The pandemic has had quite a severe impact on the way we do business nowadays. It has been quite a tough year for most people, but the pandemic also showed positive change. The fact that we can do most meetings via video will change the way companies work forever. Also, the introduction of e-learning developed rapidly over the last year. Because we weren’t allowed to meet in person, a digital approach was required. This also has significant positive effects on the QHSE training of employees.
Visitors Training
E-learning is an excellent way to train people who visit your organization or site on the safety and cultural policies that apply to the location. The training can simply state important aspects such as emergency numbers to call, how to park the vehicles properly or where to go in case of an emergency. When e-learning is used for this process, the training can already be sent in advance to the visitor, which saves quite some time. Also, there will always be a record of which person did the training and how they answered the questions.
Awareness Training
E-learning programs are great means to have awareness training. Due to their easy accessibility, people can do them whenever they feel like it. Obviously, they need to do the training within a certain timeframe, but people are able to pick their own suitable time. Furthermore, the option to add just a couple of control questions makes it possible to see if everybody really understands what is touch upon in the training.
Awareness training is an ideal way to keep topics top of mind, not just safety-related but also when it comes to quality. A quality management training should use the input of NCR and incidents as a starting point to highlight important topics. Hence, the training is not just a stand-alone means to share knowledge, it becomes an integrated part of the PDCA cycle within the organization. When the awareness training is utilized like this, over time, the Quality and Safety will improve.
Skills Training
Within the ISO standards, especially the quality-related ones, it is essential to prove that the employee is able to do the job and deliver the required quality. Obviously, certain training and skills couldn’t possibly be measured with e-learning, for example, welding skills which require a Bachelor’s degree. However, company-specific training can very well be provided via some form of e-learning. This approach allows for proper tracking of the level of skills a certain employee has. A great way to do this is by adding some form of levels and attached difficulties to the different training courses.
E-learning is a great way to share knowledge with people and give them the possibility to learn new things. However, do keep in mind that classroom interaction is important as well, so please make sure that there is a proper balance between e-learning and physical education.