This has reduced the need for outside contractors. Supervisors need multicraft training as much as the technicians do. That means the supervisors have to be, too. So they're equally involved in our training program. They are our most effective tools in everything from visual inspection, which is often overlooked, to sensing that an abnormality is developing and knowing what to do about it.
Operators receive much of their training from the equipment suppliers.
LTV is reducing its dependence on outside contractors for both maintenance and training services. And it's going to get more so as the industry moves more and more to automation. To keep things running, you need a whole set of new skills about some things that didn't even exist a few years ago. Steelmakers are computerizing maintenance functions more and more. Most already collect and transmit data on personal computers, but others are looking for a more sophisticated and all-encompassing computer network.