On the Right Track

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. How many times has there been a snafu around a scrap operation that could have been prevented if only a yard employee had a bit more training? How often is a customer lost because someone in the front office wasn’t taught the proper thing to say or do?

Such training goes beyond the daily routine of showing a worker how to sort and bale scrap metal. Programs range from the mundane (learning proper English) to the esoteric (what to do if an armed worker "flakes out" on the job). As more women and minority workers make careers in the scrap industry, harassment and social issues also must be addressed both by management and by the workers.

Even basic reading skills are a concern. "Forty to 50 percent of American adults struggle with reading and writing at some level," says Mike Mattia, director of risk management for the Institute of Recycling Industries, Washington. Lack of reading ability makes it tough for workers to pick up other needed skills or to absorb safety information.

North Star Steel/North Star Recycling, the Minneapolis-based division of Cargill, requires the equivalent of a high school degree before it will hire workers. "It makes no sense to make large capital investments in equipment unless you have the workforce that is trained and qualified to use it," says company spokesman Greg Lauser. And North Star put its money where its mouth is.

When the company opened its Delta, Ohio, site, they pre-qualified workers with a self-paced computer learning program. Done in cooperation with the local vocational-technical school, at first it was staffed 16 hours a day, six days a week. Later, it was accelerated to 24 hours a day during the week and 16 on Sunday. "Anyone could use it," Lauser says. The objective is to raise the educational level of everyone in the community, including potential North Star workers.

Universal Scrap Metals, Chicago, started a basic literacy program for its workforce. "Everyone – the workers, their families, the company, the community – has benefited from the program," says Universal’s Paula Klein. In addition to being a metals buyer, she is involved in a number of aspects of the program.

The goal of the "Universal U" program is to develop basic reading, writing and language skills for the workers. It’s tough to be a good employee if you can’t read an operating manual or safety brochure. One of the goals of the program is to get the employees working together, both to learn and to help the company.

After just six months, it has paid off for Universal. The workers redesigned the aluminum processing system because they thought they could get it to operate more efficiently. Workers who had marginal reading and writing skills just six months ago were able to write up the improvement program.

In Portland, Ore., Calbag Metals is kicking off a six-week, six-part curriculum on the company, recycling and training. "We pay workers fairly high wages and we don’t want to be a revolving door," says Chuck Gleason, director of operations.

To help retain their workforce, Gleason – along with Charlie Neal, operations manager, and Rick Schwartz, executive vice president – put together a training program which is being held this summer. All outside and front-office people attend. Schwartz gives the sessions, which are videotaped for future use. The first session talks about Calbag’s history and corporate goals, along with the materials they handle – where they come from and where they go. The other five sessions deal with specific commodities like copper, brass or aluminum.

"The hourly people generally are aware that what they do impacts how the company does and how much money they will make," says Bill Kraus. He is a field engineer working with the Arkansas Manufacturing Extension Network (AMEN), an Arkansas State University program, in Jonesboro, Ark. Among those using his services is Sam Hummelstein, president of Hummelstein Iron & Metal in Jonesboro.

Kraus cites Hummelstein’s desire to work with the "soft side," or people skills, to improve processes and systems. In addition to working toward ISO 9000 certification, Hummelstein is offering programs in areas like conflict resolution and communications skills. But getting a program started really is the most important step.

The first part of Universal’s educational program was voluntary testing of every employee. The workforce is largely Hispanic and Native American with some African-Americans. The test served as a baseline and let the teachers group workers with similar skills into classes.

"Some employees were embarrassed about their inadequacies," Klein says. However, with help from the Erie Neighborhood House Community Development Program, they were clustered by education level and began class work. The focus is on practical, job-related reading and writing, and workers use product brochures as textbooks and write about things they do in daily work. This gives them skills they can use in daily life, both at work and at home, says Klein.

A good starting point for firms first trying to implement such programs is the Small Business Administration. D.J. Caulfield, spokesperson for SBA, says SBA’s local offices serve as an information clearinghouse for most federal, state and local government programs. A call to 800-8-ASKSBA will put you in touch with the local office’s Business Information Center.

Agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will register their human rights, race or sex relations courses with the SBA. Since many recycling yards bring together people of varied ethnic and racial mixes, such courses can be important to keeping peace and harmony among workers.

Calbag’s Gleason notes they get good support, especially in safety training, from their Workers Compensation insurance carrier. The insurer’s loss prevention people come in and give good, practical sessions.

A lot of the "coulda, shoulda, woulda" syndrome can be eliminated if the workers know what they should do in a given situation or job. The way to eliminate the problem, Mattia says, is to grab workers’ attentions and then give them the message. "When we were in school, we paid attention because we had to learn to pass a test. But once the test was over, we promptly forgot the material," he continues.

In business, it is quite different. Education is not seen as a priority. Often, material is presented in a dry, boring fashion. The stuff may appear tangential to the worker’s job. "You get the body, but the mind is somewhere else," Mattia says. "You paint the information over the worker, but the material does not stick."

He says such education should be entertaining and draws a parallel to the TV remote control. "You get three to five seconds to grab someone’s interest or else they flick the channel," he says. As a result, he makes ISRI’s training materials funny, exciting or teasing. "UFO Spotted in Scrap Yard" was the headline on being aware of flying debris. "Tag—You’re It" dealt with defects.

ISRI has two videos on safety and both are entertaining. The award-winning "Working Safe and Smart" uses Muppet characters and songs to teach 18 safety concepts. ISRI is now releasing a brand new video, "Working Safe and Smart from the Heart," which trains workers on the "why" of being safe. Since many workers believe accidents will never happen to them, this video focuses on what happens to loved ones when a worker dies. A real tear-jerker, it features a dream sequence after a young worker’s death when he sees what effect his accident has on his unborn child. It is available from Mattia at ISRI. Calbag uses ISRI videos extensively and finds them effective, Gleason says.

Motivation for training courses is varied. "In some fields, training is mandated. In others, people don’t want to make fools of themselves or do harm. Some people take courses to improve themselves and move from the production floor to the office," notes Donna Queeney, director of research and programs in the continuing education department at Penn State University, University Park, Pa.

Many workers are excited about the chance to move ahead. They do not necessarily expect to be paid for being part of programs. In fact, the program itself may be seen as a reward. "Surveys prove that it is not totally money that drives process improvement programs," Kraus notes. "Job satisfaction is really important. Companies that isolate their employees will get union activity."

He says that workers must be made to feel an integral part of the management team. There should be no front office versus sorting line attitude – the two should be brought together by common goals.

One significant motivation for workers to participate in programs is understanding that they can upgrade their skills, be able to do a more interesting variety of jobs in the yard, and eventually will improve themselves to the next job or salary grade.

Continuing education is not cheap, either for the worker or for the firm. Queeney says there is a general lack of standing government programs to help employers pay for continuing education, except in special circumstances like workforce layoffs or incentive zones. Lack of financial aid, either to the employer or the employee, can make paying for programs difficult.

Universal is located in an Enterprise Zone in Chicago, so they were able to work with the Industrial Commission and Economic Development programs. They wrote up a grant request and through the Erie Neighborhood House – a long-standing community organization – they prepared a grant proposal for the literacy program. It was submitted to the Illinois Secretary of State and approved. Under terms of the grant, Universal pays two-thirds of the cost, and the state pays one-third.

Queeney encourages employers to design a program on their own and then apply for a grant to develop materials and pay for an instructor. "There is little documented research on the payback from professional improvement programs," Queeney says. She suggests employers implementing programs set up a baseline, based on production or skill levels, set a target for improvement, and then work toward that goal. A local business school may welcome the chance to use such a program as a basis for their research, spreading the workload.

"It takes a lot of effort on our part and the workers’ parts," admits Klein. It is tough for an employee to walk off the line and say, "I’ve got to go to school." It is also a challenge for Hummelstein or Universal to juggle shifts while workers are in class.

Classes at North Star and Universal are taught during company time. Classes are at two levels (basic and more advanced) and meet twice a week. The company picks up the wages for one class. The employee pays for the other. Universal’s core group has been through the first round. The state has awarded the company a second $10,000 grant to continue the program.

The program reaches far beyond the worker, Klein notes. Since it is tied to Erie House, the workers and their families get access to well-baby clinics, legal assistance, health programs and other aid.

In addition to the time off work, Universal contributes classroom space. This was no small consideration. In fact, the start of the program was delayed until they moved into their new facility so there would be appropriate room for classes.

The North Star program is one of the most expensive of its kind. The company invested $200,000 in seed money for the program. Their first project was at the St. Paul, Minn., mill in 1994. Although the cost sounds prohibitive for a small company, the program is quite complete.

Once workers get to the level of a high school diploma holder (although the program does not confer a GRE or degree), they then can move on to specialized learning in environmental regulation, electronics, safety and other job-related training.

North Star allows four hours paid time each month for the worker to do the training. The employees can do as much additional work on their own as they please.

Although worker training is critical, it’s important not to neglect training for top management. "Strategic anticipation is about facing the future," says Rob Duboff, a director in the Boston office of Mercer Management Consulting. He says change for most industries like recycling is likely to be discontinuous. "These are the changes that take place in discrete bursts, rather than evolving slowly and steadily – changes that force customers and companies to give up long and widely held assumptions," he explains.

Kraus notes that process improvement usually starts with classes on leadership for top managers. "You need to get them to be right-minded and progressive," he says. Once that is accomplished, programs can be rolled out to the shop floor.

Strategic planning often extrapolates today’s capabilities and market conditions into the future, rather than establishing where a company wants to be in the future and then identifying what must happen to get there. Duboff suggests three steps to take to prepare for the future:

Look to your customers. Companies should regularly look to their lead users whose demands for and uses of a company’s services today provide leading indicators of what mainstream customers will want tomorrow. Computerized multi-media programs can "fast-forward" an average customer into a "virtual" future to help train and plan for what the years ahead will bring.

Identify what it will take to establish competitively superior economics in the future. Train yourself to look ahead to what economic forces will drive competition and profits tomorrow.

Address alignment issues. With proper training, all the key people inside and outside the company will share a common vision and pursue it together. "Most of these approaches involve frequent, formalized communications – not simply Monday-morning staff meetings, but events such as off-site programs at which senior managers focus on future challenges," Duboff says.

SBA local offices have state-of-the-art computers and modem connections to the Internet which would be valuable for smaller operations which don’t have these resources. There, one can search for a whole variety of skills-improvement courses and materials. Many of the courses are offered through local community colleges, vocational-technical schools or other public agencies such as county and state government.

Courses don’t have to be in a classroom, however. Calbag had every worker sit in the seat of a lift truck so they could see how limited the driver’s visibility is.

The bottom line is, any company is in business to make a profit, says Kraus. The way to do that is to provide the highest quality product at the lowest cost, with impeccable customer service. Flexibility is also critical. "You have to want to change to thrive in business," he says.