A large utility company contacted us to facilitate the development of a custom test for their Substation Electricians. Paul R. Kramer, M.A., Consulting Associate, is working with their job experts to create a completely customized test to use as a promotional tool.
A newly designed test was the result of our job analysis at a breakfast food company in Georgia. The Senior Maintenance & Reliability Manager facilitated meetings with job experts. For the position of Mechanics C, we delivered a multiple-choice test with 120 items and documentation of performance Assignments that reflects hands-on duties for the trade.
In 1996 Ramsay Corporation developed a test for Maintenance Technician at a beverage manufacturing company. The test was reviewed and revised in 2004 and a PLC test was also established. In 2015 the client asked Dr. Robert E. Lofgren, Human Resources Consultant, to collect validity evidence for the current job of Maintenance Technician and Controls Technician. The updated tests will be to collect validity evidence for the current jobs of Maintenance Technician and Controls Technician. The updated tests will be administered online. Scoring and qualification reports will be generated automatically by the Ramsay Corporation Online Testing System.
A plant in North Carolina was the test site of our project for Mechanic A at a cosmetics company. We collaborated with job experts to select and validate a mechanical test. During our meeting, we slightly revised the chosen test for consistency with the job requirements.
At a food manufacturing plant in the South, we made a series of multi-crafted job knowledge measures.
Mechanics who passed at the lowest level were given a $5 hourly rate increase. Several of the incumbent employees passed each test in the C, B, A series and were compensated accordingly. Some were never able to pass at the lowest level and consequently did not receive a rate increase.
We were contacted to begin this project by the person who was originally the Maintenance Manager at the plant where we developed the tests. He then was promoted to Plant Manager, then Division Maintenance Manager and finally Corporate Maintenance Vice President. Although we originally designed these tests at one location, the company began using the tests division-wide and then across the entire corporation.
There is no published narrative or data on this truthful account of events.
Roland T. Ramsay, Ph.D., ABPP
Human Resources Psychologist
President, Ramsay Corporation
The training manager at a large metal manufacturing company in the Midwest has been using our tests for 4 years.
When using our job knowledge test in their competency-based training program, they replaced three workers from the time-based program with 2 workers from the competency-based program.
It only stands to reason that a maintenance technician with demonstrated job knowledge would be a more efficient worker than a person who completed a training program with no elements of verification of knowledge and skills.
Replacing 3 workers with two workers has some immediate cost-saving appeal.
Paul Kramer continued his work with a large utility company by preforming validation studies for completely customized tests, structured interviews, and hands-on measures for their Expert Project Controls Analyst, Cable Splicer, Leader Electrical Technician, Lead Electrical Technician-Hydro, and Lead System Operator positions.
A global manufacturing of protective and specialty packaging requested that we develop a custom test for their Multi-Skilled Maintenance Electrician personnel. Rob Lofgren led sessions with job experts in South Carolina in order to analyze their needs and help them design a test based on those needs. He then collected validity evidence before finalizing this custom test.
Paul Kramer visited an engine manufacturer to collect validity evidence for two of our tests to be used for selecting Electrical Maintenance Technicians and Mechanical Technicians for their North Carolina facility.
Rob Lofgren continued to work with a government defense contractor to collect validity evidence for in-house mastery tests for several areas of their Aircraft Mechanics. The project included both multiple choice tests and Performance Assignment. The assessments were specifically designed to measure the skills and abilities required for that job.
