Tag: training

Equipment Buyers Don’t Shop

Written on by frain-sales

When we talk to equipment buyers, they aren’t shopping in a traditional sense of browsing the internet or stores for deals.

Most machine or packaging line purchasers are looking for something very specific, i.e. bottling line, cartoner, case packer, liquid filling line, stretch wrapper, palletizers, etc.

Many of our customers come to us first for the following reasons:

  • Frain’s huge inventory of new and used packaging and processing machinery – from individual machines to complete lines
  • New and rebuilt machines – every machine ships certified pre-owned, parts warrantied and satisfaction guaranteed
  • We get it to you fast with purchase, rental and lease options so you can adjust to seasonal demand, contract projects, and increased production for whatever reason
  • Free consultation with our engineers guarantee the best approach for their line or machine without the hassle of being sold into the wrong machine
  • Needs are fluid, they can rent, lease or purchase the machine from Frain and return it or sell it back to Frain to maximize cash flow, footprint or upgrade capacity with new machinery from our inventory
  • We dot I’s and cross T’s with shop-to-shop hand-off calls and video/onsite factory acceptance testing, FAT
  • Installation, start-up, training, and field services
  • Frain has over 35 years of expertise with many staff members here for the majority or full length of that duration

 

Training Goals

Written on by frain-sales

You may have heard of the quote, “train insane or remain the same.”

This can be applied to virtually everything, especially equipment.

Buying machinery, new or used, is the easy part. Getting it going and training the right people is the challenge.

From the start, Frain connects customers to knowledgeable engineers, skilled technicians, and our Field Service team to customize each machine or complete packaging line to the exact product specifications.

Each machine goes through a reality-check, hand-off call before each customer is invited to Frain for factory acceptance testing.

Finally, we offer start-up and training services, including service support, training recommendations, debugging, equipment manual(s), and spare parts list.

Unlike many companies, we offer machine installation and on-site training to ensure all operators are prepared as needed.

If you’re considering equipment or machinery and not sure where to start, remember that without proper training your operators and overall efficiency remains the same: idle.

Learn how Frain can transform your equipment buying experience.

Machines Are Easy, People Are Hard

Written on by John Henry

The comment going around is that customers are starting to ask, “Does that machine come with a technician?” There are some vendors who do need supply operators and technicians for major pieces of equipment but I am not aware of any in packaging, yet. One problem is that the builders are having as hard a time as anyone else finding qualified people.

Despite high unemployment rates, they are still rather thin on the ground.

So if you can’t hire qualified skilled people, perhaps you can hire “qualifiable”, semi-skilled people and train them.

Training is expensive. When people are in training, they are generally not doing productive work but they continue to get paid. You’re looking at the cost of instructors, materials, managerial overhead and more.

Once trained, your protégé may jump to somewhere else with better pay because now they are skilled.

You can repeat the old mantra “It is better to train someone and lose them than not train someone and keep them.” It might make you feel better but it doesn’t put the beans on the table.

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What is needed is a two pronged focus. Training alone is not enough because you may lose the trained worker. You must also focus on keeping that trained worker. That is probably the more difficult of the two. It is relatively straightforward to determine what training is required and then deliver it.

Retention requires identifying what motivates the person and then providing it. This is difficult to do because no two people are alike. Everyone has different motivators and de-motivators. A common belief is that everyone is motivated primarily by money. Money is certainly part of it, but research shows that it is seldom the most important part. What most people want is “a good place to work”. Provide that, with competitive compensation, and you should have less problems with retention.

What is “a good place to work”? I don’t know. That is going to be different for each person and each workplace. What I do know is that you need to figure it out for your people and your workplace.

When you have trouble finding new people, keeping the ones you have becomes much more important.