I was once told that a company’s biggest asset is its employees.  In the flexo world, you choose to spend a few million dollars on a new press for many different reasons. Some of which may be for higher guaranteed speeds, up-time, or product count.  But your brand-new press won’t run at those efficient rates all by itself.  It’s the operators and pressmen/women who will run your equipment. With the proper training, they’ll be able to safely and consistently achieve the production goals in which you bought your press for in the first place. 

Every reputable flexo OEM provides training on their equipment.  But not all manufacturer’s training programs are equal.  Some flexo manufacturers consider training to be the following: A trainer/technician reading, word-for-word, from an operator manual, to trainees as they follow along with their own hard copy of the manual.  As a business owner or pressroom manager, you ask yourself, what value does that really create for you or your employees?

What are your true training needs?  Maybe you don’t know if you’ve never been asked.  We’d like to detail what to look for in a quality training program.

1. Find an OEM that has a dedicated training department who will engage with you to analyze your true needs.

2. Request that each training program be developed specifically for each of your floor disciplines: operations, maintenance, controls.

3. Make sure a training plan is provided with any formal training program.Ask for a written training outline/structure of what will be covered.

4. Every training program should focus on safety.Each procedure that is explained or demonstrated needs to be done with an emphasis on how to safely perform that task.

5. Any formal training program should have a balance of both classroom and hands-on/machine-side training. Every adult learns differently. Some people retain more in a lecture setting while others absorb the information better when they watch someone perform the task. And even other get the most out of learning when they physically perform the task themselves. Find an OEM that develops their training programs to effectively communicate the information to all types of adult learners.

6. In addition to a structured training outline, additional training tools add to the overall effectiveness of a training program.Below is a list of tangible training tools that can increase the quality of training:

   • Operator manuals

   • Checklists

   • Changeover guides

   • Machine overview presentations

   • HMI screen simulators

   • Training videos

   • Content available digitally or on mobile devices

7. And finally, find an OEM who will collaborate with you to customize a training program to the specific skill level of your team members.You know your employees better than the OEM, so don’t permit them to train on advanced tasks if the skill level of your weekend shift is less experienced.

Click here to see all of the available training services PCMC offers.

Noah Kellermann
Field Service Training Leader