Friends and family gathered at the Montgomery Brew Pub on August 21 and EDAA hosted a reception at 129 Coosa Street on August 26 to honor Dusty Brown.  Dusty worked at AIDT for 31 years and held many positions, most recently, Assistant Director.

He retired August 31.

Dusty will be missed for his leadership, friendship and dedication to AIDT and the State of Alabama.

National Alabama Corporation (NAC) is in the process of completing its 2.2 million square-foot building that stretches nearly one mile long in Barton Riverfront Industrial Park in Colbert County.  Once completed and fully staffed, the plant will be capable of producing 10,000 railcars per year of various types with up to 1,800 employees.  AIDT, as an organization, has been supporting this new venture with a customized pre-employment training program and is dedicated to providing a quality workforce for this new venture.  All AIDT employees have a vested interest in the facility as the Retirement Systems of Alabama has invested $625 million to support this development effort.

Photo courtesy of Matt McKean/Times Daily

Groundbreaking for the plant was held in September, 2007.  Building construction is nearing completion while equipment is still being installed.  Much of the equipment is state-of-the-art with an emphasis on robotic assisted welding processes.  Railcars are currently being built on the first of four eventual production lines as part of a de-bugging effort with the new equipment and for training purposes for the approximately 100 people currently employed.  The first completed car should happen by the end of August.

AIDT has partnered with Northwest Shoals Community College to provide both pre-employment and post-employment training for the plant's workforce.  Pre-employment is being conducted on campus within a building devoted to NAC training.  The program is thirty-two hours in length; with half being classroom instruction and half being work station exercises.  Classroom instruction includes safety, math, precision measurement, blueprint reading, and quality.  NAC representatives contributed significantly to the program after observing the pre-employment process at Honda in Lincoln.  Amy Jones, HR Manager for NAC, said "We are sincerely thankful for the outstanding work of our AIDT and NWSCC partners, without the excellent programs and support of our AIDT team, this project would be extremely difficult at best.  We feel that this partnership will continue to provide NAC with the best, most qualified team members possible."

In fact, while some of the workstations were developed or modified specifically for the NAC processes, some were copies from the Lincoln program.  The team tables, which are also used by Thyssen Krupp, are a prime example of transferring a successful concept from one project to another.  Nine workstations that are manned by thirteen trainees make up one training line.  The training building along with an AIDT MTU has a total of four training lines available for use.

Interest in the program has been very high with over 10,000 applications being received since the start.  Applications are only taken online and this was one of the first, if not the first, program to use this approach.  The efforts by members of the AIDT IT group, both past and present, were critical to the success of this approach. 

Almost 2,000 citizens have been invited to an orientation where they learn more about the company and the pre-employment process.  Approximately 450 people have completed the training program.  Under the direction of NAC, one class per month continues to be conducted in anticipation of a significant increase in hiring next year.

Post employment training in welding has been spearheaded by Northwest Shoals.  AIDT has provided training in Leadership Skill I & II, the 30-hour OSHA training course, forklift, and crane training for NAC employees.

Of course the recession has delayed not only the completion of the building, but hiring as well.  Previous plans had called for 500 to be employed by September, 2009.  Additional employees were to be hired as the other production lines became operational and the workforce expanded to two shifts.  The recovery of the economy, in general, and railcar orders, specifically, will continue to dictate the pace of the manufacturing and all support efforts such as pre-employment.

• 12:30 p.m. each Sunday on Alabama Public Television
  

• 8 p.m. each Tuesday on digital Weather Plus 12.2
  
• Charter channel 136 and Knology 121 in Montgomery
  
• Brighthouse channel 213 in Wetumpka and Greenville
  
• Brighthouse channel 228 in Eufaula

• Online at www.onthejobtv.org

Host of On The Job, Bobby Jon Drinkard(left) takes instruction from students on the proper technique of installing a "scotch" at a simulated Mine, with Bevill State Community College's Mining Technology Program.

Mining in Alabama dates back to 1890 in the town of Dora. Since that time, mining has become an important industrial force and a chief source of energy.  Coal Mining has since made the transition from "picks and shovels" to machines and state-of-the-art technology.  Bevill State Community College, in Sumiton, has established the Alabama Mining Training Consortium (AMTC) to address the needs of Alabama's mining industry for mid-level and advanced technicians.  On The Job spent the day in Sumiton, at the AMTC, and got a first-hand look at what it takes to become a Mining Technician and why this is such a lucrative career. Find out about career and educational opportunities this week, On The Job!

September 13

On The Job spent the day with students at the University of Alabama's Department of Geological Sciences as they prepare an advanced soil testing machine for examining the soil depth.

The geology program at the University of Alabama was established in 1847.  The Department has historically provided a focus for the mapping and development of the geological and hydrological resources of the State of Alabama.  Department faculty and students have been recognized nationally and internationally for excellence in teaching and research.  On The Job spent the day with students and faculty with the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Alabama and explored the different career paths and research associated with Geological Sciences.  The On The Job team also had the opportunity to spend some time at TTL (Tuscaloosa Testing Laboratories) and got "hands on" and "dirty" in the field of Geology as Host, Bobby Jon Drinkard, assisted field technicians with the expansion of Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Find out about career and educational opportunities this week, On The Job!

September 20

On The Job host, Bobby Jon Drinkard (left), works with a student collecting DNA, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's new Biotechnology graduate program.

The biotechnology industry has annual sales of more than $50 billion and is made up of approximately 17,200 bio-sciences related organizations, 1,500 bio-tech firms, and nearly one million employees with an average salary of more than $60,000 per year.  In August 2009, the University of Alabama at Birmingham unveiled a new Biotechnology Clinical Laboratory Sciences graduate program (MSCLS) and the new graduate certificate program in biotechnology.  On The Job spent the day with faculty and students involved in the Biotechnology Program, and got a first hand look at why UAB holds the answers for the Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical Industry across the nation.  On The Job also had the opportunity to spend some time with Bio Technicians and Scientists at  HudsonAlpha in Hunstville.  HudsonAlpha is the third largest Biotechnology research park in the country!  Find out about career and educational opportunities this week, On The Job!  

September 27

Host, Bobby Jon Drinkard (right), uses a machine to drill rivets into a piece of steel, as he takes instruction from an employee at O'Neal Steel, in Birmingham.

After more than 85 years in business, O'Neal Steel is now the United States' largest family-owned metals service center.  O'Neal is a full-line metals service company with a vast array of products, scores of locations, and multi-stage processing capabilities.  O'Neal stocks and processes countless shapes and sizes of carbon, stainless, and alloy steel as well as aluminum, pipe, tubing, expanded metal, and bar grating.  O'Neal Steel's philosophy is,  "If we don't have what you need, we can get it."  On The Job decided to see if that "philosophy" was true, and spent the day at O'Neal Steel exploring some of the career opportunities in the Steel Industry.  Find out about career and educational opportunities this week, On The Job!