MANAGERS & EXECUTIVES SKILLS

Tips From the Pros to Make Training Stick

Whether training comes by downloadable Web-based study-at-your-own-pace videos, one-hour Web-based seminars called Webinars, single-day classroom sessions or week-long intensive classroom courses, trainers’ goals remain essentially the same: Be effective, impart what students need and get feedback to improve the training.

But each type entails unique training requirements, techniques and challenges. For example, with Webinars, “you can’t look in people’s eyes to see if everyone is getting it,” observes Carl Henning, deputy director of the Profibus Trade Organization (PTO) - the North American Regional Profibus Association (www.us.profibus.com), in Scottsdale, Ariz.

PTO solved that by using a downloadable Java applet. “It tells me if attendees are engaged in the Webinar or out looking at their e-mail or something. This is a ‘Yes/No’ tool.” Using it, Henning can inject a poll that allows him to track attendees’ participation. “It’s a one-question survey to indicate: ‘Are you following?’” The questions PTO asks also help it understand what attendees do or don’t understand.

With its one-day classroom sessions, PTO combines Microsoft Corp.’s PowerPoint-based demonstrations with live demonstrations of automation equipment and configuration tools. But, Henning notes, there’s no hands-on involvement... Read more

» IT & NETWORKING SKILLS: SharePoint Server Distributes Collaboration -
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp.’s (www.microsoft.com) Office SharePoint (SP) Server 2007 - sometimes called SharePoint Portal Server - offers manufacturing end-users a toolset they can grasp, and one that drives seamless, intuitive collaboration and the ability to leverage office business applications, says Chris Colyer, Microsoft’s worldwide solutions director for manufacturing operations.

The Portal Server is “a very open platform,” adds Drew Costakis, Microsoft USA’s director for manufacturing. From it, he says, end-users can integrate data from factory floor as well as from business systems such as enterprise resource planning. Besides collaboration, the capabilities of the single-location, integrated Microsoft technology include enterprise-wide search for people and information, enterprise-wide creation and management of documents and other intellectual property, creation of workflows and electronic business forms, and access to critical business intelligence... Read more

» OPERATIONS & ENGINEERING SKILLS: Obtain the Full Capabilities of Hart -
Hart Communication technology has been employed in intelligent field devices for more than 15 years.

Today, even though 25 million-plus Hart-enabled devices are installed in locations around the world, myths and misconceptions about this technology abound. The misconception that “Hart is only good for device setup, calibration and maintenance” was cemented in users’ minds because that’s how they learned to use Hart - with a handheld communicator... Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT

Compliant packaging through extension of SAP to the shop floor

Learn about McNeil Consumer Healthcare’s success with integrated systems technology at this year’s Pharmaceutical Packaging Forum. March 12, Philadelphia, PA
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