What is your Operator Training Strategy?

No matter your vocation, we all recognize the need for training. Today’s economic and demographic indicators predict a growing training need, to the tune of five million new employees each year: 70% due to retiring employees and the remaining due to economic growth. But while companies know their employees require training, on a daily basis they often resort to on-the-job learning, due to a lack of direction, funding, resources, and time. It’s really about priority.

[Don’t get me wrong, on-the-job training is effective, but it is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and irregular – every experience is different.]

Is your training strategy a priority in your organization, facility, or plant?

To create, develop, and deploy successful training for your operators and engineers, you must have a strategy. In Gregor Fernholz’s webinar Leveraging Technology to Improve Workforce Competency on May 24th, he described five essential steps for deploying a successful training program. A smart investment will save money, improve operator effectiveness and promote safety across the organization.

1. Assess training needs in line with business impact
   1. Perform a Training Needs Analysis
   2. Define learning objectives for training program
2. Define a training plan and set priorities
   1. Plan for training: business case, concept, technology, services, sustainment
   2. Align with corporate training systems and concepts, and needs for certification, if required
   3. Identify resources and set timeline
3. Design the training program
   1. Create training outlines and training plan
   2. Structure, schedule and execute training
   3. Manage activities, users, and tracking
   4. Establish how to assess performance for each role
4. Implement training
   1. Create content—trainee manual, procedures, lesson plans, evaluation forms, etc.—according to priorities
   2. Choose a technology to deploy the training:
      • Instructor-led classroom training
      • Computer-based training and Learning Management Systems (LMS)
      • Operator training simulators
      • 3D virtual reality immersive training systems
      • Integrated corporate-wide learning systems and cloud-based solutions
   3. Monitor activities and participation
   4. Assess performance
5. Plan for maintenance and sustainment
   1. Evaluate program effectiveness: ROI and impact against training objectives
   2. Refine and improve program
   3. Incorporate new equipment, regulations, standards, and procedures, etc.

To learn more, watch the Leveraging Technology to Improve Workforce Competency webinar on demand.