| | | Some 3,500 local Pfizer Inc. employees will be trained on increasingly complex and rigorous procedures in pharmaceutical manufacturing at the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Michigan Technical Education Center (M-TEC).
Each employee from Pfizer Global Manufacturing (PGM) in Portage and Kalamazoo will be away from normal duties for a full day of studies on quality manufacturing practices, environmental protection, health and safety procedures, corporate overviews, and computer security.
Known as “5th Shift,” the training program will take three weeks to instruct all manufacturing personnel. Pfizer is committing $2 50,000 for materials, supplies and training resources.
“Training isn't a luxury in pharmaceutical manufacturing. It's an absolute imperative at Pfizer and totally consistent with our ever-increasing global standards of quality, safety and efficiency,” said Antoon Brusselmans, site leader for PGM Kalamazoo.
Referred to as the “5th Shift” inside the company to show a commitment to training, the educational module is in its eighth year. The program is returning to the M-TEC for a third consecutive year.
In the past, “5th Shift” was held at the company's Portage site and focused on a subset of employees. For the 2004 edition, Pfizer will require everyone in its local manufacturing operation to participate.
“Pfizer is pleased to work with KVCC and its M-TEC to expand our '5 th Shift' training program to all of our Kalamazoo manufacturing colleagues,” Brusselmans said. “M-TEC is a great resource for our program.”
The 2004 edition is scheduled for the weeks of Sept. 13, Sept. 20, and Sept. 27. The M-TEC is based in The Groves, the college's business-education-technology park along I-94 at 9th Street.
"Workforce training is one of the vital components of economic development,” said James DeHaven, executive director of the M-TEC. “It gives our businesses a competitive edge. We are pleased to help the area's largest employer meet its training needs. This is why the local community came forward in partnership with KVCC to bring an M-TEC to Southwest Michigan.”
While many of the refresher topics - - such as “Good Manufacturing Practices,” “Inspection Readiness,” “Site Emergency Procedures,” and “Waste Minimization” -- have remained constant, new wrinkles are added yearly to reflect new compliance requirements or corporate initiatives.
For example, this year's “5th Shift” will feature “virtual fire fighting,” a demonstration of personal protective equipment, the latest in lockout and security measures, the company's local involvement, and a step-by-step look at how Pfizer's Depo-Provera is manufactured.
In addition to formalized training designed around an annual theme, “5th Shift” features an expo highlighting vendors and exhibits that complement the topics being covered at individual sessions.
“5th Shift” has evolved from a quintet of half-day sessions for a targeted unit to a two-day class for that unit to the latest version, a concentrated one-day event for all Pfizer Global Manufacturing colleagues in Kalamazoo.
To fit Pfizer's production schedule and maximize participation in the 30 topics to be covered, two shifts - 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - will be assigned to the M-TEC training during each weekday. On Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, the one-day of training will run from 3 to 11:30 p.m. | |
