Program development for CAD/CAM technicians based on an occupational analysis

There is a need to train people to operate computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) systems in southern Michigan. This study addressed the establishment of programs to train CAD/CAM technicians, the people who operate CAD computer terminals that transmit data to a CAM data base or machine tool in a manufacturing setting. With the changing manufacturing methods in design drafting and machine tooling, it is critical to identify the duties and tasks necessary to perform the job of a CAD/CAM technician.;The data collected to meet the first four objectives were obtained by reviewing the literature and interviewing incumbent CAD/CAM technicians.;The results of Objectives 1, 2, and 3 included a functional definition of a CAD/CAM technician and a validated list of 9 duty and 105 task statements. Tables showing the frequency with which tasks were performed and the importance of the tasks to job entry were included. Nineteen tasks were found to be essential for job entry, and 60 tasks were found to be performed daily.;The fourth objective was met by reviewing five instructional-development models that use occupational/task-analysis data. The fifth objective was met by designing a program-development model to apply the product of this occupational analysis.;Therefore, the specific problem focused on in this study was the identification of competencies necessary to perform the job of CAD/CAM technician. The major objectives of the study were: (1) To provide a functional definition of the emerging occupation of CAD/CAM technician. (2) To identify the duties and tasks performed by CAD/CAM technicians. Emphasis was given to the CAD/CAM hardware and software, but attention was also given to industrial applications of the CAD/CAM system. (3) To identify the frequency with which each task is performed and to determine the relative importance of each task for job entry. (4) To identify program-development models for using the products of an occupational analysis in developing programs to train CAD/CAM technicians. (5) To provide guidelines for using the products of this occupational analysis in developing programs to train CAD/CAM technicians.