by Mitch Emmons

Since 1976 Auburn TechnicalAssistance Center, AuburnUniversity’s affiliate of theAlabama Technology Networkand an Economic Development

Administration University Center, hashelped business, industry and not-for-profit entities learn how to improve andenhance their competitiveness and effi-ciency through a variety of educationaland outreach services.

ATAC also works with manufacturingindustries to provide training and expert-ise in the areas of Lean manufacturing, aphilosophy that emerged from the Toyotaproduction system and the Japaneseautomotive industry designed to removewaste and non-value-added elementsfrom the manufacturing process.

Sustaining a continuous improve-ment initiative is arguably the most diffi-cult undertaking in a Lean enterprise. Byresurrecting a training method devel-oped to sustain the United States’ indus-trial might during World War II, ATAC isshowing companies that going back tothe basics is exactly the catalyst neededto maintain continuous improvementand maximize their investment in Lean.

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and current Lean clients to transfer TWIinto those firms’ continuous improve-ment system.

One of those companies is AmTechLLC in Alexander City, Ala.

“Once we tried it, we quickly sawhow TWI can help us in not only con-ducting our training more quickly andefficiently, but we also saw how ittremendously boosts quality, aids instandardizing our manufacturingprocess and the transfer of job skillsknowledge, as well as increases employ-ee morale,” said AmTech LeanFacilitator Cohen Vickers.

Manufacturers are finding that basicmethodologies that worked so well morethan 60 years ago are providing compa-nies already immersed in the implemen-tation of Lean and continuous improve-ment with a proven way to promote, cre-ate and sustain standardized work; defineand develop consistent work procedures;and to do so through a system based onidentifying and accurately reproducingthe key steps in the job process.

C o n t a c t A T A C t o l l f r e e a t1.800.446.0386 or www.auburnworks.org.

Training WithinIndustry is a three-component pro-gram that is theideal process fortraining peoplewithin an industrywho are responsiblefor training othersin job skills, moni-toring and effective-ly managing contin-uous improvementinitiatives, anddoing so with con-sistent and provenresults.

“ T W I i s a nAmerican-deve l -oped process thatw a s e x t r e m e l yeffective in keepingthe United States’indus t r ia l basestrong and productive during World WarII,” says ATAC Lean Specialist HankCzarnecki. “But with the U.S. emergingas a victor in both combat and industri-al power, interest in TWI as a componentin maintaining America’s industrialsuperiority soon faded. Post-war Japan

quickly seized thepotential of TWIand used it tolaunch and sustainits post-war indus-trial prosperity.TWI essentially isthe foundation ofwhat we knowtoday as Lean.”

Czarnecki, alongw i t h A T A CInstructors DavidHicks and DaveDevore currentlyare the only TWIcertified instructorsaffiliated with theATN. They areworking with anumber of compa-nies who are former

AmTech President Roger Hendrick speaks to participants in a TWI open enrollmentclass hosted by the Alexander City, Ala., company about how his firm utilizes andbenefits from Training Within Industry. Looking on are ATAC Instructors DaveDevore, left, and Hank Czarnecki.

TWI course participants listen as ATAC Instructor Dave Devore describes the threeTWI components of job instruction, job relations and job methods.