South Bend’s On Demand program supports local employers in helping build skill sets of their employees. Through GSM’s partnership with the City of South Bend, 13 GSM employees received the opportunity to attend training aimed at expanding lean and manufacturing skill sets.

Three employees participated in the Skills for Success Boot Camp that began in June, 2018 and concluded in December, 2018. These employees learned about 5S, root cause analysis, critical thinking, effective workplace and communication skills, print reading and measuring for manufacturing success. Further, they earned their OSHA 10 and nationally recognized Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) certification in quality as part of the Certified Production Technician certification.

Ten employees participated in a three day Lean Manufacturing workshop where they experienced first-hand how Lean improves quality, delivery, performance, reduces time and work-in-process, and increases profit.

The training sessions concluded with a comprehensive capstone project led by one of the employees from the Skills for Success course and made up of team members for the 3 day Lean training. The capstone project, selected by the team, is designed to eliminate waste in the set-up times in the Stamping department. Both the team lead and the team members were honored at a ceremony in December, 2018 in which Mayor Pete Buttigieg spoke about the economic impact these training opportunities have on our community.

To Learn more about Purdue’s Manufacturing Extensions Partnership (MEP) please following this link: Purdue (MEP)