RL Blogs
By Ralph Laurel
Jul 17, 2018How to improve the quality of refinery computer based training. |
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If your refinery’s technology has joined the rest of the society, you have some type of computer based training (CBT) to facilitate employee training. No doubt that it is convenient and efficient.
The question is whether it is effective?
If you’ve been in the oil refining business for at least as long as I have, you will recall the days of falling asleep in large refinery conference rooms with no windows. The good ole days where safety training was conducted by a safety specialist that was outnumbered 50 to 1.
I remember the feeling of entering a muggy room filled with 50 grumpy men at the butt crack of dawn. Less pleasant than the crusty class attendees was the multiple choice test at the end of the 8 hour classroom day. Failing the test meant that I had to sit through another 2 hours of refresher training!
Fast forward a couple of decades, and today we now have refinery CBTs for every type of training. From safe work practices, to environmental awareness, to even corporate compliance. To be honest, I cannot remember how many years it has been since I’ve been in an instructor led training class!
So what is my issue with CBTs? It’s the fact that most CBTs are created so that you can pass without even paying attention to what you are being trained on.
You can take a pre-session test. You can take a practice test. You can even take the final exam multiple times if you fail.
Even worse is the fact that many traditional hands-on training, is being replaced by computer training. While a picture is worth a thousand words, human interaction can sometimes be irreplaceable.
Do we honestly think that employees are learning in this environment?
What I advocate is not to abandon computer based training. There is certainly a place for it in our world today. In fact, I believe that majority of refinery refresher training can be managed through CBT modules.
However, we need to be wise about how we manage and design CBTs. Don’t make it a pencil whipping exercise.
Employees see right through it and companies lose respect for the intent. I’ve even heard managers talk about how they just click through as fast as possible. That is simply a disgrace.
So here are some suggestions that I have for improving the effectiveness of refinery CBT modules:
While the tips above improve the effectiveness of computer based training where CBTs are appropriate, I will echo the message that you cannot use CBTs to replace every single training program.
There are some training curriculums that require instructor led training. Each company will have to determine where that balance lies and invest in resources appropriately. If you cannot afford to train your employees correctly, then you do not deserve to be in this complex business.
Training is a very critical aspect of the oil refining business. Whether it is onboarding employees for the first time, providing refresher training, or setting expectations for a contractor labor force, the quality of training that a refinery provides is a reflection of its safety culture.
While it’s easy to fall into the efficiency trap of providing CBTs, world class refiners figure out a way to balance efficiency with effectiveness. | ||||||||||||
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