Operator training? It might be one of the best investments you can make.

In a period of significant shortage of skilled personnel and aging industry demographics, a lot of effort is made to provide a work environment that is welcoming and rewarding, particularly when trying to attract a new, talented and young workforce. Investing in operator training can be one of the most important and most rewarding tools for retaining and attracting employees.

When it comes to working with sophisticated, powerful and essential bindery production equipment, operator training is absolutely critical. Imagine a new employee that finds her- or himself being asked to operate a complex piece of machinery with only minimal instruction or training. Standing in front of a machine that you barely know and being expected to produce safely at high rates, with highest quality, creates undue stress and a very difficult work environment.  As a result, new, promising employees often simply leave or struggle through the day, minimizing speed and output, just to limit the risk of something going wrong.

It is best practice to qualify new operators on-site and at the equipment with formal manufacturer training, then to follow up with additional shorter training sessions at regular intervals, effectively building and improving employee skills for years.

Even new machines that come with comprehensive operator training, start-up and production support, provide the best return on investment with regular and customized follow-up training for operators and maintenance staff.

And training isn’t only for beginners.

Even experienced operators greatly benefit from high-performance training. It is very common to encounter skilled and longstanding employees who managed and ran bindery equipment for years, but never had formal equipment manufacturer training. They often learned from a colleague who retired or moved on. Knowledge, as well as good and bad habits, were passed on informally and without any records. This “learning by doing and hearsay” creates a base-skill that enables organizations to produce at a minimum level, leaving substantial productivity and quality potential simply on the table. 

And it’s not only for your bottom-line.

As in all industries, ensuring that employees—new and seasoned—are effectively trained is critical to gaining operational efficiency, flexibility, as well as safety, all of which have immediate, positive impact on financial results.

But the investment isn’t just for financial return. Staff members feel more valued, more secure, and more confident after undergoing formal manufacturer level training. “We should have done this years ago!” is a common sentiment we hear from users that invest in Muller Martini High Performance Training packages.


Training opportunities can be customized to specific needs and are available for all Muller Martini equipment, as well as Kolbus and Heidelberg binding systems that are supported by Muller Martini.

Does your organization utilize operator training? Share your experiences below.

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