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UpFront
UpFront with Americas 21st
Passing the Torch: The Next Generation of American Tradespeople
Caleb Doty asks: “How did you become a sewing mechanic?”
He finds himself asking this question again and again in each factory he visits. Always the answer is the same, “I was taught by another mechanic.” His next question “Who are you training?” is rarely answered. He has only received a satisfactory answer once, out of dozens of times asking. There is no next generation in training, this isn’t going to get better unless we do something…NOW.
My company, Americas 21st, was created to implement a Lean Production System called the Toyota Sewing System (TSS), a modular, versatile, single-piece flow system. This is what we have done for 30 years and still do every day. But when I took over the company, the question I heard most often from customers had nothing to do with the problems TSS is designed to fix, but rather “Do you know any mechanics?” Most often, a mechanic they had relied on for decades had just retired without leaving a replacement or passed away, or they are a new company that never found a mechanic in the first place. Selling automation, or ergonomic stands, to a company that cannot keep their machines running is useless. There are dozens of vendors who can provide equipment, but who provides mechanics?
In January 2022, we began trying to find a solution to this. There were dozens of phone calls to factories, vendors, sewing machine manufacturers, and state governments. Piecing together a model for training that worked. You cannot train mechanics by sitting them in front of a PowerPoint presentation, and you cannot train 30 of them at one time. The traditional solutions to education will not work here. Instead, we found the solution in the way that has been done for ten thousand years… mentorship.
A Sewing Mechanic has a unique role in a factory. Dozens or hundreds of sewing machines, all running constantly. In many plants, these machines may be of a dozen different brands, from a half-dozen decades. The machines themselves vary wildly; a mechanic may be asked to move from programming a new Juki PS-800 wide-form pattern tacker to working on an old Union Special Single needle. As technology moves forward, the job grows in complexity each year, as factory owners push for increased automation, and the need to keep these increasingly expensive and complex machines running grows as well. Even as this trend continues, Mechanics grow rarer.
The program we created is called Sewing Mechanic Fundamentals Course in South Carolina and is growing in other states. The part that appears on the SCMEP website is only the first stage. This class size is only for 3 people, the instructor is always a retired mechanic with at least 3 decades of experience.
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Caleb Doty was in the military for eight years, as an Armor Officer with an emphasis on logistics and supply chain operations. He previously worked at DHL Express as a Process Engineer and at the General Electric Company as an industrial engineer. He has heavy training and a process focus in both military and civilian roles. Caleb was been the owner of Americas 21st since 2021.
A half-dozen sewing machines of different types sit in the room when the student enters, but first with coffee and donuts and meeting new friends. The next two and a half days are full of disassembling and reassembling machines, learning to troubleshoot, learning how to read parts books, and many other things.
Student mechanics leave with new skills, and a set of their own tools, but the most valuable things they take with them are phone numbers. Those of both their fellow student mechanics and of the instructor.
No mechanic will ever know everything he or she needs to fix every issue in front of them. Americas 21st wants to help them grow their network. The peers and mentors who do not work for their company, who they can call when they need some quick help or advice.
In the last 6 months, we have trained 22 new mechanics. It isn’t hundreds, it isn’t thousands, and it isn’t a magic panacea that will reverse decades of decline in our skilled labor pool. But it is a start, and it works. Each one of those mechanics is working hard, fixing machines, and looking forward to a long, prosperous career.
We must fix this now. Before all the previous generation is gone. We can only pass the torch of knowledge if someone exists to hold it, every mechanic that leaves the industry without training a replacement leaves a hole we cannot easily fill, a knowledge that may be lost forever.
I invite everyone in the industry to help. If you have a senior mechanic willing to teach and mentor, let us know. If you have young mechanics that need to learn, let us know. Let’s grow this community, let’s get each other’s phone numbers, and let’s do this together.
About Americas 21st Americas 21st has 30 years of industry support with the Toyota Sewing System (TSS). TSS is a lean sewing process that is focused on throughput, modularity, and flexibility. Americas 21st is also a supplier of all sewing equipment, with its own product line of ergonomic equipment for standup sewing. They are a single-source supplier of consulting, training, and equipment to maximize production performance.
About Americas 21st Americas 21st has 30 years of industry support with the Toyota Sewing System (TSS). TSS is a lean sewing process that is focused on throughput, modularity, and flexibility. Americas 21st is also a supplier of all sewing equipment, with its own product line of ergonomic equipment for standup sewing. They are a single-source supplier of consulting, training, and equipment to maximize production performance.
Contact:
Americas 21st,
339 Miller Road
Mauldin, South Carolina 29662 (USA)
+1-864-297-3733
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