TAUNTON, MA — Harpak-Ulma’s Packaging Academy has received accreditation by the International Accreditors of Continuing Education and Training (IACET). It is the first and only packaging industry vendor to achieve this status.
“The accreditation is an important milestone to the Academy — as well as the packaging industry,” said Cliff Fitzgerald, manager of Harpak-Ulma’s Packaging Academy. “Knowledge transfer is essential to the success of every automated packaging solution – but it’s too often an afterthought for some OEMs. The quality of the training has a direct and measurable impact on a customer’s packaging operations, effectiveness and cost. We aim to improve staff learning curves while dramatically improving applied knowledge retention. A standards-based training program is the solution.”
Harpak-Ulma hopes other equipment suppliers will follow suit with the rising demand for well-trained staff.
“Our most successful customers recognize that issues such as lack of training or knowledge of the equipment, technical issues or equipment malfunctions, and limited access to maintenance and repair services can be mitigated with Harpak-Ulma’s training programs,” said Mary Ahlfeld, marketing director of Harpak-Ulma. “With this accreditation, we’ve taken a large step forward to provide our customers with the best training possible so they can achieve improved safety, compliance with regulations and standards, as well as increased efficiency and productivity in their packaging processes.”
Josh Becker, product manager – bakery/confection of Harpak-Ulma, noted that the IACET accreditation reflects the company’s proactive steps against workforce challenges seen across the baking industry and its commitment to providing value-added training that includes the opportunity to earn continuing education credits.
“We need to keep talking about educating the general workforce,” he said. “We want to invest in our customers, who will in turn invest in their employees. At the end of the day, it is all about the people. If we have confidence in these training programs to ensure safety, compliance with regulations, and proper machine operation, you will see increased employee engagement and an increase in operational efficiency. With the proper training (and continuing education credits) you are telling your employees that they matter.”
Fitzgerald also shared that Harpak-Ulma is working on using augmented reality (AR) as a training tool, with hopes of introducing optional AR-enabled monitoring and servicing capabilities commercially across its smart packaging platforms this year.
