Bendix says the plan, developed in conjunction with CECyTEC, consists of two concurrent initiatives. In one of them, Bendix and the Bendix Foundation will build and equip within the school campus a new industrial production laboratory, open to all students. In the other effort, Bendix will provide a dual education apprenticeship opportunity for select CECyTEC students, who will receive practical training at Bendix’s Acuña campus. The company has maintained its growing manufacturing operations in Acuña, a city of 181,000, since 1988.
Scheduled to start construction in mid-2017, with completion expected by the end of the year, Bendix says the production lab will provide an on-site opportunity for CECyTEC students to simulate and experiment on practical industrial workplace scenarios. The apprenticeship program, starting this fall, will feature ongoing two-year scholarships that combine classroom instruction at CECyTEC with hands-on training at Bendix. Four CECyTEC students will be selected starting with the fall semester in 2017 to participate in this visionary program, and eight students will be selected in subsequent years.
In combination, Bendix intends the industrial lab and apprenticeship program to help better prepare students with the skills required to enter the workforce, while also exposing them to simulated and real manufacturing work environments.
Expanding Education in the Community
Funding for the construction and equipping of the industrial lab is provided by Knorr-Bremse Global Care, Bendix/Bendix Foundation, and CECyTEC. They are contributing $150,000, $75,000, and $25,000 USD, respectively. The dual education program is funded solely by Bendix.
To create and operate the industrial lab and apprenticeship program, Bendix is working with CECyTEC, the program beneficiary, on lab design and program curriculum. Project coordinators for Bendix are Carlos Hungria, chief operating officer, and Maria Gutierrez, director of corporate responsibility and sustainability.
Bendix says it created the initiatives to serve as additional educational options for the Acuña community, whose infrastructure for secondary and high school education is challenged to keep pace with an expanding student population in a growing city. The company also hopes to help increase the number of young people with more advanced skill sets in manufacturing.
“In Acuña, the educational opportunities available to young men and women do not fully align with the kinds of technical jobs in the area,” Gutierrez says. “CECyTEC’s focus on industrial production is a natural fit with Bendix. We see the opportunity to enhance learning in areas such as Quality, Safety, Logistics, and Industrial Engineering. The initiatives grow directly out of Bendix’s core commitment to give back to the communities where we live and work. Knorr-Bremse Global Care and the Knorr-Bremse Group share that commitment, and we’re grateful for the chance to partner with CECyTEC to help students follow their interests and realize their potential.”
Building a Hands-On Learning Environment
When complete, Bendix says the new 2,500-sq-ft. state-of-the-art industrial production lab for CECyTEC students will place particular emphasis on the concepts of teamwork, problem-solving, and process improvement by studying the fundamental behavior of production lines. Key concepts of Quality, Safety, Logistics, and Lean will be incorporated throughout the lab.
Equipment within the lab will include a Bendix manufacturing assembly line that is reconfigurable. Projects will incorporate multiple activities to emphasize specific tools, concepts, or techniques in an experiential way – such as line balancing, kanban, and takt time, among others. The lab will be surrounded by whiteboards and poster display areas for both student work and documents related to the management of the lab. An area for displaying problem-solving approaches will also be provided.
“The existing lab at CECyTEC did not have all of the equipment and space needed to support the kind of educational opportunities the school wanted to develop,” Gutierrez says. “Learning in an improved industrial lab environment will allow the students an opportunity to enter the workforce better prepared for what to expect in a production setting – and to grow and potentially lead in that setting.”
In addition to its use as an enhanced learning facility for all students, Bendix says the lab could also be used in the future for community outreach activities, including summer camps and exploratory visits for high school students, plus middle school and elementary school field trips. The Bendix Acuña operation will also support the lab in several ways, such as providing guest speakers, donating equipment, and hosting workshops.
Apprenticeship Program at Bendix
Bendix and CECyTEC created the dual education apprenticeship program to offer students attending the school an opportunity to enhance current experiences with hands-on vocational training at the Bendix Acuña operation. Program courses will be broken up into four six-month rotations, covering occupational safety, quality, industrial engineering, and materials/logistics.
The apprenticeship program will enable select students to engage in extended work experience plus classroom theory, which will help them earn a high school diploma while also preparing them for a real work environment. Program graduates will have developed a higher-level skill set, enabling them to enter the workforce at a technician or inspector level, Bendix says.
“Program rotations will help students cover all of the key components of working in an industrial production setting, while also supplementing the concepts of a high school classroom,” Gutierrez says. “After completing the apprenticeship program, students will have earned real work experience in an industrial setting, which will be invaluable to them if and when they choose to enter the workforce.”
Students attending CECyTEC were invited to apply for the apprenticeship program, which can be counted toward the Mexican Model for Dual Education program. Following the initial application process, CECyTEC selected 12 students, then Bendix interviewed and selected the final four candidates. Bendix and CECyTEC will also hold kickoff meetings with the selected students’ families to further develop a mutual understanding of the apprenticeship program.
“There is so much excitement at CECyTEC around the new lab and the apprenticeship program,” Gutierrez says. “The students are involved in a contest to help design the lab. They are caught up in the spirit of the whole endeavor. They can’t wait for everything to get underway, and the same goes for us at Bendix.”
In recognition of the programs starting this fall at CECyTEC, the school asked Bendix to be the godparents for the class of 2017, which graduated June 22. Representatives from Bendix participated in the event and provided a gift to the graduates, the company says.
Bendix’s Acuña manufacturing operation was established in May 1988. It currently consists of three state-of-the-art facilities employing more than 1,400 workers and encompassing 412,000 sq.-ft. Acuña is one of the fastest growing Bendix manufacturing sites, the company adds.
Core Commitment
With the support of Knorr-Bremse Global Care, Bendix says it has another educational initiative underway in Acuña. Bendix offers light manufacturing skills training courses for at-risk youth – men and women ages 18-25 who are not currently employed or enrolled in school. The complete program scope includes 12 180-hour technical courses in a one-year pilot taking place at the Bendix campus. The program’s goal is to assist in the personal development of each student, and help them become job-ready for the manufacturing workforce – including at Bendix, which has the choice of hiring up to 80 percent of the course’s graduates. Students engage in classroom training and receive practical hands-on experience, preparing them for a job in industrial manufacturing. The company is partnering with the Instituto de Capacitación para el Trabajo del Estado de Coahuila (ICATEC), a local training institute with deep community connections that is helping to design the course and recruit students, the comapany says.
Along with the educational initiatives, the combined funding and volunteer efforts of Bendix and Knorr-Bremse Global Care have made possible other projects supporting the Acuña community as well. Among earlier projects were the construction of homes for Acuña families who were displaced by a devastating tornado in May 2015, and the building of a new home for the Casa de Esperanza (House of Hope) orphanage.
