Better equipment doesn’t guarantee better performance. The difference is how your people are trained to use it.

As rising costs, labor shortages, and increasing production demands put pressure on both food manufacturers and equipment suppliers, many organizations are investing in equipment, automation, and process improvements to stay competitive. Increasingly, operators are recognizing that these investments deliver their full value only when paired with the right approach to workforce development.

In this session, Dave Gregory, Director of Learning & Development at Weber Inc., shares an operator-informed perspective on how companies are strengthening the connection between equipment, processes, and the people responsible for running them. Drawing on over 30 years of experience across operations, HR, and learning, Dave will explore what led to this shift, what proved more difficult than expected, and what organizations should do differently to improve performance and profitability.

The discussion will also explore how organizations are shifting toward modern learning approaches that match how today’s workforce, especially younger generations, build true competencies versus absorbing information. Drawing on research and real-world outcomes, we’ll examine how these approaches can improve time to productivity, machine availability, employee confidence, and overall operational performance across both production and equipment environments.

Attendees will learn how to:

• Align performance metrics to the behaviors that drive results

• Identify where workforce capability gaps are limiting equipment and process investments

• Assess whether current training approaches are building true competency or just delivering information

• Develop a plan to improve time to productivity for internal teams and end users
  

• Understand how equipment manufacturers can better support customers in improving performance

Speakers