Evaluate Keller-Globe’s approach to training.

Lou McGowen was worried as she approached the training director’s office. She supervises six punch press operators at Keller-Globe, a maker of sheet metal parts for the industrial refrigeration industry. She had just learned that her punch presses would soon be replaced with a continuous-feed system that would double the speed of operations.

She was thinking about how the workers might feel about the new system when the training director, Bill Taylor, opened the door and said,

“Come on in, Lou. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you.”

After a few pleasantries, Lou told Bill of her concerns. “The operators really know their jobs now. But this continuous-feed system is a whole new ball game. I’m concerned, too, about how the workers will feel about it. The new presses are going to run faster. They may think that their job is going to be harder.”