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The Importance of Training as Part of MIDE Technology Corporation’s Culture
With the help of: Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP)
About
Mide Technology is a research and development company that excels in providing innovative engineering services leading to value-added products and solutions for their customers. Mide approaches every problem with a focus on requirements and systems engineering. They work with the customers as team members so they are able to better understand how their product fits into the customer’s system and solves the customers’ problem. Mide has a strong base of technical expertise and has many successful products while having been awarded over 20 U.S. Patents.
The Challenge
Mide and MassMEP, part of the MEP National Network™, have an ongoing relationship and meet periodically to identify additional training opportunities. Mide has been growing and leadership wanted to provide training that would complement that growth. Out of their ongoing relationship, Mide and MassMEP identified topics to apply for a MA Workforce Training Fund General Grant, intended to provide applicants with the resources to invest in the Massachusetts workforce, improve employee skills, and maintain the economic strength and viability of the Commonwealth’s businesses.
My experience with Mass MEP has spanned multiple years. From consulting on training strategy to providing select needed instruction to large scale grants. The quality of the people I have worked with including Tom Andrellos and John Pelletier has been excellent. They have worked as partners with me and helped significantly with providing valuable instructional products to Mide. Mass MEP and their training solutions are viewed as an integral part of Mide’s training strategy by the senior management team.
MEP's Role
The General Grant provided funding for a number of courses to strengthen different areas of the company. First, Mide implemented their training plan with MassMEP productivity courses for the office and production areas that included Lean for Job Shops and Lean Principles for the Office. Through value stream mapping (VSM), Mide evaluated processes in administrative areas for improved productivity, improving Mide's administrative responsiveness. Mide also did VSM in their three production areas, and combined with the findings in engineering and productivity training the company found opportunities in quality process improvement. As a result, Mide hired a quality manager, and is evaluating their quality room and equipment. With improved office and administrative processes Mide was able to support the growing business with existing resources and improved workflow.
Overall the training made for a much-improved work environment for everyone as well as improved productivity, strengthening the company and leading to further opportunities for improvement. Mide now employs 65 people and has grown by eight since training with MassMEP started. The growth is being driven by new business, additional support functions and replacement of personnel.