On the trail

Dixon Valve & Coupling wins the 9th Annual Progressive Distributor Manufacturer Product Training Award

by Rich Vurva

When a 35-foot Mobile Connections trailer pulls onto a distributor’s parking lot, you can sense that something exciting is about to happen. Dixon Valve & Coupling Co. of Chestertown, Md., currently has two Mobile Connections trailers touring the United States. The vehicles serve as mobile training centers, bringing product applications knowledge and safety training direct to distributors and end-user sites.

In recognition of its program to educate distributors and end-users, Dixon was named winner of Progressive Distributor magazine’s 2008 Manufacturer Product Training Award.

The trailers are equipped with audio-video capabilities, an onboard computer, a product display center that presents the full line of Dixon products and components, and a 42-inch plasma screen TV for running videos and PowerPoint training modules. The trailers have been driven hundreds of thousands of miles to take training about fluid handling and transport systems to distributors and their customers.

John House of hose and accessories distributor Lewis-Goetz, Baton Rouge, La., has arranged to take the trailer to several petrochemical plants in his market to educate maintenance and operations personnel on safety practices. “They have done an outstanding job on working with people at plant sites on safety, and on the handling of hoses,” he says. “They do the industry a service on handling hoses safely. They’re very professional, informative and educational.”

Since being introduced in 2004, the trailers have made stops at mining facilities, steel mills, dairies and food processing plants as well. The company schedules between 75 to 100 distributor or end-user presentations each year. In addition to the Mobile Connections trailers, Dixon’s educational efforts are augmented by two other programs, Dixon’s Hose Assembly Safety Survey program and Hose Coupling Workshops.

Safety survey
During Safety Surveys, Dixon visits an end-user site with a local distributor to perform a visual inspection of hose assemblies and related accessories. They take photographs of damaged or misapplied hose couplings or potentially unsafe practices, then prepare a formal report with recommendations for corrective actions.

Trainers incorporate examples from safety surveys into training demonstrations.

“We’ll go through a slide presentation of things we’ve seen over the years by conducting our safety program at end-users. Then we allow them to give us feedback on specific things that might pertain to their plant,” says Scott Jones, Dixon’s vice president of sales and marketing.

Phil Kimble, a Dixon product training specialist who spends two weeks each month on the road with a Mobile Connections trailer and has visited every state except for North and South Dakota, says end-users often underestimate the potential danger associated with industrial hose.

“They don’t realize that a 4-inch industrial hose, at a 150 psi rating, is about 50 percent more deadly than a 3,000 psi 3/4-inch hydraulic hose,” he says. “People will back away from the hydraulic hose at the same time they’re stepping on, kicking and disrespecting the industrial hose, which has a whole lot more wallop if something bad happens.”

The surveys uncover other common safety hazards, such as missing bolts on clamps, using the wrong fitting for the application, or exceeding the bend radius of the hose. “We’ve seen some bent so hard that the wire snaps right through the cover behind the fitting,” Kimble says.

He recalls visiting one Texas refinery that experienced between 30 and 40 hose-related accidents a month. Working with the local distributor for the next year, Dixon implemented best practices — such as using different color hoses for water and nitrogen and separate fittings for air, water and nitrogen — so workers can’t accidentally make the wrong connection.

Hose coupling workshops
Dixon conducts Hose Coupling Workshops at its Maryland factory and other sites around the U.S. The distributor-only training sessions are one-day workshops that incorporate classroom instruction and hands-on experience in testing and assembling different hose assemblies.

“In the morning classroom instruction, we talk about what it takes to properly select and install couplings,” says Kimble. “It gives them some insights into what we look at when we’re developing products and what we need to have these products work in a safe manner.”

The afternoon session enables attendees to experiment with various clamping devices, test hose pressure and assemble different hose and coupling configurations.

“When we do our coupling workshops, I give them a quiz geared to get them used to looking up information in the catalog. I want them to be able to find answers to questions that their customers are calling to ask,” says Kimble.

Kimble says training efforts are making a difference. They not only help end-user customers reduce recordable incidents that result in injuries and lost work time, but can also help companies lower their workers’ compensation costs and product liability claims.

“We’ve got a lot of distributors now that are doing a great job getting into these plants, talking to the right people, raising the awareness from a safety aspect. It has helped us tremendously,” he says.

This article appeared in the July/August 2008 issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2008.

back to top                     back to Product Sales Training archives