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Educational Development Industry News
March 22, 2015

How Inventors, Institutions, Innovators, Educators and Businesses Collaborate to Forge a Brighter Future for Our Children: Two Case Studies

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Michael Reader

Mukwonago and Beloit (located about 50 miles apart) are two school districts in Wisconsin,  whose students’ paths are not likely cross. However, there is a common thread which  the share:  students from both districts are equally as excited about technology, and are eager to join in extracurricular activities to create products and solve problems, by putting STEM-related principles to work.

Educators and facilitators at both school districts provide the direction, mentoring and encouragement to makeit possible to happen, understanding that the students’ inventions and innovations will need to be put to the test…perhaps through competition, or possibly in the field. Extracurricular initiatives such these are often halted by lack of funding and/or access to facilities, materials or tools that can take the project from design to reality. This is where Precision Plus. and the Milwaukee School of Engineering Rapid Prototyping Consortium come to play. More on that later.

People may know Dean Kamen as a prolific inventor with more than 150 patents to his name, including the famous Segway. However, Kamen is also well known for launching “FIRST – For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” an organization whose mission is to “transform culture by creating a world where STEM is celebrated, and where young people dream of being science and technology leaders.” FIRST celebrated its 26th anniversary on March 20, 2015. Kamen explains FIRST in this short video retrieved from their Facebook Page:

Early in the history of FIRST, Kamen enlisted the help of Woodie Flowers, PhD and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, to create the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), where high school teams would compete with robots they designed themselves. Twenty-eight U.S. teams participated in the first competition held in 1992. Today, there are over 800 teams competing globally.

In addition to the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) for grades 9-12, FIRST also sponsors three other competitions: The Junior FIRST LEGO League (Jr.FLL) for children ages 6 to 9, The FIRST LEGO League (FLL) for children 9-14 in the U.S.), and the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) for grades 9-12. In all instances, the competitions are designed for young people to “gain self-confidence, develop people and life skills, make new friends, and perhaps discover an unforeseen career path.”

First Case Study. One of the teams competing this year in FIRST is The Mukwonago BEARs (Building Extremely Awesome Robots), also known as FRC Team #930 from Mukwonago, Wisconsin. The team is participating in two regional competitions: Wisconsin Regional (March 18-21) at the University of Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Panther Arena, and Buckeye Regional (March 25-28) at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

Earlier in the year, FRC Team #930 contacted Precision Plus for support… not financial, but prototyping support. The team needed access to state-of-the-art equipment and technology to design and prototype one-of-a-kind components for their robot. The perfect place to get this accomplished was the MSOE Rapid Prototyping Consortium Center to which only members have access for a specified number of lab hours. As an active member of the consortium, Precision Plus was able to donate lab time for FRC Team #930 to use in time for the competition.

Second Case Study. Precision Plus also had the opportunity to support the launch of Beloit’s FIRST LEGO League for middle school students, The cyBER Team. The program is led by excellent educators and facilitators, with an added layer of mentoring, which is provided by high school students who are also involved in FRC. Through this type of engagement, the high school students are also learning to better communicate and teach. Last November, the cyBER team competed for the first time with great first-time results.

This video documents cyBER Team’s progress during their first year.

Twenty-six years ago, Dean Kamen had an idea, which is continues to grow. Precision Plus is happy to support the school districts of Beloit and Mukwonago and wishes them continued success.

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Industry News
March 21, 2015

Precision Plus’ 360-Degree Holistic Approach to Closing the Manufacturing Skills Gap

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Michael Reader

Faced with the reality of a shortage of qualified individuals with high manufacturing technology skills, Precision Plus of Elkhorn, Wisconsin launched a 360-degree holistic initiative to address this deficit from all angles–or a game plan to create a pipeline of next generation machinists.

With all the attributes of a David vs. Goliath-type story, the initiative seemed futile at times. However, two years into the undertaking, the David in the story has become an amalgamated and tenacious force of educators, students, manufacturers, organizations, associations, and legislators who are bound to make a difference and close the skills gap.

The video above features a slide presentation created by Barry Butters, Director of Training and Education at Precision Plus In this presentation, Butters lays out the thirteen steps currently in place at Precision Plus which make up the “Playbook for Workforce Development.”

Please contact Barry Butters via email or phone to arrange a presentation at your facility, or to tour our plant and classrooms and learn more about this initiative.

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Community Involvement Educational Development
March 3, 2015

Youth CNC Boot Camp Opens at Elkhorn Gateway Technical College in July of 2015

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Michael Reader

Exciting career educational opportunities are coming to Elkhorn, Wisconsin in Walworth County with the launch of Gateway Technical College (GTC)’s Youth CNC Boot Camp Program at their Elkhorn Campus, which is scheduled for July 13, 2015.

This is a great opportunity for high school senior students who are at least 17 years old at the beginning of the 2015/2016 school year. There is no cost for the program for students residing in Walworth, Racine or Kenosha counties in Wisconsin. Applications must be received no later than May 1, 2015. Two information sessions are scheduled for March 11th and 25th.

According to GTC’s Deborah Davidson, V.P. Workforce & Economic Development Division, the institution has worked with local employers to “develop, design and deliver” a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machine Operator Boot Camp, based on the needs of employers—who are integral to the success of the program.

The CNC Boot Camp begins with in-class instruction, followed by lab time, and culminating with students operating CNC machine equipment like that found in industry. “The curriculum includes courses such as applied mathematics, blueprint reading, machine shop safety, precision measurement and CNC production runs,” explained Ms. Davidson in a video about the program, recorded when it first launched in Racine in 2013.

The first six weeks are spent in the classroom and end before Labor Day. Then, during the school year, students attend regular classes in the morning, and then go to GTC’s Elkhorn Campus CNC Lab from 12:30 until 4:30 in the afternoon.

The youth/high school program is exactly the same as GTC’s Adult CNC Program, but it has been designed to work with the students’ school schedule.  An adult CNC Boot Camp has also been planned for the Elkhorn facility, with details to come.

On February 24, 2015, Deborah Davidson, sent the following informational email:

Dear Walworth County Friends,

In an effort to expand programming opportunities in the Walworth community Gateway Technical College and our partners at the Job Center, WECDA, local businesses and schools met to discuss the inclusion of students in Walworth County to participate in the CNC Operator High School Boot Camp. Piloted in Racine in 2013 and offered again in 2014, we are pleased to open up the programming to both Walworth County and Kenosha County in the summer of 2015.

 In an effort to eliminate transportation barriers for high school student participants, and based on input from Walworth County employers and school administrators Gateway will offer a High School CNC Boot Camp at the Elkhorn Campus beginning in July 2015! Boasting a 95% job placement rate from our 20+ adult Boot Camps, we are convinced that this program will meet the needs of area employers.

While there is much work to do to make this Boot Camp a reality; we are confident that by offering this in Walworth County we are providing students with access to innovative programming that leads to great manufacturing careers. These students will serve as an employment pipeline while building a strong foundation for their future.

Please help us spread the word to the parents and students by inviting them to attend one of the following information sessions:

 Wednesday, March 11th at 5:30pm and Wednesday, March 25th at 5:30 p.m.                                                                                                                                            

 Walworth County Job Center
Gateway Technical College 
Elkhorn Campus
South Building
400 County Rd H
Elkhorn WI 53121

If you are an employer, please consider serving as a mentor/worksite sponsor for these students as they go through the training and the internship. We are delighted with the outreach we have experienced to date but it will take all of us to make this program a success.

Precision Plus joins other businesses, organizations and the community in welcoming GTC’s Youth CNC Boot Camp to Elkhorn.

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Educational Development
February 15, 2015

Chinese Educators Visit Precision Plus To Learn About Classrooms Within Manufacturing Facilities

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Michael Reader

On Tuesday, February 10, 2015, a delegation of educators from the AMIO International English Schools located in the City of Weifang, Shandong, China, visited and toured Precision Plus  Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training, facilitated the tour.

AMIO’s Principal Ms. Haizhen Wang, teachers Ms. Xiuxiang Wu and Ms. Xinhua Feng,  and Marketing and Recruiting Manager Ms. Chongjuan Han, were led by Mr. David An, AMIO’s Managing Director. The delegation came to the Elkhorn, Wisconsin area to observe how high school classes are conducted in the U.S.

AMIO International English Schools have an impeccable reputation not only for teaching the American English language as a skill, but also for their notable efforts to understand native customs, traditions and the semantics that go along with learning the language. AMIO is a private school based on the educational initiatives of DynEd.

The delegation stopped at Precision Plus to learn about how the company combines hands-on training and disciplined onsite classroom teaching.

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Community Involvement
January 21, 2015

Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training To Receive Annual “Friend of the Elkhorn Area School District” Award

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Michael Reader

Congratulations to Precision Plus’s Director of Education and Training Barry Butters, who has received a “Friend of the Elkhorn Area School District” award.  The awards will be presented on January 26, 2015 at Elkhorn Middle School.  The award is a framed picture created by a West Side Elementary student.
Precision Plus proudly supports local educational initiatives.

EVENT UPDATE:

Barry Butters receives “Friends of Elkhorn Area School District” award.

 

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Community Involvement Industry News
January 15, 2015

2015 Manufacturing Career Panel To Be Held on February 18 at Elkhorn Area High School

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Michael Reader

The third annual Manufacturing Career Panel will be held on Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at Elkhorn Area High School. In partnership with Elkhorn Area H.S., Precision Plus will lead a panel of manufacturing experts who will talk to an audience of over 200 students from area high schools about bright and challenging manufacturing career possibilities. The event will take place from 1:00 to 2:35 p.m.

This year, four manufacturing industry leaders will participate as panelists, with Mike Reader of Precision Plus as  Master of Ceremonies. All four panelists have demonstrated their tenacious spirit to succeed and will share their experiences and insights with the students.

Dawn Tabat, Chief Operations Officer – Generac. Ms. Tabat, currently oversees manufacturing, logistics, global supply chain, quality, safety, information services and human resources. She began her career at Generac with a summer job on the assembly line. Tabat credits her corporate success to welcoming and making the best of opportunities as they presented themselves—a trait, which she strives to pay forward. With 2013 revenues of $1.5B, Generac Power Systems is a manufacturer of backup power generation products for residential, light commercial and industrial markets.

Geoff Martin, Principal and Senior Leader – GE Healthcare Partners; Service Line Leader for GE’s Hospital of the Future Solution. Mr. Martin leads implementation teams who provide transformational solutions for organizational redesign and governance enhancement of healthcare institutions. GE’s Solutions focuses on increasing access, decreasing costs, and improving quality in healthcare through a combination of consulting and technology.

Dennis Giesler, General Manager- Parker Hannifin’s Quick Coupling Division. Mr. Giesler has led the Quick Coupling Division—the world’s largest manufacturer of quick couplings–since 2008. The company also produces hydraulic and pneumatic couplings in a variety of sizes, materials, and end configurations to accommodate a broad spectrum of design requirements as well as offering hydraulic swivels, check valves and state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment.

Rick Lofy, Lean Six Sigma Instructor at Gateway Technical College, and Coordinator, CNC Summer Youth Boot Camp held at IMET Center in Sturtevant, Wisconsin. Mr. Lofy will explain the boot camp program, and the benefits for students with regard to  skills and knowledge,  and work experience.  Additionally, he will address the boot camp’s expectations and hours.

Mike Reader, President of Precision Plus  Mr. Reader who has presented on our first two panels and is the chief organizer of the event. He along with Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training at Precision Plus, have dedicated themselves to bringing the world of manufacturing to students of area schools through field trips, job shadows, internships, youth apprenticeships, and informational panels.

This event attracts high-caliber students who are up for the challenge offered in today’s high-tech manufacturing arena. Fourteen high schools have been invited to participate:

  • Badger High School (Lake Geneva, WI)
  • Beloit Memorial High School (Beloit, WI)
  • Big Foot High School (Walworth, WI)
  • Burlington High School (Burlington, WI)
  • Delavan Darien High School (Delavan, WI)
  • East Troy High School (East Troy, WI)
  • Faith Christian School (Williams Bay, WI)
  • Richmond Burton High School (Richmond, IL)
  • Union Grove High School (Union Grove, WI)
  • Waterford High School (Waterford, WI)
  • Westosha Central High School (Salem, WI)
  • Whitewater High School (Whitewater, WI)
  • Williams Bay High School (Williams Bay, WI)
  • Wilmot High School (Wilmot, WI)

For more information about the event, please contact Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training at Precision Plus via phone or email.

Manufacturing helps to drive Wisconsin’s economy as a top contributor to the state’s real GDP ($50 billion in total output in 2013) and by employing16 percent (465,000) of the state’s workforce. While manufacturing was hit by the recent recession, it is making a fast-paced recovery. Reports indicate that the sector has recovered at least half of its jobs initially lost in the downturn, with the latest economic forecasts predicting continued employment growth and recovery into 2016. Manufacturing is expected to add nearly 19,000 jobs by 2020 (Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin).  Many of these jobs will require skills to support the technologically evolving and lean operations of manufacturing companies.

Manufacturing in Wisconsin will continue to be a prime source of employment as we have more workers in this career field than any other state. In addition, the manufacturing sector provides some of the best-paying non-managerial jobs, particularly for those with less than a 4-year college degree.

To view recaps of previous events, please click on the year: 2013 – 2014

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Community Involvement
December 22, 2014

Precision Plus Continues to Serve In the Community

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Michael Reader

The Elkhorn Area School District Administration recommended to its Board of Education to form an advisory committee to explore the facility needs of the district. Following a community-wide survey addressing the district’s needs and the likelihood of community support for such needs, the advisory committee made its presentation to the board on December 15, 2014. The survey was conducted by an independent agency.

The administration sought to include a cross section of individuals from the community to serve on the advisory committee–parents and non-parents, educators and business leaders–and asked Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training at Precision Plus to serve as a representative of a local manufacturer. Barry is also a long-time resident of Elkhorn, whose two children are graduates of the school district, and who already has had a strong working relationship with the school district.

“I was happy to serve on the committee,” said Butters who reiterated Precision Plus’ President Mike Reader’s sentiment that manufacturers need to be working with school districts instead of sitting idly and complaining about work force development issues.

The committee met numerous times over the last several months, during which time, they reviewed the 2014 community survey, a space capacity study and an overall facility study. Working together, the committee formulated a recommendation for a potential referendum, which balances the needs of the district, with the identified support level of the community.

On December 20, 2014, Tracy Owellete of My Walworth County posted an article by The Elkhorn Independent‘s Editor Kellen Olshefski, which outlines all the points presented at the board meeting and the proposed referendum.

Butters was one of three members of the committee who presented the committee’s recommendations to the board, including the community’s resounding support to fund the remodeling of the high school to include a new technical education wing supporting manufacturing career development.

The school board will take some time to review the issues and finalize the referendum questions that will be put to the community this spring.

To see a video of the board meeting, click here.  To see the PowerPoint presentation of the facilities recommendation report, click here.

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Community Involvement
December 21, 2014

Elkhorn, Wisconsin Is Open for Business—Outlining the Mission and Vision of the Elkhorn Economic Development Alliance (EEDA)

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Michael Reader

This is a reprint from an Elkhorn Independent article describing the progress the Elkhorn Economic Development Alliance (EEDA) is doing to attract business to the area by embarking into some “big improvements for the future of Elkhorn.”

Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training at Precision Plus is an active member of the group and serves as its secretary.

Click here for a PDF of the article.

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Community Involvement
December 18, 2014

Christmas Giving: Gifts Abound Under Precision Plus’ Angel Tree

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Michael Reader

For the second year in a row, Precision Plus employees have adopted two families in need from the Elkhorn Area School District.

Their Secret Santa mission consisted in granting the wishes of the children of the family, whose selfless requests often included small gifts for their own parents. Mary Ellen Wright, Social Worker for the Elkhorn Area School District, delivered a set of paper ornaments bearing their requests. The ornaments were hung on Precision Plus’ Angel Tree. Then, our Secret Santas picked one or more wish ornament, went shopping, and brought the gifts to put under the Angel Tree! On December 12, Mary Ellen Wright picked up all the presents, which will be delivered to the families before Christmas.

But their mission didn’t stop there. Besides fulfilling Christmas wishes, our team also brought non-perishable items to donate to area food banks.

We are proud of the kindness and generosity of the Precision Plus Team!

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Educational Development
December 11, 2014

Precision Plus Continues to Support Area High Schools and Technical Colleges by Being Part of their CTE Advisory Committees

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Michael Reader

Precision Plus currently serves on several career and technical education (CTE) high school and technical college advisory committees. Typically, the committees include advisors from area businesses, educators, and community and professional associations, who strive to strengthen curricula as well as the partnership between all of those involved.

On December 9, 2014, Mike Reader, President of Precision Plus and Barry Butters, the company’s Director of Education and Training attended a CTE meeting at Beloit Memorial High School. At this regularly scheduled meeting, school representatives appraised their business partners on the status of courses, curriculum and overall participation by the students, while manufacturers reviewed workforce related issues and suggested course offering revisions that would help to address these issues.

On December 10, 2014, Butters and Reader attended two CTE committee meetings: the Elkhorn Area High School meeting, and the Gateway Technical College Elkhorn Campus meeting.

At the Elkhorn Area High School CTE committee meeting, school representatives also sought the input of their business partners to develop a curriculum that best addresses key industry needs.

These changes are being discussed in anticipation to a major remodeling of the technical education facilities at the high school. Chris Trottier, their principal, led these discussions, explaining the school’s goal to prepare students to take full advantage of new industry opportunities as they become available. On December 15, 2015, Barry Butters will be part of a presentation to the School Board on the committee’s recommendation.

Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training at Precision Plus, who also serves on the Facility Advisory Committee for the Elkhorn School District, confirmed that a recent survey shows overwhelming support by the community for this remodeling project and the technology education opportunities that could be derived from this undertaking.

At the Gateway Technical College Elkhorn Campus CTE committee meeting, advisors convened to take action on a grant proposal for nearly $500,000 to expand the CNC offerings at the Elkhorn campus. Currently the CNC offerings are only at the Racine campus. A successful outcome, would result in the remodeling of the technical education wing to host equipment for CNC machining. The results will be known in March.

The CTE committee meeting was also attended by three representatives from Haas Automation, as well as a number of representatives from area manufacturers.

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