ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 28, 1996 TAG: 9601310089
SECTION: NEW RIVER ECONOMY PAGE: 6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITER
When Nancy Blair began work as a machine operator 20 years ago at Wolverine Gasket and Manufacturing Co., she did not have to use computers, work out statistical analyses or make crucial decisions on a daily basis.
Today she does all three as an inspector on a production line, but not just because she has been promoted through the years. Most workers in the manufacturing industry have to learn and use more skills than they did 20 years ago.
"The more you know, the better it makes things to do your job," said Blair, a New River Valley resident during the last 30 years.
The manufacturing industry is the largest employer in the New River Valley, though the percentage of people who work in this sector is decreasing. About 28 percent of the valley's work force is employed by manufacturing companies, compared with more than 40 percent in 1982, according to quarterly statistics from the Virginia Employment Commission.
For the 17,111 people who have remained in the industry, advancing technology and changing work environments mean they are being asked to do more on the job.
Al Guarino, Wolverine's Blacksburg plant manager, said even the most basic assembly line jobs require more math, reading, writing and even interpersonal skills.
"If you look at manufacturing 20 years ago, what was required in the manufacturing we performed was nothing more than an individual having to know how to start and stop the punch press," he said. "Today, the same individual is not only asked to perform that simple task, they're asked to use the gauging process, they're asked to use statistical processes. ... They have to know enough about what they're producing."
Part of the changing expectations of employers can be linked to a redefined work place. Wolverine and many other manufacturing companies in the New River Valley such as Volvo GM Heavy Truck Corp. are using a team approach most commonly known as total quality management. Even the Radford Army Ammunition plant, under direction from its independent contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc., is developing team management concepts.
Employers who have instituted this style of management say it puts more of the decision making on all of the employees, leading them to take more ownership of the products they help make.
Quality inspectors, once familiar figures in manufacturing, no longer lord over workers on the assembly lines to make sure products are not damaged or defective. The workers themselves must ensure quality, which means they have to know how to interpret statistical data and in many cases use computers.
"It's never worked in the past where you have a police force that tells you if you did something wrong," said John Yearick, personnel director at Corning Inc. in Blacksburg.
At Corning's Blacksburg plant, which produces ceramic substrates used in catalytic converters for the auto industry, employees must understand the entire manufacturing process because they will not permanently be assigned to a specific assembly line or aspect of production.
Robert Hubbel, a Corning employee for the last seven years, said this type of approach can be difficult for someone who has done nothing but work a press for 30 years, but he believes the system works.
"I think if a company wants to truly be successful, they really need to utilize their people, get the people involved," he said.
Part of Hubbel's success in this changing workplace can be attributed to continuing education and training. Hubbel, who dropped out of North Carolina State University's engineering program in his youth, has earned an associate's degree in industrial management from New River Community College and a bachelor's degree in human resource management from Bluefield College since working at Corning.
In addition to helping employees go back to school, companies also are offering in-house training in everything from computers to developing problem-solving skills. Volvo GM, for example, runs a course on developing leadership and interpersonal skills.
Blair, the Wolverine employee, went through extra training a year and a half ago to sharpen her math, reading, writing and computer skills. She also recently earned her General Educational Development degree, decades after dropping out of high school.
"Now you really need more education," Blair said.
While the level of education needed for an entry-level production job has not dramatically changed, some companies have higher expectations. Wolverine, which is expanding its facilities with a computerized production line, now rarely hires someone without a high school degree.
The average employee at Corning has completed 14 years of school - meaning at least an associate's degree - or has the potential to continue his or her education. An inside look at the Corning plant reveals numerous computers with intricate gauging systems, an example of the company's trend toward higher-skilled, higher-wage jobs.
Changing operations at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant also will require more engineers and technical positions in the near future, said Nick Vlahakis, Alliant Techsystems Inc. vice president and general manager in Radford. The Army is abandoning its procedure of handing over exact blueprints to manufacture propellant and instead will be asking facilities like Radford to develop its own techniques.
"I think we'll be looking at more technical people on a percentage basis," said Vlahakis, who added that two chemical engineers were hired recently.
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. GENE DALTON/Staff Bob Hubbel has earned two collegeby CNBdegrees while working at Corning. An inside look at the plant
reveals numerous computers with intricate gauging systems, an
illustration of the company's trend toward higher-skilled,
higher-wage jobs. color
2. The Volvo GM Heavy Truck plant in Dublin has adopted a ``team
management'' approach that gives more of the decision-making to
employees. color
3. At Wolverine, even the most basic jobs require math, writing and
``people'' skills. color