Original Date: 10/27/2003
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Auto-Valve, Inc. implemented an Employee Training Program enabling employee involvement to significantly increase to 100%.

For many years, Auto-Valve, Inc. (AVI) had only a few employees who requested and ultimately received training. This was primarily because of AVI’s lack of a training budget. Many AVI orders fell behind schedule from the lack of cross-training. The company identified the need to set aside a training budget for all employees.

In 2002, AVI implemented a formalized employee training program that met ISO 9000:2000 and AS 9100 certification requirements. The training schedule is based on company, customer, and employee needs. All employees, based on their job description, must fulfill a designated amount of training. AVI also focuses on cross- training to allow employees to understand other work areas. All employees have a quarterly training review with their managers where they are rated by skill based on the requirements of the job description. Employees are expected to obtain a rating of 80% or higher; if the rating is lower, the managers assign more training for that particular skill. AVI also encourages employees to obtain a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree that is related to their job. If the degree is relevant, the company pays 100% of the tuition, depending on the type of university and grade attained. AVI’s owner makes the final decision in determining if an employee is eligible for such training.

AVI’s Employee Training Program has increased employee involvement to 100%. Employees average 70 hours of training per year, which exceeds the company’s goal by 30 hours. By cross-training, choke points at work areas including shipping, testing, and customer service can be prevented by having several qualified employees.

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