Workers on a high-tech assembly floor working on an aircraft

MSSC Overview

The Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) is an industry-led standards-based, training, assessment and certification system focused on the core skills and knowledge needed by the nation’s production and supply chain logistics workers. The nationwide MSSC System, based upon industry-defined and federally-endorsed national standards, offers both entry-level and incumbent workers the opportunity to demonstrate that they have acquired the skills increasingly needed in the high-growth, technology-intensive jobs of the 21st century.

The MSSC offers certificate(s) and/or certification for both Production Workers (Certified Production Technician or CPT) and Front Line Workers in Supply Chain Logistics foundational-level (Certified Logistics Associate or CLA) and mid-level (Certified Logistics Technician or CLT).

CPT: The MSSC System awards certificates to individuals who pass any of its four Production modules: Safety; Quality Practices & Measurement; Manufacturing Processes & Production; and Maintenance Awareness and a full Certified Production Technician (CPT) Certification to those who pass all four. Applicable to all sectors of manufacturing, the MSSC goal is to assess 40% of the nation’s entry-level and incumbent production workforce—a strategy for providing industry with a future pipeline of skilled workers.

CLA/CLT: These certifications address the core competencies of higher skilled, front-line material handling workers (entry-level to first line of supervision) across the supply chain: from factories, to warehouses, to distribution centers to transporters.

For both manufacturing production and supply chain logistics, MSSC offers industry a new set of tools to ensure that both entering and incumbent workers are flexible, easily trainable, and highly motivated knowledge workers able to keep pace with technological change—the “Industrial Athlete of the Future.” The key activities against which MSSC trains and assesses both production and logistics workers are included below.

Just as “ASE” (Automotive Service Excellence) certification is the standard for quality in the automotive repair sector, the CPT and CLT Certifications will set the quality standard for front-line workers in our nation’s factories, distribution centers, warehouses, and transportation hubs. MSSC benefits to employers include:

A pipeline of skilled workers by embedding MSSC certification training into the schools
Decreased recruitment costs by providing job candidates with industry-recognized credentials
Elimination of remedial training costs by providing well prepared workers
A diagnostic tool to benchmark incumbent workers against a high-performance national standard
Increased ROI for training by targeting it against the gaps identified by the MSSC diagnostic tool
An aid to attracting, motivating and retaining qualified employees.

The federal National Skill Standards Board formally recognized MSSC as the “Voluntary Partnership for Manufacturing” in 1998 and officially endorsed the MSSC’s industry-led, nationally validated standards in 2001. The development of those standards involved 4000 front-line workers, 700 companies, leading industrial unions, 350 subject matter experts and a public-private investment of over $9 million.

Since that time, the MSSC has developed, validated, piloted and deployed all the tools of a comprehensive system for both CPT and CLT Certifications: updated standards, on-line and instructor-led courses, computer-based training, textbooks, instructor certification training, assessment center certification, a national registry, assessments, credentials, and diagnostic tools for employers. Companies may use these tools themselves or work through their local community colleges and/or high schools.

To obtain a full description of MSSC certification system tools and price sheets, including volume discounts, please contact Neil Reddy, General Manager, at reddyn@msscusa.org or at 703-739-9000, ext. 221

MSSC Certified Production Technician (CPT) Key Work Activities for Standards, Training and Assessments

Safety

Work in a safe and productive manufacturing workplace
Perform safety and environmental inspections
Perform emergency drills and participate in emergency teams
Identify unsafe conditions and take corrective action
Provide safety orientation for all employees
Train personnel to use equipment safely
Suggest processes and procedures that support safety of work environment
Fulfill safetyand health requirements for maintenance, installation, and repair
Monitor safe equipment and operator performance
Utilize effective, safety-enhancing workplace practices

Quality Practices and Measurement

Participate in periodic internal quality audit activities
Check calibration of gages and other data collection equipment
Suggest continuous improvements
Inspect materials and product/process at all stages to ensure they meet specifications
Document the results of quality tests
Communicate quality problems.
Take corrective actions to restore or maintain quality
Record process outcomes and trends
Identify fundamentals of blueprint reading
Use common measurement systems and precision measurement tools

Manufacturing Processes and Production

Identify customer needs
Determine resources available for the production process
Set up equipment for the production process
Set team production goals
Make job assignments
Coordinate work flow with team members and other work groups
Communicate production and material requirements and product specifications
Perform and monitor the process to make the product
Document product and process compliance with customer requirements
Prepare final product for shipping or distribution

Maintenance Awareness

Perform preventive maintenance and routine repair
Monitor indicators to ensure correct operations
Perform all housekeeping to maintain production schedule
Recognize potential maintenance issues with basic production systems, including knowledge of when to inform maintenance personnel about problems with:
- Electrical systems
- Pneumatic systems
- Hydraulic systems
- Machine automation systems
- Lubrication processes
- Bearings and couplings
- Belts and chain drives