Page 48 - MetalForming July 2012

ing programs and educational tools to help metalforming operations of all sizes. In the past few years PMA and PMAEF have further increased training offerings, making training the one PMA service that many members see as most beneficial, including Phoenix Special- ty Manufacturing, according to Hurst.
Zierick Manufacturing, besides using PMA materials for press-operator and safety training, uses PMAEF mate- rial as a pre-employment test, accord- ing to Zierick. And, a recently intro- duced product, PMA Risk Manager, forms the safety-program framework at Laystrom Manufacturing.
“It has helped us organize safety activities, make safety materials more accessible to our employees, and improve the safety performance of our company,” says Laystrom.
The association has long been con- sidered the one-stop shop for metal- forming training.
“We joined PMA because we were looking for answers to training and
Over time PMA has developed training programs and educational tools to help metalforming operations of all sizes. A recently introduced product, PMA Risk Manager, forms the safety-program frame- work at several companies in the industry, including Laystrom Manufacturing.
“It has helped us organize safety activi- ties, make safety materials more accessi- ble to our employees, and improve the safety performance of our company,” says Bob Laystrom.
education for punch-press operators,” recalls Djubek of E.J. Ajax and Sons. “Before PMA offered solutions to our training needs, we assumed the asoci- ation was for bigger companies and wouldn’t be effective for us. Now, every- one in our company uses PMA prod- ucts and services—because of the
National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) credentialing and training programs that the PMA Educational Foundation helped to fund.”
Ajax echoes those sentiments.
“PMA has done some exceptional things in promoting professional devel- opment,” Ajax says, “especially being one of the funding partners of the NIMS cre- dentialing program. That program has brought more credibility to apprentice- ship training because it’s skills-based, rather than time-based. Also, we use a test that PMAEF put together, the Occupa- tional Aptitude and Knowledge Assess- ment, for every hiring decision that we make— entry level and incumbent. Last- ly, PMAEF has helped support and fund our punch-press metalforming program in the Twin Cities for more than a decade. Its educational and training support has had a big impact on metalforming in our region.”
Noting that E.J. Ajax and Sons first got involved with PMA due to its education- al and leadership programs, Rob Duvall, the company’s director of training, says
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46 MetalForming/July 2012
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