Archived News Releases, 2005

June 3, 2005

New Program Provides Training “With Teeth”

Indianapolis, IN — Each year, DeKalb Molded Plastics Co. sets aside training funds for its employees.

They attend sessions on safety, lean manufacturing and general manufacturing improvements.

But the question, said Rick Walters, vice president of operations for Butler, Ind.-based DeKalb, has been whether the sessions have provided real substance in improvements.

Now, the company has become one of the first to sign on to an internationally recognized program that provides accreditation for machine operators and tracks the resulting improvement.

“Sometimes we get so involved in making plastic parts that we forget that the people who are going to be spending up to 12 hours actually making them also want to have some way of advancement,” Walters said May 24 at Plastics Encounter in Indianapolis.

Mid-America Plastics Partners Inc. in Indianapolis is coordinating the certification program, linked to international standards first developed in England and translated for the United States by A. Routsis Associates Inc. of Dracut, Mass. said Troy Nix, executive director of MAPP.

Indiana is serving as a springboard for the Global Standards for Plastics Certification program, with the state and Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana supporting the employee training.

Indiana officials approached MAPP more than two years ago wondering if there was some kind of standard training process for the plastics industry, Nix said.

The program Routsis found relies on outside certification, and provides employees who pass certain levels with a certificate they can take to other jobs.

Carol Krol, human resources manager for Metro Plastics Technologies Inc. of Noblesville, Ind., compares the certification proc-ess with the steps manufacturers go through to win their ISO certification — with intense and specific points each candidate must pass, and which are judged by an independent agency — in this case, MAPP.

The first 10 companies now have employees in the certification pipeline, with Indiana chipping in $30,000 worth of training assistance. MAPP is talking with officials in Ohio for backing for a similar program there, Nix said.

MAPP’s involvement as a third-party auditor should provide legitimacy to employees taking part in GSPC, he said.

Companies outside those states also can take part by funding it on their own.

The certification is not a cakewalk, Nix said.

The training book itself weighs in at about 3 pounds. There are three separate degree levels, with the vast majority of employees at any given shop capable of passing the first one – but the process still takes about nine months, he said. Maybe half of the employees could move on to level two, which requires them to show skills in a variety of work activities in routine and nonroutine tasks.

Only 5 percent make it to the top level. Those are the workers companies covet, Nix said, the ones who can set up any process, think on their feet and trouble-shoot on the spot.

“This has teeth,” he said. “Not everybody who goes for it is going to pass this thing.”

The steady certification pattern, from level one on up, also provides a continuous training loop, Krol said.

The system requires not just book knowledge, but shop-floor knowledge, said Bill Warrenfelz, operations manager for micromolding specialist Makuta Technics Inc., headquartered in Columbus, Ind.

“It isn’t just, ‘Do you know the answers?’ It’s, ‘Show me the answers,’” he said.

DeKalb plans to put 105 employees through the program — from machine operators to warehouse and office workers — because it believes the level of understanding required through the process improves everyone’s performance.

Walters said DeKalb can track improved scrap rates and better safety records from the trained employees.

“We’re seeing our turnover numbers decrease because the attitude of the [certification] candidates is that they have a sense of ownership in their job,” Warrenfelz said.

The employees, meanwhile, can earn college credits through Ivy Tech while also walking away with a certification with their name on it — something with real value should they need to seek another job.

“I’m sure some people may see that as us doing training that other companies will benefit from, but while you have the employee, if you can get them to be better for the company, I don’t really see that as being a downside,” Warrenfelz said.

For more information on Operator Certification, please contact:

A. Routsis Associates, Inc.
275 Donohue Road, Suite 1
Dracut, MA 01826
TEL: (978) 957-0700
FAX: (978) 957-1860
Email: info@traininteractive.com

March 25, 2005

Mandarin Injection Molding Training Available Now!

Dracut, MA — A. Routsis Associates, Inc., the premier training service provider for the plastics industry, announces the release of its Mandarin (Chinese) Basic Injection Molding Training series.

“With daily announcements of US companies setting up new plants in mainland China , there is a growing need to train the local workforces. Brand new machines and facilities are useless if your unskilled employees use your assets to create mountains of scrap, while smashing your tooling.” Explains Andy Routsis, President of A. Routsis Associates. “Using the local Chinese dialect, our Mandarin Injection Molding Training Series can teach experienced, as well as new employees, a solid foundation of molding knowledge which can help them reduce scrap, minimize mold and machine damage, and increase quality.”

The new Mandarin Injection Molding series consists of three courses: Machine, Process, & Mold . Each course has been developed using the knowledge of highly skilled and experienced plastics professionals with an emphasis on safety and quality.

To view a demonstration of the new Mandarin Injection Molding Series, or for more information, please contact:

A. Routsis Associates, Inc.
275 Donohue Road, Suite 1
Dracut, MA 01826
TEL: (978) 957-0700
FAX: (978) 957-1860
Email: info@traininteractive.com

February 12, 2005

Reduce Costly Machine Downtime with Newly Updated Injection Molding Hydraulics Training

Dracut, MA — DRACUT, MA - A. Routsis Associates, Inc., the premier training service provider for the plastics industry, announces the release of its new and improved Injection Molding Hydraulics training series.

“Since the hydraulic system is the heart and life blood of over three quarters of all injection molding machines in North America ,” explains Andy Routsis , President of A. Routsis Associates, Inc. “employees who are trained in hydraulic maintenance, not only reduce machine downtime and costly equipment damage, they eliminate machine issues that are causing persistent scrap rates and excessive troubleshooting times. A healthy hydraulic system is needed for a molding machine to attain six sigma quality standards.”

This newly updated and improved Injection Molding Hydraulics training series teaches the importance of hydraulics in the injection molding process, through understanding the theory of hydraulics and reading hydraulic prints.

For more information, please contact:

A. Routsis Associates, Inc.
275 Donohue Road, Suite 1
Dracut, MA 01826
TEL: (978) 957-0700
FAX: (978) 957-1860
Email: info@traininteractive.com

February 11, 2005

Reduce Scrap & Troubleshooting Times with expanded Basic Injection Molding Training

Dracut, MA — A. Routsis Associates, Inc., the premier training service provider for the plastics industry, announces the release of its new, expanded and improved training series; Basic Injection Molding.

“Over the years, thousands of companies have used the original Basics Series to decrease downtime, reduce scrap, and improve productivity. Advances in technology have allowed us to upgrade this training tool with detailed graphics and much more information on the latest molding technologies. Although we call it the Basic Series, it will benefit and challenge even the most seasoned processor while laying a solid foundation of molding knowledge for anyone.” explained Andy Routsis, President of A. Routsis Associates, Inc.

The new Basic Injection Molding series consists of three courses: Machine, Process, & Mold . Each course has been developed using the knowledge of highly skilled and experienced plastics professionals with an emphasis on safety.

For more information, please contact:

A. Routsis Associates, Inc.
275 Donohue Road, Suite 1
Dracut, MA 01826
TEL: (978) 957-0700
FAX: (978) 957-1860
Email: info@traininteractive.com

January 19, 2005

Training Success at MAMCO

Oneonta, NY — MAMCO, a leading provider of custom injection molding services, has obtained the services of software maker A. Routsis Associates to launch a state-of-the-art workforce training program improving operational efficiencies and streamlining communication across its divisions.

The training program is part of a larger effort by the State of New York to increase the number of highly skilled laborers across the state. In 2004 the state awarded MAMCO a grant to pay for the cost and implementation of the training program.

“The training software covers everything from the entry-level employee to the highest position – machine operators, quality associates, tool and die making, and sales,” said Joel Stanley, MAMCO’s production manager.

Different levels of training are administered depending on an employee’s position. Generally, entry-level staff receive approximately six hours of training to become certified in their specific area of expertise. Stanley, on the other hand, will take closer to 70 hours of training as a member of the management team.

The program is administered in hour-long video segments, with each segment followed by a review and test. Once a trainee successfully passes a test, he or she can move on to the next training segment. So far, about a quarter of MAMCO’s workforce has successfully completed the training, with 100 percent completion estimated for later this year.

“One of the biggest things we’ve noticed is that it gives us uniformity and consistency in the terminology we use and in the way we do things,” Stanley said.

MAMCO will be eligible for a state reimbursement covering the costs of training once all employees are fully trained. Stanley said the program has been instrumental in helping staff in different divisions better understand MAMCO’s business goals.

“The goal is to have a more skilled workforce,” he said. “I would say that it has been very successful.”

Based in Oneonta, New York, MAMCO is a premier supplier of custom-manufactured injection molds for customers worldwide in the automotive, electronics, semiconductor, medical, computer, telecommunications, military, aerospace and consumer products industries. National and global clients include Teradyne, Harley-Davidson, Delphi/Delco, 3M and Siemens.

Contact MAMCO:

MAMCO
147 River Street
Oneonta, NY 13820
TEL: 866-886-2626
FAX: 607-432-7861
www.mamcomolding.com