Rexam Pharma Uses WorkKeys to Prepare Employees for Accelerated Training

The Company
Rexam Pharma – West Lafayette, IN
This manufacturer of medical devices and packaging for the health care market supplies more than 1 billion products to the pharmaceutical industry each year. The company produces goods including pill jars, nasal sprays, and syringes.

The Challenge
To ensure that employees have the foundational skills necessary for advanced training and certification.

The Solution
Using WorkKeys job profiling and skill assessment to find skill gaps among employees in 10 job positions.

The Results
A significant reduction in inventory costs, better training absorption, and a merit-based reward system.

In 2005, Rexam Pharma purchased its West Lafayette plastics plant for the manufacturing of more than 40 types of custom injection molding parts.

With the goal of increasing productivity and profit, the West Lafayette plant introduced complex manufacturing training to personnel, including Six Sigma, value stream mapping, lean manufacturing, and the Society of Plastics Industry certification. To ensure that employees possessed the foundational skills necessary for the training, WorkKeys job profiles were established for use in performance reviews, merit increase decisions, and identification of training readiness. Eventually, 10 jobs ranging from engineer to administrative assistant had been profiled, and every employee in those positions was tested with WorkKeys exams appropriate to their positions.

The skill areas tested were Applied Mathematics, Applied Technology, Listening, Locating Information, Observation, Reading for Information, and Teamwork. The company offered skill-specific training to help employees raise their skill levels.

Results

Reduced inventory costs—As a result of better training absorption, plant floor employees report that they have a better understanding of plant operations, which lead to better informed suggestions for plant improvements and more rapid adaptation to changes. Managers at the plant report that a number of suggestions have led to changes in the storage of raw materials. This reduces inventory storage and travel costs and has resulted in a cost savings of between $25,000 and $30,000 per year.
Quicker time to proficiency—Employees involved in the WorkKeys program have a better comprehension of training content and can apply the learning to the job.
Better rewards for high-performing employees—High-performing employees are amply rewarded since adoption of the WorkKeys system. A new merit increase system was created, based on WorkKeys scores. Within one month of its creation, 10 percent of low-performing employees had voluntarily sought to improve their skills through foundational skill training on their own time and money.
Employees are better prepared for certification—In order to take the Society of Plastics Industry certification exam, candidates must provide evidence of mastery of the foundational skills. Rexam Pharma plant managers have found that employees with higher WorkKeys scores are more likely to pass the certification exam prerequisites. This allows plant managers to identify interested employees who are likely to be successful in the certification program, saving valuable training dollars.