DATE: July 2006

TO: Friends of Ramsay Corporation

FROM: Tom Ramsay
 

NEW PRODUCTS:

  • PLANT ENGINEERING’S Gold Award was accepted by Ramsay Corporation for Drafter, CAD Operator in their 2006 Product-of-the-Year Competition. Our 30-question multiple-choice test was initially screened by plant engineers and voted one of the most innovative and useful products by readers. It contains sections on Print Reading and CAD.

  • At the request of several clients, we developed a 109-question multiple-choice test for Injection Molding Machine Mechanic in cooperation with Mike Michaelson, Maintenance Facility Manager at Orbis in Urbana, OH. Test categories included Electrical, Hydraulics, Pneumatics, Schematics & Print Reading, Computer & PLC, Power Transmission, and Troubleshooting. This assessment is available to users of Ramsay Corporation tests at a cost of $20 per test.

PARTNERSHIPS:

  • We have begun distributing the Employee Reliability Index, authored by Dr. Jerry Borofsky, Clinical Psychologist and President of Bay State Psychological Associates. The test is an excellent supplement to our pre-employment skills tests and has been found to correlate significantly with criteria such as turnover, absence, accidents, and job performance using questions which are behaviorally oriented. Using the 80% rule, the test has no impact on race, gender, national origin or age for a sample of 90,000 people.

MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENTS:

  • At US Steel Corporation in Pittsburgh, PA, George Manos, General Manager Human Resources, engaged us to develop and validate a resume screen and telephone interview for Management Associate (Plant Operations and Maintenance). We also designed separate products for each of four management/staff areas: Accounting & Finance; Engineering & Research; Commercial, Procurement, Logistics & Business Planning; and Labor Relations, Human Resources, and Safety.

PRODUCTION AND CLERICAL TESTS

  • Gigi Binion, Employee Relations Manager at Kellogg Company in Rome, GA, asked us to devise a pre-employment selection test battery for the Production Job Family in a snack food plant. Tests of Reading, Arithmetic, Inspection and Measurement, and Process Monitoring and Troubleshooting were selected and used in a Content Validation model.

  • At PPL Inc. in Allentown, PA, Robert Grant, Senior Staff Specialist, assisted us in development of a test battery for Facilities Record Specialist. The battery was comprised of Reading, Arithmetic, Map Reading, Basic Computer Skills, and SkillCheck Data Entry.

  • A similar study was conducted for PPL, Inc. Clerical Job Families 1-5 using clerical skills tests, SkillCheck Typing and Data Entry; and a call center simulation. A third study was completed for Transportation Material Handler using SkillCheck Data Entry.

MAINTENANCE TESTS

  • Janine Polito, Human Resources Manager at Henkel Corporation in Buffalo, NY, asked us to conduct a validation study of a selection procedure for Maintenance Associate Trainee. Basic skills and mechanical aptitude were the components of the test battery.

  • At Allegheny Ludlum in Brackenridge, PA, James Conn, Senior Human Resources Project Director, requested development of tests for Electrical Maintenance Trainee and Mechanical Maintenance Trainee for use at various plants throughout the Corporation.

  • William Bush, Coordinator Human Resources, Mittal Steel Company in Cleveland, OH, requested development of a test for Electrical Maintenance Trainee as well as a basic skills battery to be used to screen persons to take the Electrical Maintenance Trainee Test. We were also asked to help in developing cutting scores for different levels of Maintenance Technician Electrical.

  • Jeff Teague, Human Resources Manager at Alcoa Mill Products in Texarkana, TX, employed us to conduct validation studies of tests for selection of Plant Electrical Helper and Plant Mechanic Helper. The tests measured basic cognitive skills and basic mechanical knowledge or basic electricity. We also made a test battery to select Senior Laboratory Technicians for Alcoa Mill Products to use in selection of laboratory personnel at the same plant.

  • At Dietrich Industries in Pittsburgh, PA, Nancy Albert, Director of Human Resources, engaged our services in development and validation of tests for Maintenance Electrician, Maintenance Technician (Electronics), and Maintenance Mechanic.

  • Teresa Dickerson, Human Resources at Smurfit Stone in Fernandina Beach, FL, asked us to conduct a validation study for the Electrical and Instrumentation Technician using off-the-shelf Ramsay Corporation tests.

  • At Haverhill North Coke Company in Franklin Furnace, OH, Danny Adkins, Human Resources Manager, used our services for development of an alternate test version of their Mechanic Welder Test.

LEGAL AND RELATED

  • Several of our larger clients have felt pressure from OFCCP Compliance personnel who have expressed a desire for “updating” of validation studies more than 5 or 10 years old. While we don’t favor time-based criteria for revisiting test validation studies, we would support a review of a study when there have been changes, e.g., combinations of jobs or job families, or addition or deletion of significant job duties.