Sheetmetal Fabrication Training Plan

Proposed Training Plan

For
Sheetmetal Fabrication Training

Presented by:
Christopher De Santiago

Date: September 9, 2015

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Table of Contents
1

Introduction......................................................................................................4
1.1
Training Program Description .4
1.2
Goals and Objectives ..5
2 Needs Analysis................................................................................................5
2.1 Techniques ...............................................................................................5
2.2 Impact on Training..7
3 Budget.............................................................................................................7
3.1
Expenses .................................................................................................7
3.2
Income gains............................................................................................8
4 Staffing Plan....................................................................................................8
4.1
Qualifications............................................................................................9
4.2
Role of Instructor......................................................................................9
5 Stakeholders and Goals ...............................................................................10
5.1
Stakeholders worksheet.........................................................................10
6 Communication Plan......................................................................................11
6.1
Marketing Messsage...............................................................................11
6.2
Benefits of Training Program..................................................................11
7 Program Evaluation.......................................................................................11
7.1
Key Personnel .......................................................................................11
7.2
Data Collection.......................................................................................12
8 Summary / Conclusions / Recommendations14
9 Appendix..15
9.1
Stakeholders Worksheet .... 15
9.2
Marketing Message..16
9.3
References. 17

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1 Introduction
1.1 Training Program Description
Sheetmetal fabrication training is used daily at any overhaul maintenance facility.
Aviation structural mechanics are constantly bending, heat-treating, and
machining various types of metal to meet Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
and aircraft manufacturers specifications. Currently there is a performance gap
in the fabrication process stage of non-routine maintenance. A training course
must be developed to reduce waste and increase production of aircraft
readiness.
This training course will cover the different types of metal, their properties, and
tolerances to forming. The course will also cover bending, heat-treating, and
machining the different types of metals. This course will discuss cost of materials,
cost of man-hours, and inspection procedures for the finished product. The
course will reduce performance gaps, as well as, increase productivity on each
project that VT San Antonio Aerospace has. There will also be emphasis on
safety while performing these tasks. The length of this course will be one week. It
will

be

instructor-based

training

and

use

computer-based

training

for

familiarization training. The intended learner will be direct employees with over
three years of aircraft fabrication experience.
This training will reduce the extra expenditures of wasted metal due to lack of
knowledge from the mechanic. This course will not address the routine forming

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and repair procedures, but rather complex forming and machining parts. The new
experience given to seasoned mechanics will motivate them to increase their
knowledge of metal fabrication.
1.2 Objectives and Goals
The fabrication training will cover various objectives. The mechanic will be able to
read manufactures blueprints and diagrams. Mechanics will be able to give a
cost assessment of the work to be completed to include cost of material and
number of man hours per work order. They will exhibit proficient use with various
support equipment used to machine raw stock of steel, aluminum, and titanium.
The mechanic will able to anneal and/or heat-treat any metal to comply with
manufactures specifications.
The goal of this training is to have self-directed structural mechanics to evaluate
discrepancies on the aircraft, identify proper repair procedures, give cost
estimates to the customer, and safely complete the necessary repairs to return
the aircraft back to service. Another goal of this training is to increase overhaul
repair business, by expediting the bidding process with multiple assessors rather
than one or two depending on the man power.
2 Needs Analysis
2.1 Techniques

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Determining what training was not difficult to address. During the duration of my
employment at VT San Antonio Aerospace, The supervisors and managers kept
addressing the extra man-hours and over budget on non-routine work orders.
The routine and simple non-routine work orders were never over budget and
completed on time or early. The complex non-routine cards were constantly over
budget unless an experienced mechanic was assigned the work order. This
caused a bottleneck in production due to manpower shortage. When complex
non-routines were given to novice mechanics the work order when over budget
or exceeded the allotted man-hours to complete.
The three techniques used for the needs analysis was observation, job and task
analysis, and performance reviews on employees. During observation, a number
of mechanics will order two to three times the material need to complete a job.
The mechanic will use the first piece of material and attempt to bend or machine
a part for the repair. The mechanic will the make adjustment and form it or
machine it on the second piece of material. In some instances, a mechanic will
use a third of fourth attempt to complete the fabrication. It is important to observe
a persons work-style and aptitude (Denby, 2010). Depending on the material
used and number of man-hours spent attempting to perform the work, it can cost
the company more money than what is budgeted.
While reviewing the job and task analysis, a number of non-routine work orders
where not paid by the customer. During the bidding portion of a maintenance
assessment, the man hours and cost of material are given to the customer. If the

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hours exceed or material cost exceeds the company can rebid the work order
with proper documentation and reason for the adjustment. If the customer does
not see sufficient evidence for the rebid, the company will pay for the extra cost.
This affects the stakeholders and the employee by reducing bonuses for the
stakeholders and raises for the employees.
The performance reviews on employees also show lack of experience. This is
seen by the quality of work on complex fabrication techniques. Supervisors are
auditing the work orders for complex fabrications and giving formal counseling to
employees that are wasting material to fabricate a repair part. The supervisor
assigns them a mentor with more experience to seek advice from. This causes a
time management problem for the employee because the experienced mechanic
is stopping their job to assist the other novice mechanic.
2.2 Impact of the Needs Analysis
Performing the needs analysis was beneficial for the company. It identified the
areas that have a performance gap and a bottleneck on production. Identifying
the performance gap is the first step to developing an effective training program
(Cekada, 2011). It has also increased awareness to management of shortcoming
some mechanics have and will increase stakeholder buy-in for the new training
program.
3 Budget
3.1 Expenses

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The training program will require a budget to implement. The employees will
continue to get paid their normal wage. If employees get paid $22 per hour they
will be in training for 40 hours. This will cost the company $880 per employee
taking the course. There are approximately 150 experienced mechanics that can
attend the course. It will cost $132,000 to training the mechanics. The fringe
benefits the three instructors will incur will be $200 per course. It will cost the
company $6000 assuming there are 10 class with 15 mechanics in each session.
There will not be any external staff. So the cost will be $0. The material that will
be used will be scrap material from previous projects. Since the sheetmetal
material is a sunk cost for the company and the material cannot be used for
aircraft repairs they can be used for training. The training guides will cost $15 per
binder. The over cost of materials will be $2250. No technical support will be
needed. The equipment has been purchased by the company and is available for
use as needed. There is no travel required for this training. The facility has
available classrooms and work space for the training. There is no miscellaneous
expense. The total cost of training 150 experienced mechanics in 10 weeks is
$140,250. The return-on-investment (ROI) from the training will break-even after
two heavy check maintenance inspections.
3.2 Income Gains
There are no income gains for this training.
4 Staffing Plan

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4.1 Qualifications
Currently there are experienced mechanics and inspectors that are able and
willing to instruct the course. The company will fill the position from experiences
mechanics with the expertise to assist in the training from within the company
(Caffarella & Daffron, 2013).The qualifications one must have to teach this
course is to have a FAA Airframe and Powerplants license, five years of
experience in aircraft fabrication, and the ability to instruct. The instructor must
also have good quarterly evaluations with no scores below a 3.0. This will not be
a full-time position. The instructor will be used on an as needed basis, after the
initial wave of mechanics has completed their training. The pay will not change
for the instructor. They will continue to earn the same amount as their regular job
entitles them. They will receive a bonus payment of $200 for each course
completion. The prospective instructor will have to teach a lesson to the training
manager, director of maintenance, and director of quality assurance to ensure
the information is given properly to the mechanics. They will also demonstrate
the procedures and final products in each skill set to a qualified FAA inspector to
complete the interview process. The prospective instructor must have credibility,
background experience, and enthusiasm to gain learners attention (Caffarella &
Daffron, 2013).
4.2 Role of the Instructor
After selection of a minimum of three qualified instructors, their duties will be to
review the lesson plans and ensure the objectives meet the curriculum goal

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(Caffarella & Daffron, 2013). After the curriculum has been reviewed by the
instructors they will perform tasks that are described in the curriculum prior to
instructing any class. This is to show proficiency to the mechanics that are
attending the training. This will allow the instructors to familiarize themselves with
the procedures needed to properly fabricate complex repair parts.
With the assistance of the training department they will ensure they have
adequate training materials to include, training guides, material, and reserved
equipment for the duration of the week. The instructors will coordinate with the
fabrication shops manager to reserve a lay, an English- wheel, a brake, a shear,
a shrink/stretch machine, and an oven. These will be required to effectively
demonstrate proper techniques to the mechanics.
The instructors will be evaluated by a member of the training department for
effective teaching techniques and an end of course evaluation will be completed
by the mechanics attending the course. This will offer feedback for the instructor
and increase awareness of areas lacking attention. If the instructors fails to meet
training expectation they will be removed from instructing mechanics in the
future.
5. Stakeholders and Goals
5.1 Stakeholders Worksheet
See Appendix 9.1

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6 Communication Plan
6.1 Marketing Message
See Appendix 9.2
6.2 Benefits of the Training Program
The benefits of the training program will increase employees knowledge. This is
beneficial in a structural mechanics career. By advertising the gained knowledge
from this course, it will invite learners to sign up for the course. The mechanic
can have the expertise to be a subject matter expert within the organization. This
can lead to raises, promotions, and special projects. If the mechanic chooses to
leave the company, they will be more marketable with other companies with this
training listed on their resume. Although the training is positioned to training
experience mechanics with at least three years of sheetmetal experience, there
can be exceptions to the training. If a direct employee with less than three years
of experience has ample knowledge, they can be recommended by their
supervisor to attend the training. This will motivate mechanics to study applicable
structure repair manuals and go above and beyond in their job duties. This will
also promote adult learning.
7 Program Evaluation
7.1 Key Personnel

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Program evaluation is paramount to ensure the training is effective. The training
department will evaluate the Training program. The Training department
supervisor will report the findings to the Director of Maintenance and the Director
of Quality Assurance. The Kirkpatrick evaluation model will be used to evaluate
the training program. The Kirkpatrick four level criterion model of evaluation has
been widely used to evaluate training (Griffin, 2010). The first level is reaction.
This will measure the level of attention the learners will put into the course. Is it
beneficial to them? Was the Training effective? These are some questions that
will be answered in the first level. The second level is learning. This level will find
out the knowledge gain by the learner. Assessments will be used to check for
comprehension from the mechanics. The third level is behavior. This level will
check for behavior change in the mechanic. Are they applying the skills they have
learned? If not, is there another issue that is stopping them. For example, the
mechanics is not being supported by the organization or lack of materials. The
fourth level is results. This will be evident in the organizational climate change.
This will be seen with increased production output (Klenke, 2012).
7.2 Data Collection
Formal and informal data collection will be collected. Prior to the training the
prospective mechanics will take a knowledge test of the material to be covered.
An assessment will be conducted after each module to ensure mechanics have
met the objectives of the lesson plan. To complete the course the mechanic will

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have an assessment to test all areas of the training. This will be used to check for
comprehension and application.
The metric for measuring success is the delivery of aircraft to the customers.
There will be a collecting of data from prior aircraft deliveries the categories that
will be identified will be man-hours per specific job task, material usage per
specific work orders, turnaround time for heat treating process, and safety
mishaps. There is a benchmark established with many job tasks and safety data
is collected monthly for company use. The data will be collected after the first
course is completed. It will continue to be collected until all prospective
mechanics have completed the training. The trend analysis will consist of data
prior to the training, during the training, and after the training. The data should
show a decline in man-hours per job, a reduction in material use, faster het-treat
turnaround time, and a reduction in safety mishaps.
Performance reviews will be conducted on mechanics that have received the
training and the supervisor will give results to the training department, Director of
Maintenance, and Director of Quality Assurance. This will identify if the training
helped the mechanics gain knowledge and skills to expedite job tasks.
The informal data collection will be observation and interviews with mechanics on
the effectiveness of the training. This should show an increase in work
performance and a positive impact on adult learning in within the organization.

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8 Summary
In closing, a needs analysis was performed and the data identified a
performance gap in the fabrication of complex repair parts. The gap was
identified as inexperience mechanics attempting to fabricate complex repair parts
with company resources and bottlenecking production because of lack of
experienced personnel. The staffing plan for this training is cost effective. By
using internal resources the mechanic will gain ample knowledge of experienced
mechanics working in their job field. Marketing this training will motivate
employees to request to go to the training by improving their job performance
and attendance. Furthermore, program assessments will be conducted at the
end of each training course. This will ensure up to date information and effective
training is being conducted at VT San Antonio Aerospace. The sheetmetal
fabrication training plan is an effective way to train structural mechanics, reduce
waste, promote safety, and increase profit margin for the company.

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9

Appendix
9.1 Stakeholders Worksheet

Stakeholders
(minimum of five)
Delta AirlinesCustomer of VT San
Antonio Aerospace
Vision TechnologiesParent company of VT
San Antonio
Aerospace
UPS- Customer of VT
San Antonio
Aerospace
US Airways- Customer
of VT San Antonio
Aerospace
Compass AirlinesCustomer of VT San
Antonio Aerospace
VIP Interiors- Support
shop for custom
interior design for
private aircraft

Partnership goal

Ways to build support

To return aircraft back to

service on-time or ahead of
schedule without any extra
incurred expenditures.
Continue to deliver aircraft
to customers to ensure
repeat business from major
airline companies.
To return aircraft back to
service on-time or ahead of
schedule without any extra
incurred expenditures.
To return aircraft back to
service on-time or ahead of
schedule without any extra
incurred expenditures.
To return aircraft back to
service on-time or ahead of
schedule without any extra
incurred expenditures.
Continue to offer support in
designing and installing
custom interiors to ensure
private aircraft owners
continue using VT San
Antonio Aerospace facilities
for services.

Have an open line of

communication for
maintenance milestones.
Reduce aircraft mishaps.
Offer training for
employees to become
proficient in maintenance
procedures
Have an open line of
communication for
maintenance milestones.
Reduce aircraft mishaps.
Have an open line of
communication for
maintenance milestones.
Reduce aircraft mishaps.
Have an open line of
communication for
maintenance milestones.
Reduce aircraft mishaps.

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Continue to support
operations and offer
assistance on difficult
work orders.

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9.2 Marketing Message
VT San Antonio Aerospace Inc.
9800 John Saunders Road
San Antonio, TX 78216, USA
Tel: (210) 293-3200 Fax: (210)
293-3680
About our company
FAA approved repair station with class 3 & 4 airframe rating. EASA, Aruba,
Mexico's DGAC and Bermuda certified
700,000 square feet of hangar, support shops and office space on 50
acres at San Antonio International Airport
Seven hangars capable of accommodating eight wide-body and seven
narrow-body aircraft simultaneously
1,200 employees: Direct and contractors (VTSAA, 2015)
********************************************************************************************

Sheetmetal Fabrication Training

is now available at VT San Antonio Aerospace
Are you a direct employee?
Are you a Aviation Structural Mechanic?
Do you have three or more years of sheetmetal fabrication experience?
Do you want to expand your fabrication knowledge?
Are you ready to learn complex fabrication procedures?
Whats the cost? Free
If so, sign up for the Sheetmetal fabrication training program!!!!
Not Direct employee? Speak to Human Resources to find out how you can be
part of a great team.
Dont have three years of experience? Speak to the training department to find
out how to participate in the training.

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9.3 References
Caffarella, R. S., & Daffron, S. (2013). Planning Programs for Adult Learners (3rd
ed.). San Francisco: John Wiley& Sons.
Cekada, T. L. (2011). Need Training? Conducting and Effective Needs
Assessment. Professional Safety, 28-34.
Denby, S. (2010). The importance of a needs analysis. Industrial and
Commercial Training, 147-150.
Griffin, R. P. (2010). Means and ends: effective training evaluation. Industrial and
commercial Training, 220-225.
Klenke, M. (2012). Kirkpatrick's Four Level Training Evaluation Model. Retrieved
from QATC: Quality Assurance & Training Connection:
http://www.qatc.org/spring-2013-connection/kirkpatricks-four-level-trainingevaluation-model/
VTSAA. (2015). About Us. Retrieved from VT San Antonio Aerospace: http://vtsaa.com/about-us/key-facts-and-figures

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