TS16949 Training Records - Specific individual training records for each person

I run a Manufacturing Plant with many hundreds of different operations with many more SPC, visual checks etc. My question is (ideally to any TS16949 auditors or those with externally audited systems) do I need to have specific individual training records for each person for each and every operation for each type of product produced? This would run into the many thousands of records and seems overkill to me.
Is it possible to have an overall training record for competency to working against control plan and process sheet and visual aid, then for generic soldering, welding, assembly, SPC, visual etc?
An example:
Product A
Process steps are solder components to pcb, insert pcb into housing, fit sleeve, fit connector, fit grommet, final test, print and pack.
Product B
Process steps are weld components to pin, overmould, fit heatshrink, fit terminals, final test, print and pack
Product A and B are different styles of products.
Advice so far would be to have at least 15 training records based on above 2 products. Multiply this by many thousands of products and you can see the problem.
Any advice?

We had similar discussions when first implementing TS. Some of our sister divisions went the route of defining each training step and carefully documenting achievement of each training step for each employee. WOW - great thing to do if you have time to do that, but not many places have a person or two you can totally devote to that kind of tracking. We finally settled on defining in job descriptions the basic skill sets individuals needed in order to do their jobs (ie, ability to read a micrometer, ability to measure and record material readings, ability to follow etc...etc..) and then our HR procedure states that individuals are trained primarily OJT, with their work monitored by Team Leaders. THEN we judge an employee's competence, and therefore the effectiveness of his/her training through employee evaluations. It's probably too "simple" for some, but we've used it successfully and had NO problem with it in TS audits.

Welcome to the Cove Antony.

We have a similar system to the one described by SteelWoman and we have had no problems.

Dave

re: TS Training Records

Hello Antony, I liked the method we used better at a previous employer, even though they were only QS-9000 and ISO Guide 25 registered for the lab I ran. I believe the method used would meet TS requirements without a problem and is actually better than my current employer's method, and we are TS certified.

I had basically 4 positions within the lab I managed - Metallurgical Technician, Metallographer, Stainless Tensile Tester, and Stainless Sample Prep. For each of the positions I had a set of work instructions that detailed a given job function, examples would be pulling a tensile test and reporting the results into the computer grading system, operating the milling machine to produce tensile specimens, operating a shear to generate test blanks from samples, etc. These were fairly detailed work instructions, usually based upon ASTM standards/and or pieces of equipment.

To be judged as competent in a given position, the employee had to be able to perform all of the job functions associated with a given position - typically 12 to 20. For example, a metallographer had to be able to use the different pieces of equipment used to secure metallographic samples, they had to be able to use all availble equipment to mount specimens (cold & hot), select the proper etchant depending on grade of material being evaluated, evaluate metallographic samples, use equipment to take macro & micro photographs, and report results through our computerized grading systems. Training was provided on-the-job by an experienced hourly employee (For entry into the lab, an employee had to be able to perform both the activities required by the stainless tensile tester and the stainless sample prep positions. The initial otj training period was 12 weeks for the combined posiiton.) and the results of the training were evaluated by the supervisor and recorded.

To assure ongoing competency, we also required that employees work the positions within the last 6 months (This was primarily an issue when awarding overtime.) If a person had not worked in a position for the past 6 months, they needed to have a day of refresher training prior to working in that position. I had an Excel spreadsheet where I tracked and controled this to ensure that people remained qualified and that extra days for training were minimized.

I had 1 training record per employee per position for which they were qualified. In this instance, 1 Met Tech with 1 employee trained as backup, 2 Metallographers with 1 employee trained as backup, 12 employees trained as Stainless Testers, which combined the stainless sample prep and stainless tensile tester requirements. As supervisor, I had their training records on file. My supervisor had my training records and competency on file.

Hope the information helps.

Antony said:

I run a Manufacturing Plant with many hundreds of different operations with many more SPC, visual checks etc. My question is (ideally to any TS16949 auditors or those with externally audited systems) do I need to have specific individual training records for each person for each and every operation for each type of product produced? This would run into the many thousands of records and seems overkill to me.
Is it possible to have an overall training record for competency to working against control plan and process sheet and visual aid, then for generic soldering, welding, assembly, SPC, visual etc?
An example:
Product A
Process steps are solder components to pcb, insert pcb into housing, fit sleeve, fit connector, fit grommet, final test, print and pack.
Product B
Process steps are weld components to pin, overmould, fit heatshrink, fit terminals, final test, print and pack
Product A and B are different styles of products.
Advice so far would be to have at least 15 training records based on above 2 products. Multiply this by many thousands of products and you can see the problem.
Any advice?

Click to expand...

- do I need to have specific individual training records for each person
Yes, outlining what they have been trained in.
- for each and every operation for each type of product produced?
Depends on the training needs and methods for determining competance
that you have developed.
As an example, for product A, I would say that soldering would require
specific in-depth training, whereas, the balance of the process could
be OJT using the CP process sheet and visuals. Same would apply to
Product B.

Thanks to all for the replies so far...very useful. Appreciate any other comments if anyone has them.
Very much a relief to be able to talk about these issues with people in the same situation, especially when auditors simply say they will not offer advice.
Good to be a part of the Cove!
Antony