On our
last day of work at the college before the winter break, I was lucky to take a
“road trip” to visit three new partners. The day started early with a 70 mile drive
to Mitsubishi Power Systems’ production and repair facility in Orlando. There
we joined a tour sponsored by MACF (Manufacturers Association of Central
Florida) for students in the engineering academy at Edgewood High School in
Orlando. Desh Bagley, FLATE outreach manager, Dr. Richard Gilbert, co-PI for
FLATE, and myself, met Ms. Faith Willingham, a new teacher at Edgewood High
School and her pre-engineering students. Sherry Reeves, executive director of
MACF also joined the tour.
Faith brings
years of manufacturing engineering experience to her classrooms, and knows how
important it is
to get students out to see what engineering and manufacturing
work environments look like. The large facility is divided into two sections:
repair and new productions. The repair facility is a large and busy operation
that conducts repairs and regular maintenance of various blades that are part
of the turbines which are primarily used in the electrical utility industry. On
the production side, MPS is manufacturing new turbines. The tour groups were
led by young engineers who had interned at Mitsubishi. The company has a large and diverse
internship program that serves most of its technical career pathways. Mitsubishi
Vice President, Bob Provitola, also serves on FLATE’s National Visiting
Committee.
A
60-minute drive northwest followed the tour and found us at Lake Sumter State
College (LSSC) in Leesburg. The three campus, 7,500 student regional college
wanted to learn more about the engineering
technology degree, and how FLATE
could help with the process of documenting a need and/or implementing the
degree. Dr. Eugene Jones, associate dean of workforce programs, had gathered a
dozen college, school district and community stakeholders for the luncheon
meeting. I gave a brief overview of FLATE, the NSF ATE program and the A.S.
Engineering Technology degree, and then we got into lively discussions about
the local industry base, college, community resources and partnerships as well
as possible grants. A new “Advanced Manufacturing Center” at Lake Technical
Center could help provide momentum and possible articulations into an A.S.
Engineering Technology at LSSC as could pre-engineering programs in the school
district. We look forward to working with LSSC and their partners to start a
new engineering technology degree in the coming year.
Heading
due west, we reached Withlacoochee Technical Institute (WTI, www.wtionline.cc) to visit with Mr. Larry
Hensley, instructor and Ms. Karen Barton, teacher’s aide and student, for the
Industrial Machinery Maintenance and Repair (IMMR) program that Mr. Hensley
started three years ago. WTI provides Post Secondary Adult Vocational training
for residents of Citrus County. The new program focuses on skills and
certifications required to repair, set up and maintain industrial equipment that
could be found in a number of manufacturing related industries. Many of the
skillsets taught in the program also support the electrical utility industry.
The two
classrooms and two large open bay labs filled with a large variety of
industrial equipment and training stations are home to 20 students currently
enrolled full-time in the 1,350 hour program. I first met
Mr. Hensely last
summer when visiting the IHMC–FLATE Ocala summer robotics camps. He was
visiting the camps at IHMC taught by Dr. Cruz to prepare for teaching a similar
camp in Citrus County. Supported by the local workforce board, he was excited
about the camp, but also about using the LEGO® robots to introduce
his IMMR students to programming logic before teaching programmable logic
controllers and CNC machining. He believed that that icon-driven programming
language would help his students, some of whom had limited exposure to
computers and/or programming logic. We will be checking back with Mr. Hensley
on how his innovative use of LEGO® Mindstorms®
worked. Additionally, Mr. Hensley and
WTI will be opening an Automation and Production Technology (APT) program that
is aligned to the MSSC (Manufacturing Skill Standards Council) Certified
Production Technician credential beginning sometime in 2014.
The day
was filled with many new faces, new places, and new ideas. The excitement and
enthusiasm for manufacturing education was electric at all three locations, and
it made me proud that these new partners, stakeholders, and soon to be friends had
reached out to FLATE for help, advice and partnership. Welcoming them to the
growing FLATE family is a wonderful way to start the New Year.
Also
wonderful is our relatively short, but highly informative inaugural issue of
the 2014 FLATE Focus. We start this
new chapter celebrating the successful launch and kick-off of the BEST robotics
program in the greater Tampa Bay area in 2013. We also toot our horns a bit in
showcasing ChampionNow.org ongoing, multi-faceted efforts to promote
manufacturing excellence on a national arena. The organization has made
tremendous strides in that direction and is led by Terry Iverson, one of our
current National Visiting Committee members. Spring 2014 is sizzling with
science fairs across the region. Be sure to attend and/or support a local team,
and read about an award winning student Capstone Project. The sTEm-at-Work
puzzles are back in the board to tickle your problem solving skills. These and
much more in this edition of the FLATE Focus!
Happy
New Year and welcome back!
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