For many people in metalworking, the term training evokes a Norman Rockwell-type image of a white-haired old timer showing a young, somewhat attentive apprentice how to run a machine on the production floor. If you are a machine operator, you probably received your training on the job working under the watchful eye of an experienced operatorThat kind of training may have been adequate a generation or two ago. However, as machine tools have become more sophisticated (and expensive) and as tolerance for errors of any kind in the machining process approaches zero, more formal training programs are becoming a more attractive training alternative for small shops as well as large manufacturing concerns. One reason is that they provide a more complete and comprehensive coverage of the material; the trainee benefits from a complete, well-thought-out program, presented and reinforced in ways that help him or her retain the information presented. Another reason is that formal training programs include tests that confirm whether or not the trainee is learning the material. Still another reason is that they provide an alternative to tying up operators and machines for basic training.

A formal training program became an important part of a long-term strategy for modernization and growth at Eaton Corp.’s Aeroquip Fluid Conveyance plant in Jackson, Michigan. The plant produces aerospace hoses and fittings for fuel lines, hydraulic lines and other applications. It supplies hoses, fittings and quick-disconnect couplings for military aircraft programs such as Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and F-35 supersonic multi-role fighter, the U.S. Army’s new RAH-66 Comanche helicopter, Boeing’s C-17 cargo transport, and for commercial aircraft programs such as the Airbus