Manufacturing Supervisor Certification Program - 5 Week Course

Manufacturing Supervisor Certification Program - 5 Week Course
Tuesdays - March 17, 24, 31, April 7 & 14, 2026 | 8:30am - 4:30pm

The Supervisor Certification curriculum targets first-line supervisors at manufacturing facilities with a comprehensive overview of supervisory principles. With a strong emphasis on continuous improvement, job instruction, employee relations, problem solving, and effective communication, the course teaches students the interpersonal strategies to become a productive and respected supervisor.

COURSE BASED ON TRAINING WITHIN INDUSTRY (TWI)

TWI is an improvement process that addresses the essential skills needed by supervisors (anyone leading others). TWI’s rich history originated in the United States in the 1940s where the program was an resounding success, boosting industrial production beyond expectations:

86% of companies increased production by at least 25%
100% reduced training time by more than 25%
55% reduced scrap by at least 25%

During the prosperity of post-war America, the TWI program was abandoned and it soon became a faded memory. TWI is experiencing a rebirth throughout industry. Lean enterprises are increasingly turning to TWI as a means to sustain improvements and achieve standard work. TWI has been successfully applied in hundreds of companies worldwide.

COVERING

Training Within Industry: Job Instruction (10 hrs)—Learn how to quickly train employees to do a job correctly, safely, and conscientiously. Learn how to effectively breakdown a job and deliver instruction for individual tasks. The objective is to help supervisors develop a well-trained workforce. (taught by Certified TWI Instructors)

Training Within Industry: Job Relations (10 hrs)—Learn how to build positive employee relations, increase cooperation and motivation, and effectively resolve conflict. Learn the foundations of positive employee relations to prevent problems from arising. When problems do arise, learn the proven method of getting the facts, weighing options, deciding, taking action, and checking results. (taught by Certified TWI Instructors)

Supervisor as Team Leads (2 hrs)—Attendees will better understand team based interactions and develop effective strategies to leverage the people resources available to them as leaders.

Safety (2 hrs)—Covers how to conduct a Job Hazard Analysis and how to properly investigate accidents to prevent additional occurrences.

Lean Principles (4 hrs)—Gain an understanding of the eight wastes and the Lean Principles designed to eliminate wastes in business processes. Through hands-on simulations, participants learn about standardized work, workplace organization, visual controls, set-up reductions, batch size reduction, point of use storage, quality at the source, workforces practices and pull systems.

Quality (2 hrs)—Learn how to mistake-proof tasks and provide tools to ensure quality is achieved before it is past along to the next operation.

Problem Solving Tools (4 hrs)—This training introduces effective approaches to problem solving and decision making that have proven to be successful in producing improvements in efficiency, performance, and productivity. Some of the tools covered are Pareto Charts, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, Cause and Effect Diagram and Histograms.

Effective Communication (2 hrs)—Effective communication is vital for the success of personal interactions and for organizational communication. Some of the tools covered are A3 reporting, communication boards, and TAKT time.

Course Wrap-up (2 hrs)—Interactive review of topics

COURSE DETAILS—

When—8:30am to 4:30pm on Tuesdays - March 17, 24, 31, April 7 & 14 - 2026

Where—Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, Building 68

Cost—$1550 per person for SAMA, ARMA, NBMA & SMMA Member | $1650 per non-members

**A cancellation notice must be received via email to michelle@sama-tx.org on or before March 9, 2026 to receive a full refund.**

Includes seminar presentations, refreshments, and certificate.   Certification Program Fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, lean series handouts, and breaks.  

COURSE INQUIRIES - Feel free to contact Sandra Hawkins 210-522-5865 or william.rafferty@swri.org