United Radio hosts SCSD, SSEP, and MACNY members
Teachers representing a variety of elementary and middle level schools from within the Syracuse City School District (SCSD), along with members of the Smart Start Externship Program and MACNY’s Workforce Development team, took part in a tour of our United Radio East Syracuse campus in August. Led by United Radio Human Resources Manager James Branch, the group toured the three-building campus to learn more about how United Radio provides remanufacturing and repair solutions for electronics providers worldwide. Mike Fabery, Automotive Division Operations Manager, discussed how this division provides efficient integrated solutions to manufacturers, dealers and other automotive businesses. Margaret Kelly, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Communications for our Consumer Division, gave an overview of after-the-sales service solutions the division provides to the electronics industry during a tour of the facility. The Smart Start Externship is an opportunity for teachers to observe and interact with a company, like United Radio, and have a real-world business experience to bring back to the classroom. Through this program, teachers learn to work together to create an interdisciplinary, project-based lesson(s) to use with their students. The Smart Start Externship Project will also provide teachers with industry exposure and to apply in the classroom. This experience is the springboard to opening future doors and opportunities for interaction between the SCSD and United Radio.
United Radio takes part in SCSD ITC Summer Bridge Program
United Radio employees Mike Fabery and Daniel Salisbury represented United Radio in the Syracuse City School District’s Institute of Technology Central’s P-TECH Summer Bridge Program. Three groups of 10th graders made presentations to Mike and Daniel on providing solutions to the business challenge, “How to share lessons learned on repair of products for crossover training of technicians or future employees.” According to Mike Fabery, “The students provided solutions we hadn’t even thought about!” Business Challenge to the students At United Radio, we service all types of electronics. Whether it’s a handheld two-way radio, a stereo receiver from your house, or a sound system in your vehicle, we repair a diverse array of products. We have specialized technicians who can determine the root cause of the problem and repair the unit so it is fully functional again. But what happens when that tech learns of a solution? What if the same failure happens again? How do you know what you did before? Before computers and the availability of electronic schematics, we received paper schematics. So, if you were a technician and found a problem, you could make a note on the schematic of what you found. With today’s technology, although it is more efficient, it is often hard to create a common process of how to share the information. We are asking the teams to suggest a solution that would be easily accessible to any of the technical staff and focused on the model number of the unit. We would like a technician to be able to find out past failures that we have seen before, if any. Possibilities are a Web portal, Spreadsheet, or other electronic medium to perform that search. The information should include the model number of the unit, complaint of the problem, solution found, and the ability to upload photos or other materials. A plus would have a way to track the quantity of solutions as well. Business Solutions from the students Below are the three PowerPoint presentations with each group’s proposed solutions. 10th Grade P-Tech Summer Bridge Presentation UR Solution The website addon Thanks to Mike and Daniel for taking part in this program!
