As MPS Trainings Centre Manager since 2011, I frequently visit customers owning our flexo presses and have observed that operators are not using all the functionalities provided with their machines (such as the automation possibilities), which costs more time and waste.
It occurred to me that perhaps more in-depth training could help operators understand more about their press, and maximize its full potential.
So when asked by Marc-Jan Goossink (Manager After Sales at MPS), I was excited to be involved with designing the first operator and engineer training courses launching this September — and put my passion for helping operators into reality.
Answering common questions and struggles
Marc-Jan and I invested a lot of thought in composing a programme to answer common questions and difficulties operators have, and teach them how to use the machine with all its features.{{cta('e8dd54b7-677b-4eed-a97f-b6eca9f91cad','justifyright')}}
For example, I often receive questions about how to use the automatic register systems (such as job memory and auto register), how to set minimum impression or how to set up the machine with minimum waste.
But, there’s also a lack of knowledge on popular applications and finishing options, such as delam/relam, die cutting, cold foiling, UV laminating and metric printing.
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News - MPS develops training courses for operators and engineers
Why operator training is key
How to capture (and maintain!) attention
One of our concerns was how to keep audience attention for the 3-day (operator) and 5-day (engineer) training programs. The answer? By making it visual, practical and interactive!
As I’ve led many training sessions before at MPS for both internal staff and external audiences, what struck me was that people get enthusiastic when you involve them — especially when they can exchange information and experiences with each other.
So, we ensure there is lots of interaction in the training sessions. Even the theoretical sections have plenty of images, to visually show what we are explaining about the press, and provide the participants the opportunity to practice what they learned right away on the press.
Another benefit of our training programs is that printers don’t need to organize this on their own presses. As training takes place at the MPS Technology & Expertise Centre in Arnhem on our machines, operators have time to learn more about all those important extras on our press without having to stop their own press from running jobs.
Increase knowledge and motivation
Training and education aren’t just crucial to reach your financial goals, it also increases your press operator’s motivation and dedication. But not only your operator. What about your service engineers or technical service? Besides the base knowledge from the operator training, they receive 2 extra days of training that goes deeper into the underlying techniques and how to solve errors more efficiently.
In most printing companies, the focus is on profitability and quantity, so operators are taught to just keep the press running and make meters. But they want more — they want to be challenged and contribute to those goals by doing extra, and our MPS presses offer those possibilities. It only requires training!
Reserve your spot
At MPS, we take ‘Share Expertise - Multiply Benefits’ very seriously, which is echoed in the development of our new training programs.
I’m happy to see that the first operator and engineer training sessions in September generated very positive response. There’s still limited space left, so if you’re interested, be sure to act quickly and secure your spot!
Register for the operator training
Register for the engineer training