Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1288481
SEPTEMBER 2020 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 33 Turchan: You have to get employee buy-in and edu- cate them that this doesn't eliminate any need for any human capital, but that it's an advancement of the company. And when the company advances, so do employees. When that ex- ecutive team makes the decision to continually train and upskill their employees, the employ- ees will be more receptive to that new technol- ogy as it arrives because they'll feel invested in it. That makes them more secure in that com- pany. When advancements come, they are set to pivot to something different or better. Johnson: In my experience at a previous em- ployer, I was working in the training depart- ment, and it was interesting to notice how some customers approached operator train- ing, especially troubleshooting and preventa- tive maintenance, as an afterthought until they started having issues. Is training now a well- established and necessary prerequisite to get- ting the equipment running? Dill: Unfortunately, in a lot of companies, what drives training is pain. That pain may have to reach all the way to the executive level some- times. The first pains they may see could be poor workmanship, a loss of profit, customers, or employees, etc. Typically, that is when we get involved unless there is a compliance issue. We do a lot of training for compliance, and that's where a lot of the IPC certification comes in. But much of the skill-based stuff that we train, such as quality systems, is driven by pain. We have to start by first understanding what caused their pain and then help rectify that by developing courses around that. It's not true of every com- pany, but that's often what ignites the flame. Johnson: There can be a reactionary approach, even in the most planning-oriented companies. Can you see a difference when you talk to a customer between those who have a clear vi- sion of the roadmap and those that are more reactionary? to take their job; instead, it's going to expand their knowledge and job. There's always go- ing to be that human element. Once you've established that idea—the importance and the value of it—you have people with their heads straight and willing to take on something new. I spent years on the manufacturing floor, and if they don't understand why, then they don't see the value. I don't care if it's a new tool for a great big system, you bring in some- thing new and have to learn it. Be patient with it, and be sure to ask a lot of questions. They need to really understand it, put their arms around it, and take care of that machine. They need to feel that they have the right training and education so that they know to ask the right questions. Johnson: I hear a pretty strong interrelation- ship between manufacturing, human resourc- es, and the executive team. There are slight- ly different perspectives that trainers need to manage. Montana-Beard: My experience and my opin- ion is you get buy-in, and then you have open minds. That way, the training cycle or process will go a lot smoother, and they will take own- ership of what they're going to be doing. Noland: I've been personally involved in ma- ny new implementations of newer technolo- gies: different inspection techniques, X-ray, CT, monography, the introduction of lead-free technologies and processes, etc. The main thing is you explain that this is a machine or a technique that's not designed to take your job but to make your job easier. It's designed to make the quality better, and it still requires humans. The verification of quality is still 100% hu- man-based. Even if you have a machine in- specting visually or magnetically for quality, it still takes a human to run that machine and interpret the results. It also requires someone to build and program the machine. There's still a lot of that human interaction and require- ments. Ensuring that the employees know that is key when implementing new technology. Jahr Turchan