The Company
American Woodmark Corporation (AWC) is a Winchester-based manufacturer of kitchen cabinets and vanities for the remodeling and new home construction markets. The company employs 3,400 and operates 11 manufacturing facilities in AZ, GA, KY, VA, WV, IN, MN, and TN, as well as various service centers across the country. Its products are sold on a national basis to home centers and major builders, and through a network of independent distributors. AWC is the third largest manufacturer of kitchen cabinets in the U.S.

The Situation
AWC has implemented a manufacturing system that concentrates on high quality and has the advantage of producing significant productivity and quality improvements. The demand for American Woodmark products has grown rapidly as a result, and the company is building new plants and hiring new staff to meet expanded market demand. AWC needed to fully train its new employees in a consistent, timely, and cost effective manner, and management wanted to build from current successes by using existing high performance operations as models for the new facilities. AWC brought in VPMEP to implement a build line interactive training aid project.

The Response
VPMEP Project Managers Gerald Clarke and Mark Oakes reviewed existing training and operational documentation, interviewed line staff, and observed techniques utilized to ensure the full and accurate documentation of job tasks. VPMEP created process flow diagrams and the rough script for filming. VPMEP third party resource Griffith & Coe further developed the script, shot videotape at AWC's Berryville, VA, plant, and created the training videotapes, which were then converted to digital video format for inclusion with the interactive training aid project. Dr. Emily Sterrett, also a VPMEP third party resource, designed and composed a companion booklet and quiz for each of the 10 training packages that were developed.

The Results
The training materials received high marks by AWC internal experts and management, and have been included in a program that AWC designed and implemented to provide computer-based training. As a result of the new program, AWC anticipates a reduction in turnover of 5% per year, training cost savings of $585,000 per year, and a $1.5 million reduction in quality issues per year.

Management's Comment
"The I Can Build It!  computer-based training course enables our assembly plants to train new hires and cross-train existing employees more efficiently and consistently," said Tamara Fleming, AWC's Training Manager. "The course is easy to maintain and user-friendly, and represents one of the many ways we can use technology to improve our current systems. The combined efforts of VPMEP, their third party resources, and our own subject matter experts resulted in an outstanding training course, which we will use as a model throughout the company."

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