A place of learning for everyone
On December 4, 2023, the team in Turnov opened a new training center for cold forming. This fulfills an important task, because unlike machining, cold forming is not taught at any school. This makes it all the more important for new operators to be able to try out all the work steps in advance and on their own machine – without pressure.
Colleagues from Czechia testing the new training center.
Training machine operators to do cold forming is extremely demanding. The range of possible tasks is broad, and it can happen that an employee in production has not yet become familiar with certain activities even after several years. This makes it clear how important it is to have our own training center. The team from Turnov took inspiration for the design during a visit to the training center in Museros, Spain, in March 2023; the construction work lasted from August to October.
Planning down to the smallest detail
The training center was set up in the department’s existing premises and part of the production hall was partitioned off with special acoustic panels that provide particularly good shielding against ambient noise. The training machine – which was in active use until recently – was completely cleaned inside and out, and the outside was dusted and repainted. To create a realistic working environment, the machine’s surroundings were adapted to the standards of a real workplace and equipped with such things as a workbench, measuring instruments, and toolbox. As the size of the room was limited, a special, small unwinding device was built. The camera that records the inside of the press is also worth mentioning: it projects the image onto a large screen that can also be seen by those who are not standing on the machine platform. A magnetic base allows the camera to be moved as required. In the training center, visitors can also view the most common press faults (see photos) and practice recognizing them.
New equipment, new opportunities
Grand opening of the training center with plant manager Tomáš Hájek.
There is also an area with a computer, projector, screen, and tables located next to the room with the training press. This is primarily used for theoretical training, for example, on technical drawings, guidelines, work instructions, quality, dimensions, and special technical terms.
The training areas for operators have been very carefully selected and specified as far as possible. The result is a list of around 80 points – of which some 60 percent are related to actual work and are practiced repeatedly. This includes familiarization with the machine, as well as independent maintenance and retooling activities when changing parts. Written instructions were created for all training areas, and video instructions were added for the practical activities on the machine. These are also available on the computers of the other production presses so that they can be used by all employees if required. Subtitles ensure that ambient noise is not a problem.
To create a realistic working environment, the machine’s surroundings were adapted to the standards of a real workplace.
Initial feedback has been positive
The new employees were formally welcomed into the training center on December 5, 2023. Their feedback is extremely important to us, and that’s why we followed up their first month of training with a questionnaire containing various evaluation criteria: How engaged were the trainers? What did they think of the training facility and materials? The feedback was good – the employees praised the trainers’ approach, the pace of the presentation, and the training materials. They identified potential for improvement above all in the practical implementation of what they had learned in production. It is necessary to test the activities not only under the laboratory conditions of the training center, but also in production, where the machines differ in some respects from the training machines.
And what comes next? The training center will also be used by experienced colleagues who need to build up certain skills. Students from local technical colleges will also be involved. Over the course of the year, the center will also be expanded to include an outdoor area where applications are available for employees from other departments like machining, heat treatment, quality, and maintenance. The aim is to develop the training center into a place of learning for all of our colleagues.
Author: Barbora Koukalova, P&C advisor from Turnov (Czech Republic)
KXpress
