MST facility manager Lisa Woodrow said another concern she had was that some employees may not have been fully aware of the hazards involved with operating the machines. Joe Sanchez, a veteran machinist now with ESH-13, developed the training materials, which were reviewed by Gutierrez and other subject matter experts in MST, that is, those who have had many years of machine operating experience. The training program went into effect in January. Each machine in MST has a specific training program, but some machines require more training than others. For example, one videotape focuses on how to safely operate belt sanders, but four videotapes are dedicated just to lathes.
Training is done on an as-needed basis.
Once employees make it through the program, they receive orange cards that identify which machines they are authorized to operate and keys to those machines. Also, MST consolidated the number of shops from 10 to five to better conduct machine maintenance. In addition, line management has the authority to determine which employees need to undergo safety training. Those who line management feels do not need the training fill out an exemption form, which is then signed by an authorizing official. For example, of the 48 employees who work with engine lathes, line management required 10 of them to undergo the training.