Case Study #2 Bechtel Power Corporation's Use of Objective Welding Tests.
Bechtel Power Corporation requires its welders to meet the standards established by the American Society of Mechanical engineers Codes. There are two categories in which welders must qualify in order to meet the standards as a general welder and to meet the standards of jobs requiring a more skilled welder. .
Because Ligons had passed the test placing him into the more qualified category prior to his arrival, Bechtel was within its right to test him, especially after Ligons was seen not performing certain aspects of the job adequately. The company used the concept of test-retest reliability to judge his skills at specific job functions. After failing the test, Ligons was given additional training, and was kept on as an employee. The initial lay off was with 58 other welders, all of them white, except Ligons, showing that there was not any racial discrimination when Ligons was selected as one of the employees to be laid off. .
Upon his rehire, Ligons was trained more and tested in order to recertify for the more difficult welding job. He failed the more difficult welding test, again. Four months later, Ligons was laid off again. The excerpt does not state what race the other welders were, nor does it state whether those welders had failed the more skilled welding examine. It also fails to state if Bechtel trained Ligons any more after failing the exam. Even without this information, the attempts made by Bechtel to train Ligons and to allow him the opportunity to retest shows the commitment the company had to provide its employees every opportunity to succeed. .
Using content-valid tests for the skills being measured and test-retest reliability, the company was able to conclude that Ligons was not accurately or adequately skilled for the more difficult welding jobs required. The test measures his skills at performing specific welding procedures.