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Dams, locks and the ferries and shipsthat traverse through our nation?s inland waterways, share one thing in common: ongoing repairs, upgrades and mainte-nance work are required to keep them in top shape. In today?s economic climate when building business and job creation is on everyone?s agenda, shipyards and service companies face another challenge as well ? there?s a shortage of highly- skilled machinists and welders to do thework, and their current workforce must be kept up-to-date on the newest equip- ment and techniques in order to optimizetheir performance and keep project schedules on track.To solve this problem, these organiza- tions are increasingly turning to equip-ment suppliers and vendors for training programs to assist them in keeping their machinists and welders current on thenew skills and equipment they need to know in order to satisfy their customers? most demanding requirements. Supplier-Led Training One of the early examples of supplier- led training is with Climax Portable Ma-chine Tools, which invents, designs and manufactures portable machining and welding systems used globally for repairand maintenance in the shipbuilding in- dustry, among others. Ten years ago as the skilled worker shortage became ap- parent, Climax developed a full training curriculum and program for machinists,after consulting with shipbuilding and ship repair customers to ensure the pro-gram mapped exactly to the skill sets most urgently required on the job. Today, the Climax Global Learning Center offers a full complement of regu- larly scheduled machining courses inbasic and advanced tool operation for all machinists? skill levels. Located near Portland, Ore., the Global Learning Cen-ter is open to any machinist, especially those in the shipbuilding, infrastructure and marine sectors, to learn safe opera- tion of today?s state-of-the-art portable machining equipment. Curriculum: Productivity, Machining Techniques, Safety ? and More The Global Learning Center at Climaxoffers a variety of courses ranging from efficient machining techniques, product- and application-specific usages and safety. Through a combination of hands- on and classroom assignments, studentslearn techniques on portable machines,including milling machines, boring ma-chines, flange facers and AutoBoreWeld- ing machines. The newest course covers how to use a first-of-its-kind linear mill that can be reconfigured to perform both linear and gantry milling, as well as drilling and tapping. The portable flange facer course teaches machinists how to repair worn flanges on pipes and seals or that may have been damaged due to cor- rosion. The AutoBoreWelding class demonstrates the process for a one-setupoperation for both boring and automatedwelding equipment such as used in re-pairs of corroded pipelines and turbinehousings.Machinists in the marine industry cantake a one-day class on a specific tool, or a special three-day course designed toteach how to use innovative on-site ma- chining and welding solutions to com-plete complex new builds, retrofits and maintenance projects. Safety training addresses the unex- pected jobsite hazards such as looseclothing, poor lighting, improper ventila- tion and inadequate eye and ear protec- tion that pose potential dangers. Coursesstress enhanced productivity, including new, time-saving techniques as well as innovative machine tool applications and maintenance recommendations to extend tool lifetime. All training programs are taught by ex- perienced engineers and machinists em-ployed by Climax. Students are strongly encouraged to bring specific application needs to the class for discussions withstaff instructors, who all have experience with a wide variety of on-site machining challenges that can occur during ship-building and repair operations. Train-the-Trainer and Custom Classes In addition to the standard curriculum,?Train the Trainer? programs are also available. In this program, a select group of workers can be trained first on the lat- est machining and welding techniques,and then instructed on how to train other, less-skilled workers. When companies have a specific training need, the Climax Global Learning Center can create a cus-tom training program tailored to thekinds of projects they handle. These cus- tom training programs can be held at acompany?s location, minimizing travel expenses and maximizing the number of attendees. On-site training has taken place throughout North America, Europe and Asia, including a series of seminars in China for machinists from ten of thatnation?s largest shipyards. Here in the United States, Climax head trainer, Jim Miller, conducted training for three vet- eran machinists at Alaska Ship & Dry- dock (ASD) in Ketchikan when the shipyard purchased a Climax BB7100 portable boring machine. The shipyard had a smaller boring machine, but re- quired a larger, heavy-duty precision ma- chine when it was contracted to build the MV Susitna, the prototype catamaranferry for the U.S. Navy. The machine was needed for the boring out and refacing of the transom. The shipyard is also using the BB7100 to upgrade the propulsionsystem on the Malaspina for the Alaska Marine Highway. Both projects require the machining to be done to very tight tolerances so all components in the sys-tems will line up properly when assem-bled. According to Norm Skan, machinist foreman at Alaska Ship & Drydock, the training was well worth it. During the training course, ASD?s expert machinists were taught the proper set-up of the spi-der mounting system and operation of theboring machine as well as how to use its various accessories so that they could get it to maximum capacity. ?Our customers are drawn to us be- cause of our team?s exceptional commit- ment to quality construction and shiprepair,? said Skan. ?The machine ex- ceeded our expectations, was easy to set up and operate, and enabled us to meetthe tolerance specs set by the customers.The training enabled our machinists toget these jobs done efficiently and on schedule.? Attracting New Business Beyond remedying the shortage in skilled machinists, many companies have found that these training programs andmachines help them attain a higher level of productivity, which gives their organ- izations a competitive edge when seeking out new business. ?Because we now have the larger bor- ing machine, ASD is able to take on larger machining projects that, until now, we?ve had to decline,? said Skan. ?We?re proud to say that through ongoing im-provements to our skills and capabilities, we?re able to offer our customers a myr- iad of services in support of their ship re-pair, new construction and large fabrication needs.? http://www.cpmt.com/services/training March 2012www.marinelink.com 67Climax Bridging the Gap Machine Tool Supplier Offers Machinist and Welder Training to Optimize Marine About the AuthorAndy Becker isVice President of Business Develop-ment and Market-ing at ClimaxPortable Machine Tools. He has more than 30 years of experience in in- ternational business development includ-ing the development of strategicalliances within the shipbuilding industry. Reach him at [email protected] March 12 # 9 (65-72):MR Template 3/6/2012 12:45 PM Page 67