“Just because you’ve counted all the trees doesn’t mean you’ve seen the forest.” – anonymous
Designing training courses well is important, and designing the testing component for the training is equally important, but it’s not the end goal.
The ultimate purpose of any training – to reduce errors, damage and injury on the field – does not happen on its own after the course is completed. Because even if they score well on a test, there’s no guarantee that the ‘high scoring student’ will actually stay that way once they become a user or technician in the field. Also, some procedures require more than 100 steps to complete – and it is humanly impossible (and dangerous) to rely purely on memory.
So – are we training them adequately?
If so, are we testing them properly?
And if we are, then are we guiding them in the field finally?
The problem most facilities face is that these three components – Training, Testing, and Checklist/Job-aids – are disjointed, inconsistent and do not flow into each other. The user becomes familiar with one form of learning, and then another completely different medium is presented as they progress. So instead of ‘learning by doing,’ followed by ‘testing by doing’ and having a checklist procedure using the same ‘doing’ methodology, the technician is presented with a mismatched approach that’s ultimately unsuccessful – and often dangerous.
At Heartwood, we have created a framework for 3D Interactive Training (for Operations & Maintenance specifically) that is able to extend the same visual and interactive ‘by-doing’ knowledge path from Classroom Learning to Evaluation to Real-time Job Assistance.
The content is similar, but NOT the same, as the applications below demonstrate. Please view them in order to follow along: TRAINING > TESTING > CHECKLIST:
1.) Visual & Interactive TRAINING – by virtually practicing on equipment. Students are shown what to do and then do it themselves. The focus is on exploration and practice and not on testing for skill level yet.
Platform: designed for flexibility, from a laptop to a tablet.
2.) Visual & Interactive TESTING & EVALUATION – by virtually performing the procedures, under customizable test conditions. The focus is on accuracy, with the system recording the number of hints requested and errors/mistakes made along the way.
Platform: designed for flexibility, from a laptop to a tablet.
3.) Visual & Interactive CHECKLIST App – to visually guide the user in real-time, as they perform the procedure in the real world.
A simple wave of the hand triggers the App to show the relevant work instructions and guidance.
Platform: designed for ease of use and simplicity; hands-free operation on a mobile device.
Notice that all three modes – Training, Testing, and Checklist – offer the same essential DNA for effective instruction. They are all Visual, Interactive, and Portable, while still being unique for each skill level.
After all – if the work will ultimately involve DOING, shouldn’t the Training & Testing too?
Is your training keeping the forest in mind? Talk to us here!
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