Edison State offers on

Kyle Frame, lab tech at Crane, works on a design-and-build project in which he and other students send a motor forward and in reverse, but before changing directions, the motor is motionless for five seconds.

Courtesy photo

PIQUA — The Office of Workforce Development and Work-Based Learning at Edison State Community College is committed to partnering with area employers to train and upskill their employees. In that effort, the department has collaborated with Crane Pumps in Piqua to deliver an on-site class.

The course, Industrial Controls, examines electrical and electronic devices used in industrial applications. A thorough treatment of sensors and their applications is presented. Students study relays, contactors, solenoids, and thyristor-based power interface devices. Standard wiring practices and troubleshooting skills are developed.

Bobbie Cota, HR Manager at Crane, said, “The top benefit of this partnership is being able to take classroom experience and apply it to our own products. The class has helped students identify electrical components and their functions and how the symbols relate to real-world components.”

Crane has been approved for TechCred reimbursement funds for the Industrial Controls course, which allows Keith Barga, Industrial Technical Training Manager at Edison State, to teach the class on-site. By doing so, Barga can see what employees are doing in their day-to-day work and incorporate that into their coursework.

“On-the-job training combined with targeted formal training provides companies with uniquely qualified employees,” said Barga.

Eight Crane employees completed the class from April to July, helping them develop the skills needed to progress in their careers. The course will also be assessed for college credit, and employees can get on a pathway to finish an Edison State two-year degree or stackable certificate leading to a degree.

“Bringing the Industrial Controls class in-house for us has been an amazing experience,” said Kyle Frame, lab tech at Crane. “Had it not been for this partnership, we wouldn’t have had this opportunity readily available to us due to time constraints at work and our home life. With this, we got hands-on experience and knowledge that will continue to help us in our daily projects at Crane. We could also show our instructor what it is we do, which helped him relate the topics to our current careers.”

“The class has been helpful to our associates in the lab and service department to broaden their understanding of control panel and equipment diagrams and how to identify the components by their symbols to relate them to physical items and their functionality,” said Scott Krites, senior application engineer at Crane. “Taking the instructor’s examples and classroom materials and utilizing those as design/build projects or reading a schematic and creating the wiring circuit is very helpful to the team as we assist others with troubleshooting and start-up of our products.”

TechCred gives businesses the chance to upskill current or future employees to help them qualify for better jobs in today’s tech-infused economy. With Edison State as a training partner, employers have access to numerous short-term, technology-focused, and industry-recognized credentials that qualify for funding by Ohio’s TechCred program. Employers are eligible for $2,000 per employee per application period.

For more information on how employers can use TechCred to host on-site Edison State classes, contact Brandi Olberding by calling 937.381.1533 or emailing [email protected].

Visit www.cranepumps.com to learn more about Crane and current career opportunities with the company.

Edison State is a member of the West Central Ohio Manufacturers Partnership (WCOMP), an industry-led group working to meet the needs of local manufacturers.