Case Study: Large Packaging Manufacturing Company achieves 14% higher operator performance with Criteria Corp's WTMA

Manufacturer Uses Mechanical Aptitude Test to Enhance Hiring Process

A large manufacturer of packaging solutions wanted to maximize quality of hire for its machine operators and needed a pre‑employment test that reliably predicted on‑the‑job performance.

The company administered the Wiesen Test of Mechanical Aptitude (WTMA) to 82 incumbent operators and compared scores to five‑point performance ratings. Employees scoring above the 50th percentile averaged 3.9 versus 3.4 for lower scorers (a 14% improvement); all 12 employees rated 5/5 passed the WTMA, and the WTMA–performance correlation was 0.23 (p < .05). Based on these results, the company implemented the WTMA for future applicant screening.