This month I attended the “Solutions 2.0” Conference in Bonita Springs, Florida. That event took me back in time — to almost two decades ago — when Maintenance personnel regularly gathered together to discuss Maintenance challenges and solutions. “Solutions 2.0” featured “Reliability” issues, a term I believe has evolved from the “Predictive Maintenance” and “Preventive Maintenance” terms of earlier times. Regardless, “Reliability” is one of the critical components in manufacturing and process...
Don’t pretend there is a better training choice than multi-sensory instruction! There isn’t! Multi-sensory learning, with an emphasis on full motion video, is the best way to train — hands down! If you want your trainees to learn necessary skills and, even better, retain that learning for a longer time, full motion video is the “winner and still champion!” Why? Because the learning culture for the past half-century has evolved around the...
Too often, training expenditures are made as a reaction to some internal operating problem: repeated packing failures; increasing waste; lubrication errors, etc. Reactive training is not the way to address most training issues. It is often piece-meal and is a “horse is already out of the barn” solution. The key to successful training is to make it an integral part of an organization’s business objectives. Up-front planning helps ensure that your investment...
Much is being written these days about the workforce that America will need in order to compete in the 21st Century. Apparently, the jobs of today and tomorrow will require a workforce that is better educated and better trained than the workforce of the 20th Century. No doubt, that’s all true. However, it will be a gigantic mistake to ignore the basic knowledge skills required of every worker. That mistake will be...
Training offers you many options today — from traditional classroom instruction, with hands-on practice, to the latest in technology-based training. But, which method is best for your situation? Let’s examine some of the pros and cons. For training a large number of students in a relatively short amount of time, the better training method may be one that can be administered to a large group. If cost is no issue, classroom instruction...
Skills training is the antithesis of the memorization techniques incorporated in education and information conveyance. Skills training demands “doing” — whether it be: a) hands-on , or b) vicarious (videotape or film), or c) simulation (IVD, CD-ROM or knowledgeably designed e-Learning) We memorize to learn new information. But, we practice by “doing” — if we want to acquire, or enhance, a skill. It’s also worth noting the history of reading-based (with a...
If you’re connected with Training or Education in any way, you’ve been inundated with the hype surrounding E-Learning. If one chooses to believe everything one hears and reads, E-Learning is the learning technology of choice. You may think you know what that term, E-Learning, means — but, I would ask you to think again. Courses that run successfully over the Web may, or MAY NOT, be effective training/education for your trainees/students. In...
To read about the training industry today one would think that it has become a synonym for E-Learning. More and more is being written about the growing acceptance of E-Learning. And, in terms of future potential, these writers are correct. However — and, this is a big “However” — as a learning tool, current E-Learning courseware misses the mark! It has certain cost and availability advantages — but, fails to deliver on...
Training . . . It sure ain’t what it used to be! Nope — we’ve come a long way down the technology trail in the past three decades. The training challenges for our industrial workforce have been immense. And, the trade-offs involving instructional design, production values, plus cost and efficiency issues have complicated the entire process. However, the heart of the matter has not changed. Learning values have always been balanced against...
“Education always trails Training by ten years or more when it comes to adopting new learning innovations.” That generalization has been around for several decades — and, for good reason. Education is so institutionalized that it arrogantly believes that, “What was good for us before is good enough today.” Consequently, they expect their students to adapt to “their way” instead of adapting themselves to the changes in the learning culture that have...
Do your training initiatives pass muster? Or, do you too often implement some new training program without, first, running it through a critical evaluation? If so, take the time to review the following examination questions that each of your training initiatives should pass before implementation. It will save you several headaches and it will save your company much time and money. • Have your training initiatives been directly tied to your company’s...
If you work in a facility that is part of a large corporation, the workers at your site need YOU more than they ever have! Why?!? Because you have knowledge of the procedures necessary to your plant’s operations and you have knowledge of the training gaps that exist within your facility. Gaps that are hindering outputs of more and better products! Gaps that result in increased scrap and lost revenue for your...
One of the key characteristics you should examine when choosing your e-Learning courseware is “usability.” Wikipedia tell us that, “In human-computer interaction and computer science, usability studies the elegance and clarity with which the interaction with a computer program or a web site is designed.” When examining an e-Learning course, one of the ways you can define “usability” is in terms of how user-friendly or appealing that program is. In practice, usability...
Confused by the myriad training technology choices and their associated sales pitches? If so, let’s blow away some of the smoke and get quickly to the bottom line measurement that you should aim for when evaluating your myriad training choices. And to do that you must ALWAYS keep in the forefront of your mind that the ONLY training initiatives that have positive impacts on an organization’s performance — and, future — are...
