that athlete, not just leading up to the game, but all the time. The same is true with the performance of a sound engineering program. In order for equipment within a facility, be it as complex as nuclear power plant or within a warehousing operation, the proper functionality of the operating equipment is firmly dependent upon a solid continuous training program within their engineering and maintenance department.
With today’s economic backdrop, we all are doing what we can to minimize costs and to be as efficient as possible. With the incorporation of ITC’s education and training platforms, into your training program, or by basing a new program on ITC’s training curriculum’s, you can easily, affordably, and effectively put a sound and sustainable continuous training program in place. ITC provides flexible, on demand training for individuals or teams. All training modules inherently are designed to reinforce the fundamentals needed to be exercised in the field, and have knowledge assessment capabilities built in. ITC has various e-learning modules, that are performance based, and utilize interactive knowledge assessments to reinforce what knowlwdge your personnel need to take with them when they are on the job. With the incorporation of an ITC based training program, your organization can be better prepared and poised to mesmerize your clients with your day to day operations.
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March 25th, 2010
One of our clients was discussing their maintenance training program, and last week as they were performing some corrective maintenance he was impressed by what he observed. This is what he shared with me:
“.. our newest forklift off-line in order to isolate and then repair what was reported to be a brake line leak. As we started to investigate the source of the leak, we found that the leak wasn’t from the brake system, it was a hydraulic leak. The source of the leak was an auxiliary hydraulic port which was installed originally to power an auxiliary power unit, for say an additional mast.
Fixing the problem was not as significant as was the manner in which the problem was approached by our newest mechanic. Our newest mechanic took the time to get the brake and hydraulic system schematics, even before looking at the forklift. He showed me what he thought was a discrepancy in the hydraulic schematic when he showed me the fourth hydraulic port. Upon further investigation, we discovered that this particular hydraulic port came standard from the manufacturer, and was utilized for some specialty industrial applications, but not for normal warehouse use. Upon finding this fourth port, we both noted that the hydraulic port cap had vibrated open from its fully shut position. We also noted that hydraulic fluid was seen tracking down from that port.”
The most important thing in troubleshooting is the methodology which is being applied in assessing and then fixing a problem. The Student Guides provided by ITC, continuously reinforces a standard approach to all troubleshooting efforts. All ITC curriculums have within their training objectives, to instill in their students a solid engineering approach to troubleshooting. First understand the system you are investigating, obtain all factual observations and data from field, and then begin your troubleshooting process. This approach which ITC bases their instruction is based on years of solid engineering sound practices and time proven methodologies. The knowledge base of the personnel is important, more important still is the way that ITC trained personnel approach troubleshooting.
“ At that moment, it was extremely clear that the benefit of having our personnel go through the ITC training, is reflected in all aspects of maintenance. For me, it made and impression that the methodologies that are reinforced in the curriculum, manifest themselves as with the mechanics as they are carrying out their repair activities.”
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March 10th, 2010
An incredible amount of manufacturing systems use the force and power of air to run their machinery, which is why pneumatic mechanical training is so important. In pneumatic training, employees are taught to understand the system operation as a whole to determine how the different components affect the system. Because all pneumatic systems have a common basic function, our curriculum teaches employees the skills to deal with any pneumatic equipment. It’s important for employees to know that pneumatic systems receive energy from the prime mover and transfer that energy as air pressure and flow which then uses the energy to produce mechanical motion.
Understanding the operations of pneumatic instruments, the importance of filters in a pneumatic system, and how temperature and pressure affects the dew point are just few of the other topics that will be addressed in our pneumatic training course. Our training curriculum will ensure that your employees will understand the fundamentals of air pressure, which does the work faster and more efficiently than when it is done by hand. Plus, our course will ensure that your employees have the ability to troubleshoot problems on any pneumatic system. Your employees will also learn that the first step in the troubleshooting process is to determine the operating characteristics of the operating system as a whole. Participants of the pneumatic training program will be exposed to both basic and complex pneumatic systems. At ITC Learning, we know that it will benefit your company to take the time to ensure that pneumatic operators are fully trained, certified and are able to perform their jobs properly.
Posted in Mechanical Training, Pneumatic Training | No Comments »
March 1st, 2010
In the industrial field, electrical safety training is just as important as plant safety. Equipments that are safe under normal working conditions can be unsafe when they’re not working properly. Any employee assigned to task associated with electrical energy should be qualified and trained to perform the job. Employees assigned to work near electrical equipment should at least know the common safety rules.
ITC Learning’s electrical safety training course is the ideal way to get your employees up to speed. Our classes will ensure that your employees can identify the electrical hazards, avoid exposure to those hazards and understand the potential results if exposed. They will also be able to understand the dangers of electrical shock and flash/arc blast.
ITC Learning knows that most electrocutions can be avoided with proper training, preparation, procedures and equipment. For instance, the course also provides training in lockout/tagout which is a procedure that can be used to help reduce the death and injury rate caused by the unexpected energization or start-up of machines. After successfully completing our electrical safety course, your employees will be better qualified to safely perform the tasks and procedures necessary to conduct their work.
Posted in Electrical Training, Safety Training | No Comments »
