Inside Berks BusinessEast Penn Manufacturing

Lyons Station, PAJuly 18-21, 2016

Christine WoronkoGovernor Mifflin High School

iBb Internship Program

Five day program to give educators an inside look at a local business

Opportunity to learn how company operates and expectations for employees

Educators benefit by seeing how their curriculum is used by employees

Students benefit by teachers sharing career expectations and applications in their field

History of East Penn

Began in 1946 by DeLight Breidegam Sr, and DeLight Breidegam Jr

Original goal was to recycle/rebuild batteries since materials were scarce

Karl Gasche joined in 1947 and the DeKaname was born◦ De (DeLight) Ka (Karl)

DeLight Breidegam (1928-2015)

“His legacy not only resides in the remarkable organization he founded and built but also in the countless lives he touched, encouraged, and inspired to become the very best they could be. His vision, dreams, and accomplishments will still live on in the people who follow in his footsteps as they grow the company and support the community and country he loved and served”

More than just car batteries!

Largest single-site manufacturer of lead acid batteries in the world

Motive Power Reserve Power Wire and Cable Battery Recycling

Growth of East Penn

50 batteries/day - 1946

2016 vs 1954 aerial view

2016: 160,000 batteries/dayOver 8,000 employees

Our experience

Monday• Introduction• A-2 - Auto battery

manufacturing• Tech Center – Chemistry

lab checking quality• Water Treatment • S-1 – Specialized batteries

Tuesday• Heath and Safety Center• Central Services

(machinists/cabinetry)• Main Office (sales,

accounting, marketing, etc)• Kutztown Wire and Cable

Wednesday• Injection Molding

(manufacturing plastic covers)• Oxide 2 (making lead oxide)• IT (Technology services)• Smelter (recycling, making

metal alloys)• Topton Distribution Warehouse

Thursday (How do we use math?)• Shadowed a QA (Quality

Assurance) Technician• Q&A: Quality Engineer• Industrial Tech Lab

Entry-level skill requirementsManufacturing (83% of jobs)

Resume/application High school diploma Good attendance record Online math test Civic group/volunteer work helpful Industrial skills helpful (ex: BCTC) Physical skills – some heavy lifting Drug test required 10,251 applications per year – 7.7% hired

Entry-level skill requirementsProfessional

College degree in appropriate field◦ Engineering (Engineering/quality control)◦ Chemistry (Tech lab/engineering)◦ Computer programming (IT)◦ Psychology/communications (personnel/sales)◦ Accounting/math (cost accounting/analyst)◦ Medicine/nursing (health center)

Professional skills – heavy use of Excel Good attendance record

Salary and benefits: New employees

Battery Manufacturing Trainee (BMT – no manufacturing experience) - $12-15/hr

Full time employee - $18-19/hr Bonuses – 2-3 weeks pay, based on

production and/or safety standards, depending on department

Medical, Dental Insurance Plans Profit sharing – 401K

East Penn’s Greatest Asset

Privately-owned – instead of answering to stockholders, they invest back in company and its employees

Supportive employee environment – family oriented, good pay and benefits

Safety emphasized Longevity of employees – believe in promoting

from within Innovative – constantly improving and expanding Environmentally responsible – recycle as much

as possible Very little outsourcing – “vertical integration” –

supplying own materials as much as possible

Challenges

People – dealing with conflict, employee misbehavior or attendance issues

Employee longevity – passing of knowledge from long-time employees to newer trainees

Working conditions are challenging – hot, dealing with lead

Keeping up with safety standards, complying with OSHA

These issues are being addressed through training, meetings, bonuses offered for safety compliance

Technology at East Penn

Citrix system Robotics Excel spreadsheets Six sigma Data Meister Minitab 3D – Autocad, Solidworks Automatic storage/retrieval crane system Programming in various languages, including Cobol Programs are sometimes bought to use ‘as is,’ and

sometimes must be written or tweaked to serve company’s purposes

Skills required in the work place

Good attendance Completion of training and 6 month

probation period Compliance with safety standards◦ Blood lead testing◦ Random drug testing◦ Use of ventilator, if needed

Physical requirements of job - lifting, standing Technical skills to run machines Measurement skills Basic math skills – estimation, collecting and inputting data Ability to work as part of a team Good communication skills Be willing to learn!

When am I ever going to use this?

Inferential Statistics Group Project

A. The following measurements (height of battery terminal) were taken on the battery manufacturing floor. Use descriptive statistics to summarize the data.

B. Peak efficiency of lead occurs when the terminal measurement falls between ± 3 standard deviations. Find the range that this will occur.

C. Since lead is an expensive metal, it should not be wasted. Quality Assurance measures terminals to ensure that each is under 15/32 in. According to the Central Limit Theorem, how many terminals will measure greater than 15/32 in. per day in a plant where 50,000 batteries are produced?

D. Lead currently costs $0.84/pound and each terminal over 15/32 inches wastes an average of 2 ounces of lead. How much lead is wasted according to part C. Construct a plan for sharing your knowledge with the plant manager, assuming he/she has not had a formal course in statistics.

.349 .464 .359 .395 .385 .427 .409 .352 .395 .442

.427 .397 .429 .433 .389 .385 .419 .425 .451 .449

.438 .386 .459 .437 .386 .417 .398 .443 .459 .423

When am I ever going to use this?

Inferential Statistics Group ProjectPA Career Academic Standards:

13.2.11.A Effective speaking and listening skills 13.2.11.E Essential workplace skills 13.3.11.B Evaluate team member roles 13.3.11.C Conflict resolution skills 13.3.11.E Time management

Content Academic Standards:

CC.2.4.HS.B.1 Summarize, represent, and interpret data on a single count or measurement variable.CC.2.4.HS.B.4 Recognize and evaluate random processes underlying statistical experiments.CC.2.4.HS.B.5 Make inferences and justify conclusions based on sample surveys, experiments, and observational studies.

When am I ever going to use this?

Trigonometry in the Workplace Application A. The blueprint for an aluminum vent is shown below. Find the length indicated,

and all angles, showing all work.

B. If aluminum costs $8.12 per square foot, how much will it cost to produce this vent piece?

C. In order to comply with OSHA ventilation standards, this vent piece must contain volume greater than 1500 cubic feet. Prove that the piece is within specifications.

Trigonometry in the Workplace

PA Career Academic Standards:

13.2.11.A Effective speaking and listening skills 13.2.11.E Essential workplace skills 13.3.11.B Evaluate team member roles 13.3.11.C Conflict resolution skills13.3.11.E Time management

Content Academic Standards:

CC.2.1.HS.F.3 Apply quantitative reasoning to choose and interpret units and scales in formulas, graphs, and data displays.CC.2.1.HS.F.4 Use units as a way to understand problems and to guide the solution of multi-step problems.CC.2.2.HS.D.2 Write expressions in equivalent forms to solve problems.CC.2.2.HS.D.8 Apply inverse operations to solve equations or formulas for a given variable.CC.2.3.HS.A.7 Apply trigonometric ratios to solve problems involving right triangles.

How math is used at East Penn

Production statistics Quality assurance data Calculations to improve engineering◦ Trigonometry calculations◦ Calculus concepts and formulas◦ Data to test and track performance◦ Physics/electrical formulas

Tracking safety data in OSHA compliance 3D software for prototypes Cost accounting Planning UPS systems to fit in available space Tracking lead prices and changing customers’ costs Producing lead alloys and lead oxide Six Sigma to ensure continuous improvement Tracking inventory

What I learned from this internship

Great experience for me to see the ‘real world,’ as a 24-year veteran teacher

People in the workplace DO use math Students need foundational skills that

they can build on in their future training Higher math is often used as a foundation

of understanding, rather than details of how it is learned

Most important skills for future workers: show up on time, be willing to learn