In addition to the standard academy courses, future plans for the mobile unit include training in specialized topics and hosting validation events, the final step of verifying that lessons learned at the academy have been applied properly to a plant project.
The WCM Academy opened its doors in January 2012 and occupies about 25,000-square-feet of the UAW-Chrysler Technology Training Center in Warren, Mich. The academy was created to accelerate WCM implementation by combining classroom and laboratory sessions, with the emphasis on hands-on exercises in problem solving. With a mission to transfer WCM “know-how,” the academy trained more than 3,400 workers from across the company’s North American manufacturing facilities in its first year, far exceeding its goals. Those participating in classes apply their knowledge to begin making improvements as soon as they return to their plants.
In May, the WCM Academy received top honors in the 2013 Manufacturing Leadership 100 (ML100) Awards, being named a high achiever in the new workforce category. The high achiever award recognized the company for receiving the highest score in the category, which identifies companies that involve education and training, knowledge management and transfer, and collaboration with educational institutions as integral to the advancement of manufacturing.