Holdrege, NE

Practice Area:
People Systems - Training & Development Company Profile:
Becton-Dickinson is a medical technology company that manufactures and sells a broad range of supplies, devices and systems for use by healthcare professionals, medical research institutions and the general public. BD, with corporate headquarters in Franklin Lakes, NJ, has three manufacturing plants in Nebraska. Some 700 men and women are employed in the company's Holdrege, Nebraska, facility, which is the world's largest manufacturer of insulin syringes.

Situation:
The majority of the Becton Dickinson, Holdrege associates were trained as machine operators but set-up and maintenance was performed by a limited number of set-up and electronic technicians. If anything went wrong with a machine, the operator often had to wait for technical support to get it up and running again, obviously at a loss of productivity. The company wanted to upgrade the basic skills of its operators so they could perform simple, routine maintenance and set-up on their own machines.

Solution:
Working with Central Community College, a program was designed to provide basic industrial skills for machine operators. Training was conducted at the College's learning center in Holdrege and at the BD plant so participants would not have to travel out of town. Training sessions were held three times a day to accommodate workers on all three shifts. A total of 103 were enrolled in a DC circuits course and 54 were enrolled in an AC circuits course. A basic hydraulics course, held in eight-hour sessions on Saturdays for five weeks, included 15 students. Thirty employees were enrolled in a basic blueprint reading course. An industrial controls class is currently being held for 34 set-up operators and set-up associates. Students receive college credits for the courses and a 26-credit hour certificate in industrial technology is being developed. To make the training program more attractive, BD tied advancement in both pay and responsibility to the increased skill levels.

Results:
Although there have been some growing pains, as with any new program, the Holdrege facility now has 64 associates in set-up operator and set-up positions who were not in them prior to the program's inception. In addition, three individuals have been promoted to electrical/mechanical technician and one individual to an electronics tech position.

Testimonial:
"Becton Dickinson recognizes this is the beginning of a gradual and continuous learning process for our associates. The program is undergoing some transformation into a tiered structure to allow associates to choose the level of skill they wish to achieve. Whether it be set-up operator, set-up, electrical/mechanical technician or electronics tech, BD and the associates are benefiting from this instruction thru improved maintenance/repair and enhanced diagnostic skills."