Michigan Tech has always sought strong partnerships with business and industry. And as industry standards change, their input and support become more and more essential.
That’s why Michigan Tech’s Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology (MMET) bachelor’s degree program and ROSS Controls are working together to make sure that the courses students complete and the teaching methods employed in the classroom are fully preparing Michigan Tech graduates to begin successful careers in Industry 4.0.
Recently, Chris Brogli, ROSS Global Vice President of Safety Business Development, partnered with the MMET program to develop safety training curriculum and course instruction materials to ensure that MMET students learn the latest safety technologies. The course, MET 5400 Key Factors of Holistic Safety, matches the technology currently in use in factories worldwide.
“With the growing industrial use of mechatronics and other factory automation, redefining our safety curriculum for students was of strategic importance,” says Scott Wagner, MMET associate professor, who worked closely with ROSS to develop and implement the new course.
MET 5400 teaches the fundamentals for the design and safe operation of equipment used in today’s factory environment. Students learn the basics of identifying hazardous energy and how to use the equipment to help with safe operation, developing practical approaches to ensure that factory employees are safely operating equipment in an Industry 4.0 factory.
“ROSS Controls was proud to work with Michigan Technological University to develop a safety course to help students better understand business and operational safety requirements as they transition from the classroom to real-world design and production environments,” says Chris Brogli. “The course takes a holistic approach to safety and covers a variety of subjects, including occupational health and equipment and facility safety. Congratulations to MTU for doing its part to ensure students understand the importance of safety and that they can and will make American workplaces safer.”
The new course is a logical extension of ROSS’s partnership with Michigan Tech. ROSS also generously contributed expertise and equipment for the Department of Applied Computing’s Mechatronics Playground, a state-of-the-art, hands-on learning lab completed in 2021. The effort was led by Donald Engineering and its president, Mark Gauthier, who coordinated and supplied equipment and expertise to build custom learning stations for the Mechatronics Playground. The equipment utilizes the latest safety components.
“Having spent many years in industry, I understand the importance of listening to the needs of industry. I fully appreciate when we get the opportunity to collaborate with industry, especially when something as important as safety is involved,” says Mark Gauthier, owner of Donald Engineering, Grand Rapids, MI.
About ROSS:
Headquartered in Ferndale, Michigan, ROSS designs and manufactures pneumatic valves, and control systems. The company is universally recognized as the global leader in fluid power safety solutions and poppet valve technology. ROSS provides standard products and customized ROSS/FLEX® solutions for industrial machinery and automation applications.