How do you check for CMM skills in an interview?

[[Th...]]

Company's trying to find someone with prior programming experience to act as a backup programmer/inspector. I'm expected to be involved in the interview process. What are good ways of determining someone's competency w/ CMMs, Calypso, etc. in at least a general capacity? I doubt I can sit someone down at a machine, and I don't really know how I would structure any whiteboard problems, if they're even a good idea.

[[Er...]]

I would take them on a standard facility tour, show them the CMM. If good questions are asked about the CMM that is a bonus, they know how to sell themselves. I would use the Zeiss Training Block and take pictures from the Calypso Basic Techniques Student Workbook. This could be done in a conference room. Ask a general question like "You are handed this print and part. Assume you are using a Star Probe that can reach all of the features. How would you start programming for it?"

[[Ia...]]

I've conducted a few interviews for CMM programmers, and you can honestly tell within the first few minutes whether they know what they're talking about or not. Like Erik suggested, I gave them a very simple print and ask them what steps they would take to efficiently program everything. If they answer that somewhat correctly, I dive deeper into their GD&T knowledge, evaluation settings, etc. I've found that most people claim they program CMMs, but actually only know how to run it like an operator.