Help is Coming

During the last few years, manufacturers have found it difficult to find qualified employees for the more than 600,000 high level manufacturing jobs are currently available. In order to find out what is helping to solve this problem, Aerospace Manufacturing and Design sat down with Mark Brownhill, program manager, machine tool distributors and education, FANUC FA America.

Community and technical colleges and vocational schools are a convenient, low cost option for students to get the training they need.

AMD: With unemployment well above 8%, why are there more than 600,000 high level manufacturing jobs available?

Brownhill: The reason most often stated is there is a mismatch between the job requirements and the skills of the candidate pool. Businesses are very lean today and do not have the resources to provide extensive on the job training. Therefore, job candidates need to be well qualified – which means having basic math and computer skills, and the knowledge and experience to setup and run today’s complex CNC machinery.

Some schools are finding it difficult to recruit high school students because their parents perceive manufacturing as a dirty workplace with limited prospects. The reality is that lean manufacturing has cleaned up the workplace and students are entering employment with good wages before they even finish their studies.

AMD: FANUC machine controls are on approximately 60% of all machine tools in use today (in the United States), does Fanuc feel a responsibility to help train today’s workforce?

Brownhill: Yes, though indirectly. It would be very difficult, logistically, for FANUC to reach, directly, every potential student. Community and technical colleges and vocational schools are convenient, low cost places for students to get the training they need. We are engaging with the educational community to assist them in providing the best possible training to ensure that the students have the skills required by industry.

AMD: With very few apprenticeship programs, and a decreasing number of trade schools available, what does FANUC believe to be the right approach to training?

Brownhill: That is a challenging problem and their does not appear to be a consensus yet amongst educators and their advisory boards. First, we have to recognize that things are very different today. With very few four-year apprenticeship programs to complement academic instruction, it is simply not possible to reproduce that experience in a 12-month certificate program or a two-year associate degree.

Since the desired outcome is to have a worker that can setup and run a CNC machine effectively, it makes sense that the bulk of the education provides the necessary knowledge and hands on experience. It is also important to recognize that today’s students want, creatively, to be engaged more in their jobs.

Several schools are now teaching 75% CNC and 25% manual machining, instead of the 75% manual and 25% CNC. Some schools are flipping the classroom by providing video and interactive online lectures viewable at home or from library computers. The instructor spends time coaching students with homework assignments. These appear to be appropriate responses to today’s challenges.

AMD: What can students learn using NCGuide?

Brownhill: NCGuide supports the complete CNC workflow. Students can create and edit part programs with the traditional CNC editor or in the Manual Guide i conversational programming environment. They can verify the part program checking for syntax, geometry, and sequence of operation errors using graphical toolpath plotting or 3D solid modeling graphics. They can setup tool geometry, tool wear, and work coordinate system offsets. NCGuide allows multiple turning and milling configurations and supports part programming from basic g-codes through to complex custom macros.

AMD: What are manufacturers looking for in new employees?

Brownhill: I am sure that varies somewhat from employer to employer, but there are some common traits. First and foremost is the reality that manufacturing in general is very lean with few training resources available. A new employee needs to be productive from day one, able to run a CNC machine with little supervision. They need to have basic math and problem solving skills so they can continue to grow and adapt to the processes used in the particular manufacturing environment. Above all, new employees need to have a great can do attitude, recognizing that change is the only constant in today’s job environment.

AMD: The majority of people do not receive their training with state-of-the-art production equipment, what is FANUC doing to help combat that problem?

Brownhill: It is true that many schools have purchased very low cost equipment with their limited budgets in order to provide sufficient hands on CNC experience to students. Some are satisfied with an academic approach of teaching concepts, whereas others recognize there is a real world experience gap with this type of approach.

One of the problems is that many machine tool vendors shy away from selling to educational facilities because of a high-cost of sales and low profitability. Sales cycles are very long and often the justifications required by educators are very different from those required by industry.

However, if you recognize the value of creating a new workforce pool with experience with your equipment at a time when manufacturing growth is being limited by the availability of skilled workers, then perhaps it is time to take a different approach.

We are working with machine tool builders to take a marketing approach to education machine sales. Rather than negotiate each machine sale individually, we are working to establish a standard education discount. This reduces the cost of sales significantly. We are also working with some machine tool builders to provide education-friendly versions of their products.

FANUC has produced NCGuide academic packages that provide our very latest CNC technology running on a PC. Students can gain experience with the most popular 0i-Model D control that is available on a wide range of commodity milling and turning machines and with the advanced 31i-Model B controls provided on the worlds most advanced machine tools.

NCGuide academic packages are valued priced for education and there are grants available for those that want to integrate FANUC into their programs.

AMD: Is FANUC currently working with any educational institutions or machine tool builders on training programs?

Brownhill: Yes, we are working with several educational institutions and machine tools builders, acting as a consultant to interpret and communicate needs and help set reasonable expectations for both the school and the machine seller.

For example, Madison Area Technical College, Madison, WI, wanted a real machine that was portable. Lifting it had to be with a standard pallet jack, fitting through a standard doorway, and powered by a regular 110V supply. It means that the machine can go anywhere – recruiting trips to high schools, satellite campuses, or to manufacturers that want onsite training. Tormach, a machine tool company in Wisconsin, is producing a portable machine with a tool changer and a FANUC control to meet the college's specification.

AMD: How is FANUC helping to bring new training technology into the classroom?

Brownhill: NCGuide Academic Packages are the real FANUC CNC software running on a PC. The instructor can use a PC projector to demonstrate CNC operation and programming to the whole classroom more effectively than using a hardware simulator. They can also use it for CNC demonstrations over the internet in distance learning classes.

The network licensing allows students more access for hands on exercises or homework assignments. They can use NCGuide in the classroom, on their personal computers, or a school library computer. CAM students can also use NCGuide to check their programs on the same PC prior to running them on a machine. We are also looking to produce a series of short training videos on line to provide some basic courseware content. The basis of these will be on the education concepts introduced by the Kahn Academy and represent a new way of learning that is more in tune with today's students.

FANUC machine controls are on approximately 60% of all machine tools in use today.

AMD: What background is required in order to earn a FANUC certificate?

Brownhill: FANUC Education CNC Certification focuses on making sure that students that qualify have learned suitable skills from a FANUC certified instructor, teaching a FANUC approved curriculum, and using genuine FANUC CNC equipment. For a basic CNC G-code class, NCGuide Academic Packages may be sufficient, but for hands-on lathe and machining center courses, more than 50% of their shop work must be completed using machines with a FANUC CNC.

AMD: How does someone get additional information on FANUC’s Educational Program?

Brownhill: The easiest way is just contact me directly via email at mark.brownhill@fanucfa.com, or call 800.FANUC.US.

Mark Brownhill has more than 30-years’ experience in the machine tool industry as a user, machine tool builder, and CNC supplier. Having completed a four-year apprentice in the automotive industry, he has held roles as a CNC application engineer and a CNC instructor. Brownhill has experience in lean implementations, Six Sigma continuous improvement projects, and recently became a Certified Machine Tool Sales Engineer.

FANUC FA America
Hoffman Estates, IL
www.fanucfa.com