RIT to Assist The Gleason Works in Training Manufacturing and Engineering Employees

Addressing the needs of workers in a global economy, $15 million in state grants are being awarded to 83 manufacturers and organizations in New York state. Of them, The Gleason Works in Rochester is a major recipient, receiving $479,550, and will work with RIT's Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies (CIMS), and other local vendors, to implement manufacturing training.

Two units of CIMS, the Center for Excellence and Lean Enterprise (CELE) and Corporate Education and Training (CET), will be involved in the development and rollout of training in two of three parts of the one-year grant.

The Gleason Works is creating a 38-class certificate program in value engineering, training about 200 Gleason employees. The grant will fund the development of 17 of these classes over the coming year. CET will assist with instructional design, developing content and providing a consistent look and feel for the program. Project management is the first class to be rolled out in August.

In addition, the grant provides for Lean manufacturing training for The Gleason Works' employees—project managers and team leaders. The purpose of the training is to teach "Lean" concepts, tools and techniques.

"Training in 'Lean' concepts teaches people to think and work more efficiently by focusing on the elimination of activities that do not add value for the customer," says Marc Haugen, CELE's director. "Increased efficiency in the workplace not only reduces a company's cost but also increases New York state's market share, thereby adding to the state's economic value."

Administered by the State Department of Labor, the manufacturing grants focus on helping manufacturing businesses give their employees the opportunity to keep up with the latest developments in information technologies, processes and innovations.

"These grants will ensure that New York's manufacturing firms have the highly skilled workforce they need to compete and win in a rapidly changing international marketplace," says Governor George E. Pataki. "By making these smart investments, we can help our workers keep pace with cutting-edge technologies and new production methods a key factor in keeping New York-based companies as strong and competitive as possible."

"Receiving this grant reaffirms our commitment to be a learning organization," says Bill Cherry, human resource director at The Gleason Works. "These significant training initiatives are consistent with our goals of continuously developing our employees and attracting and retaining a high-quality work force in Rochester in order to remain globally competitive."

BACKGROUND: The Center for Excellence in Lean Enterprise is RIT's newest addition to the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies. CELE is focused on helping manufacturing and service businesses apply lean enterprise principles and become more efficient and responsive to ever-changing customer demands.

The Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies (CIMS) at Rochester Institute of Technology is a world-class organization with a mission to increase the competitiveness of United States manufacturers through applied technology and training. Established in 1992, CIMS provides technology and workforce development solutions that strengthen industrial clients' ability to compete in the global marketplace. In addition to CELE and CET,CIMS business units also the National Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery; Manufacturing Technologies, and the Printing Applications Laboratory. CIMS represents a dynamic collaboration of in-house technical experts, as well as academic, industry and government resources.