Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence Supports Workshops for Warriors

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence (North Kingstown, Rhode Island) is supporting Workshops for Warriors (WFW), a nonprofit organization created to train military veterans in advanced manufacturing, by contributing several portable Romer Absolute measurement arms. The contribution is intended to help expand the program into metrology education with industrial-grade equipment and expert mentoring.

Located in San Diego, California, a major manufacturing hub and one of the largest U.S. military cities, Workshops for Warriors has produced 421 graduates earning 2,500 nationally-recognized certifications from the National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS), the American Welding Society and more.

As the industry evolves toward the Smart Factory, the addition of metrology training at WFW is meeting the demand for workforce proficiency in measurement, inspection, quality assurance and emerging data-driven processes now fueling new and advanced manufacturing practices, Hexagon says.

Hernán Luis y Prado, the school’s founder and a veteran of both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, wanted to help his community of veterans struggling in their transition back to civilian life. Since 2008, he has built a successful vocational training program for service members to learn and earn portable and stackable credentials in their chosen manufacturing career field. In addition to metrology instruction, the organization offers classes in welding and fabrication, CAD/CAM programming, CNC machining and turning, and machinery repair and maintenance. Instruction is offered by skilled veterans, active-duty service members and industry experts. Hexagon has also provided its knowledge and technical support to the school.

“Hexagon provides calibration services for their products locally, which is important to us, and supports the needs of our dynamic, hands-on teaching environment,” says Mr. Luis y Prado. “Most manufacturers in our area already have Hexagon technologies, so students can gain experience on industrial-grade equipment here, then move into a real manufacturing environment. Employers have told us specifically that having graduates with metrology training and experience on Hexagon equipment is one of the main reasons why they were hired. In fact, one manufacturer recently offered seven jobs to our graduate students.”

Steve Starner, Hexagon’s Director of Business Development for Aerostructures, affirms the worthiness of the cause. “Many veterans already possess mechanical and technical proficiencies gained from their military training. As the field of manufacturing continues to reinvent itself, military veterans can play a crucial role in this resurgence and forge long-term, high tech careers,” he says. “Industry demand will continue to grow for qualified, metrology-savvy workers, as world-class manufacturers expand their R&D and data analytics capabilities to innovate product development and new processes.”