If you know the vocabulary and methods of lean manufacturing, you know the terms "kaizen" and "kazien event." You may even have participated in a kaizen culture or a kaizen event. On the other hand, you may have never heard these terms, or maybe you’ve heard them but don’t yet know what they mean. If so, this article is for you, because we’re going to tell you what "kaizen" is. In a future article, we’ll clue you in on what a "kaizen event" is as well, and we’ll explain the differences. Convergence Training makes tools to help companies be more efficient. We offer learning management systems (LMSs), training materials, and applications for performance support on mobile devices at the workplace. Check out our website to learn more or just contact us if you’ve got a question. What Is Kaizen? Kaizen is a Japanese word that translates to something like "change for better." The concept of kaizen is one of the cornerstones of lean manufacturing theories, and in that context, kaizen can be defined more specifically as "a philosophy and approach for the continuous incremental improvement of performance." (See note 1.) We can learn more about kaizen by looking at some of the terms in the definition above in more detail. (See note 2.) Philosophy: Although people tend to think of kaizen in the context of the workplace, it’s a philosophy that can be applied to all aspects of life. Applying kaizen in all walks of life makes it more likely that you’ll apply it consistently at work, too-instead of it being something you "turn on" when you enter work and "turn off" when you head home. Approach: Kaizen can manifest itself in countless ways in everyday life and/or at the workplace. But it’s not a random thing with no method. Instead, kaizen has its roots in the scientific method that we all learned in grade school, especially in the belief that a theory must be tested and evidence must be gathered and analyzed to see if the theory was correct. Or, in terms that may be more familiar to those in a workplace or manufacturing environment, it has roots in the Deming Improvement Cycle (also known as Plan/Do/Check/Act or the PDCA Cycle), which applies the ideas of experimentation and evidence gathering/analysis to workplace improvement efforts. Continuous: Kaizen is not something that happens at only a certain time or in only a specific part of the work area. Instead, it’s a continual, on-going, never-ending process. All employees are asked and expected to participate in kaizen, in every level of the organization, every day. Kaizen and change become the norm, not the exception. Change becomes a given. Incremental: Kaizen isn’t about making major changes that turn the world (or at least the workplace) upside down. Instead, it’s a continual series of small changes. While each change (and its resulting benefit) may be small or even minor, the total effect of kaizen over time is significant. And because the individual changes are small, they’re unlikely to "rock the boat" so much that people get disoriented or overwhelmed. Improvement: Kaizen isn’t change for the sake of change. Instead, it’s change for the sake of improvement. And that improvement is primarily measured in two ways: increasing value (as perceived by the customer, not by you) and decreasing waste (defined as things your company does or time your company spends during production that don’t increase value to the customer). These concepts of value (as perceived by the customer, not you) and waste (also known as "muda" in lean talk) are key to lean manufacturing concepts and we’ll write separate blog posts about each later. Performance: Kaizen aims to improve everything an organization does as it creates its products and/or services. Performance includes attention to both efficiency and quality. Kaizen and Lean Manufacturing The application of the kazien "continuous improvement" philosophy is a core part of lean manufacturing theory. It’s often one of the first elements of lean implemented at a manufacturing company-along with 5S. Kaizen and Other, Non-Manufacturing Companies The use of kaizen to increase workplace efficiency and quality began in manufacturing. And you’ll probably most often hear kaizen discussed in a manufacturing and/or lean manufacturing context. But kaizen can be and has been used successfully in other industries, including high-tech, financial, government, healthcare, and more. So if you’re not in manufacturing, don’t think kaizen can’t be implemented at your workplace. In Kaizen, Employees Are the Experts In many companies, change comes from above-from management. This can create a few problems. First, managers often don’t know the work processes, work flows, and work situations as well as their workers do. And so they wind up directing change "from above" even though workers in each work area know the work process better and are typically more able to suggest effective improvements. And second, when managers dictate change from above, it’s often difficult to get employees to buy in. Workers get tired of being told what to do instead of having a say  in what happens. This is true even if the ideas from above are good ones. But, as noted above, that’s not always the case, so this lack of employee buy-in can quickly multiply. But kaizen flips the traditional order upside-down. In kaizen, employees are given the power to make suggestions. In fact, one of management’s key roles in a kaizen culture is to train workers about kaizen and to encourage workers to make suggestions for continuous improvement. Once workers understand their role in kaizen and get used to doing it, they’ll become more active, engaged workers, and the process of continuous improvement will begin moving forward, little bit by little bit. When employees see their suggestions implemented, and see the improvements that result over time, they’ll get even more excited and become even more active participants in the kaizen culture at your workplace. Kaizen will help you create a continuous self-improvement cycle-lather, rinse, repeat. Management’s Role in Kaizen If kaizen calls for having employees come up with suggestions for continuous improvement, it’s management’s job to support, review, and help implement these ideas. As mentioned above, this starts with introducing workers to kaizen, training them to use kaizen and to focus on key "lean" concepts (such as increasing value as perceived by the customer and decreasing "waste"), and encouraging workers to continually make suggestions for continuous improvement. For example, some companies set a specific target for the number of suggestions from each employee, team, or department. It also means reviewing the employees’ ideas, implementing the good ones quickly, and making sure employees know their ideas have been implemented-or explaining why they haven’t. Employees will quickly lose interest in any improvement effort at work if their input isn’t sought, if it seems to them that their input isn’t valued, if their ideas are implemented but only after a very lo-o-o-o-o-ng time, or if they never receive notice or feedback when their idea was put into action (or why it wasn’t). Kaizen and Kaizen Events You may have heard of "kaizen" and also heard of "kaizen events," and maybe you’ve wondered if they’re the same thing. Short answer: they’re not. Kaizen is a never-ending process of continuous improvements in all areas of the workplace based on suggestions from all employees. Each change is small, but the sum total effect of those changes over time is large. By contrast, a kaizen event is a short-term (2-5 day), focused burst of improvement that is directed toward one work process or area and is performed by a specific kaizen team. The scope of a kaizen event is larger than the scope of any one suggested improvement during "every day kaizen." And likewise, the resulting change from a kaizen event would almost always be more significant. While a company can use both-and there’s good reason to do so-they’re not the same thing. Keep your eye on our blog, as we’ll write an article about kaizen events soon. More Kaizen Resources: Here are some additional kaizen resources to check out. Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success by Masaaki Imai Gemba Kaizen: A Common Sense Approach to A Continuous Improvemen Strategy by Masaaki Imai The Kaizen Pocket Handbook by Kenneth W. Dailey The Kaizen Event Planner by Karen Martin and Mike Osterling The US EPA’s Lean/Kaizen webpage What is Kaizen? from Graphic Products What is Kaizen? from Lean Manufacturing Tools The "kaizen page" on Wikipedia Notes: 1. The Kaizen Pocket Handbook, Kenneth W. Dailey, DW Publishing Company, 2005, p. 4. 2. The technique of breaking down the definition of kaizen and looking more closely at the words philosophy, approach, continuous, incremental, improvement, and performance is taken from The Kaizen Handbook already listed above. The post What Is Kaizen? appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

March Madness. It’s all you hear about these days, it seems. Given that excitement in the spring air, Convergence Training is once again jumping into an otherwise-unfilled chasm to fulfill a desperate societal need: safety and other workplace training suggestions for March Madness. That’s right, it’s another highly relevant, desperately needed set of suggestions from the provider of learning management systems (LMSs) and e-learning training materials that brought you these "just-in-time" classics from the vault: Super Bowl Party Safety Training Suggestions Workforce and Safety Training Suggestions for Thanksgiving Workforce Training Suggestions from TV Series "Breaking Bad" Sharknado Safety Training Valentine’s Day Safety Poem Safety Training for the Mayan Apocalypse Zombie Safety Training Let’s get on with it, shall we? Let’s tip the ball so we can run the floor and slam the dunk, no? (Hope we got the lingo right-it seems quite specialized). The Big Picture: The NCAA Mens’ Basketball Tournament (The So-Called "March Madness Malady") We suggest the following training courses due to what we see as "tournament-level" issues: Pedestrian Safety-Walking, even in the seemingly safe lockstep unison of an organized march, presents many hazards. Don’t let the comfort of your co-marchers lull you into ignoring dangers. Forklifts are never far away. Conflict Management-It would be nice to believe we’re an advanced society that knows how to resolve our differences without losing our collective temper. Yet, every spring this special "madness" spreads throughout the country like a scourge of locusts, threatening to wipe out all in its path. We recognize that the great bard William Shakespeare tried to justify the NCAA tournament when he said "Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t," but we respond to Shakespeare in his own words: "This way madness lies." Hand and Power Tools-Brackets, brackets, brackets. They don’t seem problematic, but apparently the whole nation is struggling with them. Let’s be careful when we’re working with tools and hardware, friends. Heat Stress-There’s much talk about seeds and seeding, evidently pointing to some agricultural nature of this springtime event, one perhaps lost in ancient history. While it’s still frosty in some areas of the country, in others it’s hot enough to get heat exhaustion, heat stress, or even heat stroke while planting seeds and otherwise working outdoors. Be sure to get plenty of rest, shade, and fluids. Bloodborne Pathogens-Nobody’s quite sure how this madness is passed from person to person, generation to generation. Still, doctors at the CDC recommend caution in all things, and suggest you tend to your handwashing as well. March Madness: The Teams Next, let’s turn our well-trained training eyes to some of the teams in the tournament.  5S-For the very-spartan Spartans of Michigan State University. Orderly and tidy. Everything in its place. Go Sparty go! What’s that? Did I attend Michigan State? No, no, I’m just a big an of order and tidiness. Really. Why do you ask? Stress Prevention and Management-For the Duke Blue Devils. Feeling "blue" is a sign of depression, and depression is often brought about by stress. Hey Cameron Crazies-don’t let stress build up and your blueness won’t be so demonic. Electric Shock and Arc Flash Safety-For the Shockers at Wichita State. Actually, in this sense, "shocking" means to harvest wheat. Didn’t know that, did you? Safety Showers and EYEWashes-For the BuckEYES of Ohio State, the HawkEYES of Iowa, and the Eagles of Eastern Washington. Meeting Customer Expectations-For the Sooners of Oklahoma. Because you’re going wanna learn this lesson sooner rather than later. Ha! Any title in our Mining Safety/MSHA library-For the Mountaineers of West Virginia. These folks were born to mine, no? Speaking of mining, are you all Boyd Crowder (Justified) fans? I think he’s funny-I love this scene when he gets a Dairy Queen franchise. Oh, right…back to March Madness. Speaking of mining, how about Physical Characteristics of Surface Mines-For the Hoyas of Georgetown. Why, you ask? Well, you’ll have to read up to appreciate this little bit of nerdy history-as I just did myself. Hey, what rocks! Emergency Action Plan-For the Red Storm of St. John’s and the Cyclones of Iowa State. Don’t end up on the wrong side of a tornado. That didn’t work out too well for our friend Dorothy. Pedestrian Safety-For the Runnin’ Utes of Utah. Slow down, gentlemen-you can get injured running at work. Sexual Harassment Awareness-For the Badgers at Wisconsin. It’s not nice to badger people at work for anything, and especially not this. Just say no. Stormwater Pollution Prevention-For the Ducks of Oregon and the Terrapins of Maryland. What’s that? You don’t know what a terrapin is? Truth be told, I didn’t either-but it turns out their one of the cutest little turtles you’ve ever seen, and the state reptile of Maryland. Do you know YOUR state reptile? Gotcha there, huh? Alert Driving-For the Mustangs of SMU. Great to see a team named after an American car. Gotta love it. What’s that you say about wild horses? Our Safety Training for the Mayan Apocalypse blog post-For the Aztecs of San Diego State. I know, I know-this is a blog post, not an e-learning course. And it’s about Mayans, not Aztecs. But still-it’s close. How many safety training companies do you know of that have safety training for any ancient American civilizations? We’re probably one up on everyone else on that score, huh? Machine Guarding-For the Lumberjacks of Stephen F. Austin. Come home with ten fingers and ten toys, lumber-men! That’s 100% compliance (10 x 10 = 100). Fire Safety-for the Blazers of UAB. Keep it contained, UAB. Violence in the Workplace-For the Musketeers of Xavier, the Cowboys of Wyoming and Oklahoma State, the Cavaliers of Virgina, the Colonials from Robert Morris, the Pirates that hail from Hampton, the modern-day Crusaders of Valparaiso, and of course the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame go without saying. Let’s be civil and not resort to fisticuffs, swordplay, or musketry. Fall Prevention and Protection-For the Fliers of Dayton, skyin’ their way ala Dr. J to the hoop, baby. Power Boiler Basics (or any of our many courses about boilers)-For the Boilermakers of Purdue. Who else? Measurement-Distance-for the LONGhorns of Texas. The folks in Texas seem to have issues with size. What’s with that? Diversity in the Workplace-For the Wildcats of both Kentucky, Arizona, AND Davidson; the Bulldogs of Butler, Georgia, AND Gonzaga (what’s a "zag?"); the BEARcats of Cincinnati, the Bears of Baylor, and the Bruins (no more than a bear by another name, some might say) of Belmont AND UCLA; the Panthers of Georgia State and UNI; the Wolfpack of North Carolina State and the Lobos (Espanol for "wolves") of New Mexico State; and the Tigers of Texas Southern AND LSU. Folks-it’s OK to go out and get a cute little nickname of your own-no need to use one everyone else is using already. And although we’ve got no safety training tips for the following teams, we want to tip our hat to the following teams for having especially unique nicknames (this is a tip for you, all you Cats and Bulldogs and Bears and Wolves and Tigers): Coastal Carolina Chanticleers: Who doesn’t like some fine singing during a national sporting event? North Carolina Tarheels: The etymology is disputed and the phrase has a long and mixed history, but it’s unique. Harvard Crimson: Named after a color. Nice. Providence Friars: Who knew guys in brown robes could hoop like that? Albany Great Danes: I like their pride in their Danish heritage. UC Irvine Anteaters: Come on. Best name in the tourney. ‘Nuff said.   The post Safety and Other Work Place Training Suggestions for March Madness appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

We all want to motivate our learners. Motivating learners during the training so they’ll have a better chance to learn is important, obviously. And it’s also important to motivate learners AFTER the training so they’ll be more positively disposed toward the topic in general and more likely to apply the training at work. But how exactly does a good trainer motivate learners? One good place to look for tips is in the book Developing Attitude Toward Learning (or SMATs ‘n’ SMUTs) by the noted human performance improvement/learning theorist Robert Mager. A quick note about Mager’s title: Mager is a funny guy and his books often have humorous subtitles. In this book, he explains that a "SMAT" is a "subject matter approach tendency" and a "SMUT" is a "subject matter unapproach tendency." These originated as joking phrases he used around the house with his family while writing the book. A SMAT-or subject matter approach tendency-is a learner’s tendency to have a continued interest in the subject matter after the training is over. A SMUT-or subject matter unapproach tendency-is a learner’s tendency to avoid the subject matter after the training. Mager designed the book to teach us ways to increase SMATs for our learners and decrease SMUTs for our learners-in other words, try to make them want to engage with our topic and try to avoid turning them off our topic. In this article, we’ll pass on some of the tips from Mager’s book. Of course, we recommend you buy the book and read it yourself. In fact, we recommend that you buy and read the entire "Mager Six Pack," which we’re currently in the process of reading and writing about ourselves. Currently, here are the articles we’ve got about the Mager Six Pack: Book Reviews: Book Review: Mager’s Preparing Instructional Objectives Book Review: Mager’s Goals Analysis Book Review: Mager’s Analyzing Performance Problems Explanations of Techniques Described in Mager’s Books:  Mager’s Instructional Objectives-How to Write Performance-Based Learning Objectives Mager’s Goals Analysis-How to Analyze and Set Goals Mager’s Analyzing Performance Problems-Or, You Really Oughta Wanna With that out of way, let’s see what Mager has to teach us in this book (Developing Attitude Toward Learning). Need any help with your training program at work? Check out the e-learning courses from Convergence Training, our family of learning management systems, or just contact us. Motivating Learners with Your Training Mager begins his book by making a few bedrock arguments. First, the reason we train learners is because we want them to perform certain desired behaviors on the job after the training is over. Second, our learners are more likely to put their new knowledge, skill, or attitude to use on the job if they feel positively about the subject and they are less likely to apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes if they feel negatively about the subject. Third, trainers can influence how learners feel about the training topic-either positively or negatively. And fourth, the obvious goal is to create a training experience that leaves learners with a positive feeling about the topic, meaning they’re more likely to perform the desired behaviors on the job. Or, at minimum, to avoid creating negative feelings that turn the learners off from the topic. Simple enough, no? Learner Responses to the Training Topic: Approach (They Like It) or Avoidance (They Don’t) After a training, the learner is going to respond to the training topic in one of two ways. An approach means the learner somehow wants to get "closer" to the topic. In short, this means they feel positively toward it. A learner who feels positively about the training topic is more likely to be interested in the topic and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes covered in the training on the job. An avoidance means the learner wants to "distance" him or herself from the topic. This means the learner has a negative feeling about the topic. Learners may feel positively or negatively about a topic, and therefore display approach or avoidance behavior, for any number of reasons. One thing that can influence a learner’s reaction to a topic is the training they went through. And so it’s a trainer’s job to design and lead training that does two things: Creates no negative feelings about the topic and therefore doesn’t cause avoidance behaviors-in other words, the training shouldn’t turn the learner off from the topic. Creates positive feelings about the topic and therefore helps contribute to approach behaviors-in other words, you want the training to help the learner develop an interest in the topic. In short, you want to help facilitate some form of interest or passion in the topic, and you don’t want to turn your learners off from the topic. Motivating Learners: Training Conditions, Training Consequences, and Training Modeling Mager notes that there are a few different ways that a trainer can motivate a learner or turn the learner off from a topic. He offers the three categories below. Conditions: These are the conditions that the learner experiences when preparing for the training or during the training. This includes things like the temperature in the room; the speed at which online training is delivered; boredom; or anxiety caused by a hostile, abusive, or nervous trainer. Obviously, the goal is to reduce the number of negative conditions that the learner will associate with the training topic and  increase the number of positive conditions. For example, make sure the room’s not too hot and provide comfortable chairs to sit in. To use the language from the previous section, negative training conditions will make the learner more likely to display "avoidance" of the training topic, and positive training conditions will make the learner more likely to display "approach" behavior toward the topic. Mager goes to lengths to point out this doesn’t mean that the training has to be "fun" or that people can’t be expected to ‘work" during training. Instead, he says "…do your best to see that these activities are associated with positive conditions and with as few aversion (negative) conditions as possible." Consequences: These are the things that happen to the learner as a result of the training. This can include things like the trainer’s reaction to a learner’s question. Responding to the learner in a positive, supportive, encouraging manner will make the learner more positively disposed to the topic. Responding in a short, condescending, or rude manner is more likely to cause the learner to feel negatively about the topic. Mager makes two additional points about consequences. First, he reminds us that the positive consequence should happen AFTER the desired learner behavior, not before. And second, he notes that the LEARNER must see the consequence as positive-don’t fall into the trap of creating a consequence the trainer thinks is positive but the learner doesn’t. Modeling: This is how others, notably the trainer, react toward the training topic. Showing an interest in and enthusiasm about the topic is more likely to lead to your learners having a similar interest. You’ve probably seen this happen in real life-if a trainer thinks a training topic is fascinating and shows real enthusiasm, you might be more inclined to give it a shot yourself. Modeling negative feelings and behaviors about the topic is more likely to lead to negative feelings in your learners. Think about it-would you be excited about a training topic if the trainer spent all day saying it was boring? Positive Conditions and Consequences: How to Motivate Your Trainees Mager lists some positive conditions and consequences that increase the chances your learners will be interested in and excited by your training topic. Here are some elements from his list: Make sure training is relevant to the learners and their job Teach only material that learners don’t yet know; don’t cover material they already know Give learners as much choice and control as possible over training topics, sequence, and methods Give learners as much choice as possible over the length of training and timing of breaks Making instructional/learning objectives clear in advance Make sure learners know in advance what to expect from each part of the training (return to the relevant learning objectives, etc.) Be and act happy to see learners Treat learners as individual people, not faces in a crowd. Get to know their names; talk to them during breaks. Deliver training in small, appropriate-length "chunks" of time to reduce fatigue Relate new information to information the learners are already familiar with Help learners develop confidence Acknowledge learners’ questions, comments, and responses Give immediate and specific feedback Use supportive, accepting language Reinforce and/or reward positive responses from learners; let others see you doing that Use good student behavior as an example for other learners Test learners only on materials covered in training and included in learning objectives; don’t randomly test learners on things you never covered Negative Conditions and Consequences: How to Turn Off Your Trainees Mager also lists some positive conditions and consequences that decrease the chances your learners will be interested in and excited by your training topic. Or, in other words, the things that might turn them off from the training topic. These include: Physical pain (kinda goes without saying, huh?) Fear Anxiety Frustration Humiliation Embarrassment Boredom Physical discomfort Doing the opposite of anything listed above in the Positive Conditions section Modeling Positive Reactions to the Training Topic Another thing that makes learners more likely to feel positively toward the training topic is if others model feeling positively toward the topic as well. With that in mind, Mager gives some related tips. Because people learn by watching and imitating, they will often behave in the same way that they see others behave. So, during the training, the trainer should behave the way that he/she wants the learners to behave after training. That means you should model good behavior, including having a positive attitude toward the training topic. In addition, remember that people are more likely to imitate someone they admire. So, if the training can include a respected, admired figure, that’s great. But know that people often respect "average people" who are in a training role as well (like you and me) , so don’t underestimate your own awesomeness. Finally, keep in mind that people are also more likely to imitate a desired behavior if they see someone else being praised/rewarded for performing that behavior. So, if one learner performs the desired behavior during a training, praise that person. Doing so will make the other learners more likely to want to perform the desired behavior correctly too. The Training Environment, The Training Materials, The Trainer/Instructor, and the Instructional Policies/Procedures Mager wraps up his book by listing some negative conditions and consequences to look for and try to avoid in four different areas: the training environment, the training materials, the trainer/instructor, and the instructional policies and procedures. We recommend you buy his book to check out his list, and then cross-reference it against the training sessions you lead. Additional Resources: Some More Tips for Motivating Learners There are LOTS of great folks writing about learning, so we figured we’d  browse the web a bit to see if we could find some more good tips about motivating trainees for you. Here are a few good ones we found: Connie Malamed, 30 Ways to Motivate Adult Learners Articulate Rapid e-Learning Blog (Tom Kuhlman), Motivate Your Learners with These 5 Simple Steps  Christopher Pappas (e-Learning Industry Blog), 17 Tips to Motivate Adult Learners Hope you found that helpful. The next book by Mager that we’ll look at is going to be his Making Instruction Work, and then we’ll end the series with a look at his Measuring Instructional Results.               The post Motivating Learners: Tips from Robert Mager’s Book "Developing Attitude Toward Learning" appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

We’ve recently added some more firepower to our programming team, and as a result we’ve been able to push out a number of long-awaited enhancements that improve the look and feel of the Convergence LMS. Modernized UI While we made quite a few minor updates to make for a smoother user experience, the most visible changes involve updated icons, flattened layout, and improved fluidity of the overall design. Style Switcher The UI enhancements come paired with a built-in style-switcher that allows you to select among 6 standard color schemes. Use the theme that best fits your brand or that you just enjoy using the most. Customization Options Make this LMS your own. In addition to the ability to configure custom landing pages, LMS admins can now replace the Convergence LMS logo with their own company logo to further customize the training experience. Contact convergence support for help implementing this feature in your LMS. The post Convergence LMS Gets a New Look appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

We’re excited to give you a preview of an eagerly anticipated new feature of the Convergence LMS - Electives. With the option of elective-based training, not only will you be able to assign training to individual employees and groups, but your employees will also be able to self-register and complete training proactively, putting themselves in a better position to be promoted or to be successful when training up ahead of starting a new job. Elective-based training appeals to employees’ desire to be in charge of and direct their own training. Turn your training library into a reference library and allow learners to enroll in supplemental courses so they can sharpen their skills and increase their knowledge as they see fit. Administrators can designate individual training activities or entire qualifications as "electives" to make them accessible from an employee’s training plan. Add and remove courses from your elective training curriculum at any time. Employees can freely enroll in any course designated for elective training. Contact convergence support for help implementing this feature in your LMS. The post First Look: Elective-Based Training appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

Those of you looking to add a little more of your company’s style and personality to your Convergence LMS can now take advantage of our new customizable Landing Pages to do just that. Where before your LMS users were greeted with a simple and plain login form, you’re now able to present them with virtually any information you’d like when they sit down to take their assigned training. Configure your custom dashboard to display blog posts, announcements, news, or other data from an RSS feed. Upload a static image, like your company logo, or display an entire webpage by entering a simple url. Landing page layouts can be re-arranged and configured to suit your needs. Take advantage of custom landing pages to integrate your brand with your training. Contact convergence support for help implementing this feature in your LMS. The post Introducing New LMS "Landing Pages" appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

It is hard to believe, but over the past 18 months, we’ve created or updated almost 300 courses! Along the way, we’ve adopted some new standards and made some improvements to the course functionality. The result is that some of the older courses aren’t consistent with the newer ones. This year, we’ll be making a big effort to get all of our courses up to the highest standards. We wanted to give you a heads up of what you can expect to see in the next few months: Updated Course Skins If you have any of our new courses, you probably noticed immediately that they have been updated with a new skin that takes design cues from our recently re-styled website. Change is good, and in this case the design decisions we made help align the courses more closely with our goal of providing a "modern" training experience, in addition to helping to keep the training feeling fresh and interesting. Improved Drag/Drop Questions IE 11? Project Spartan? Chrome 41, Safari 8, Firefox 37… There are tons of web browsers out there, and we think we’ve done a commendable job of making sure our courses play smoothly on all of them. Unfortunately, incompatibility issues arise as browsers age, and we’ve experienced some occasional issues with the drag-and-drop question types not working correctly in some older versions of Internet Explorer. We’ve addressed this in this recent batch of updates, however. Our new courses offer multiple ways to drag and drop to provide maximum compatibility with all browsers and special compatibility modes. iPad-Friendly Videos Going forward, we’ll be swapping out all of our flash-based FLV videos with MP4 alternatives. MP4 videos provide HTML5 compatibility, which basically means they’re encoded to perform well across many devices, including Apple devices like iPads. This optimizes our course functionality across all browsers, offering better quality and faster playback. Full-Course, Full-Screen Our older courses had a full-screen button, but that would only work on one video at a time. Our newer courses will have the ability to view the entire course full screen and auto-play all of the videos. This is a great feature for presenting to groups or classes on a projector, or for those learners who prefer a video-only experience, without the aid of the accompanying text. Passing Score Most of our courses require 80% to pass the test. This has worked great for the majority of our customers, so we will be standardizing all courses to require 80% to pass the test. We’d like to thank you all for your patience and continued support as we get all of our courses upgraded to the latest and greatest! As we make progress, we’ll send out additional communications about which courses will be affected and our plans for rolling them out. If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to preview the new features, email us at support@convergencetraining.com. The post Spring/Summer Course Development Notes appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

Some of you are seasoned hands well aware of the MSHA Part 46 training requirements. But maybe a refresher would help. Others may be new to the field and might find this article a helpful introduction. So let’s dive in and take a closer look at MSHA Part 46. We’ll start by learning about MSHA, Part 46, and various aspects of Part 46, including: MSHA Part 46 Training Programs, including New Miner, Newly Hired Experienced Miner, New Task(s), Annual Refrsher, and Site-Specific Hazard Awareness MSHA Part 46 Training Plans Records of training for MSHA Part 46 Training Compensation and Part 46 Training Contractors and Part 46 Training In future articles, we’ll show you how you could use mine safety e-learning courses for part of your Part 46 Training Plan, and how using a learning management system (LMS) can help you assign, deliver, track, report on, and create documentation of that training. What Is MSHA? MSHA is an acronym that stands for the Mine Safety and Health Administration. They’re the government agency tasked with safety and health issues at mines. One aspect of their responsibility is to make sure miners receive proper safety training. What Is MSHA Part 46? Part 46 is a part of CFR Title 30 Mineral Resources. It deals with mandatory training and training documentation requirements at certain mine sites (see below to learn which mines). Convergence Training is a training provider that provides training solutions for the mining industry. Check out our MSHA Learning Management System (LMS) and our library of mine safety e-learning courses that are appropriate for Part 46 Compliance Training. Intrigued? If so, contact us for more information or a demo. At Which Mine Sites Does MSHA Part 46 Apply? Part 46 applies to "miners engaged in shell dredging, or employed at sand, gravel, surface stone, surface clay, colloidal phosphate, or surface limestone mines." (46.1) What Are the Training Plans and Training Programs that MSHA Part 46 Requires? Part 46 requires operators of mines covered by the scope of Part 46 (see above) to create a "training plan" (46.3) for the mine site that includes a number of required "training programs." In this article, we’ll explain both training plans AND training programs. We’ll look at training programs first. What Is an MSHA Part 46 Training Program? Part 46 requires mine operators to provide certain "training programs" to certain workers at a mine site. A training program is a set of training on specific topics (mandated by Part 46) that must  be delivered to different workers and/or to workers at different times. These training programs are: New Miner Training Program Newly Hired Experienced Miner Training Program New Task Training Programs (one for each new task) Annual Refresher Training Program Site-Specific Hazard Awareness We’ll go into detail about each of these in the sections below. New Miner Training Program (46.5): Typically, every newly hired miner who has not completed this type of training before at a different job must complete 24 hours of new miner training  before that miner can work without being observed by an experienced miner. (See the definitions of New Miner and Newly Hired Experienced Miner below for more on this distinction.) In addition, of these 24 hours, four hours must be completed before the new miner can begin work at all. After the first four hours of training have been completed, the miner can work where an experienced miner can observe that the new miner is performing his or her work in a safe and health manner until the full 24 hours of training is reached. Let’s pause for a moment for some definitions relevant to the paragraph above. These are taken from 46.2, Definitions. New Miner: A person who is beginning employment as a miner with a production-operator or independent contractor and who is not an experienced miner. [46.2(i)] Experienced Miner: (i) A person who is employed as a miner on April 14, 1999; (ii) A person who has at least 12 months of cumulative surface mining or equivalent experience on or before October 2, 2000; (iii) A person who began employment as a miner after April 14, 1999, but before October 2, 2000 and who has received new miner training under §48.25 of this title or under proposed requirements published April 14, 1999, which are available from the Office of Standards, Regulations and Variances, MSHA, 1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2352, Arlington, Virginia 22209-3939; or (iv) A person employed as a miner on or after October 2, 2000 who has completed 24 hours of new miner training under §46.5 of this part or under §48.25 of this title and who has at least 12 cumulative months of surface mining or equivalent experience. [(46.2(d)(1)(i-iv)] Finally, there are some exceptions for miners who did work at a mine in the past, received new miner training there, but never reached "experienced miner" status. For more information on these exceptions, see 46.5(f) and 46.5(g). When New Miner Training Must Occur Subjects Required by New Miner Training Program Before new miner begins work 1. An introduction to the work environment. Includes a visit and tour of the mine, or portions of the mine that are representative of the entire mine (walk-around training). The method of mining or operation utilized must be explained and observed. Before new miner begins work 2. Instruction on the recognition and avoidance of electrical hazards and other hazards present at the mine. Instruction can include things such as traffic patterns and control, mobile equipment (e.g., haul trucks and front-end loaders), and loose or unstable ground conditions. Before new miner begins work 3. A review of the emergency medical procedures, escape and emergency evacuation plans, in effect at the mine, and instruction on the fire-warning signals and firefighting procedures. Before new miner begins work 4. Instruction on the health and safety aspects of the tasks to be assigned. Includes the safe work procedures of such tasks, the mandatory health and safety standards pertinent to such tasks, information about the physical and health hazards of chemicals in the miner’s work area, the protective measures a miner can take against these hazards, and the contents of the mine’s HazCom program. Before new miner begins work 5. Instruction on the statutory rights of miners and their representatives under the Act. Instruction should be based on the Federal Mine Safety & Health Act of 1977. Before new miner begins work 6. A review and description of the line of authority of supervisors and miners’ representatives and the responsibilities of such supervisors and miners’ representatives. Before new miner begins work 7. An introduction to your rules and procedures for reporting hazards. Before new miner begins work 8. Site-specific hazards. Note: Part 46 doesn’t specifically call out training on "site-specific hazards" in the same way that it does the other topics listed above (or below), but instead notes that the training topics listed above "must also address site-specific hazards." As a result, we’ve chosen to call them out specifically so it’s less likely you’ll miss this. No later than 60 calendar days after a new miner begins work at the mine 9. Instruction and demonstration on the use, care, and maintenance of self-rescue and respiratory devices, if used at the mine. No later than 60 calendar days after a new miner begins work at the mine 10. A review of first aid methods. No later than 90 calendar days after a new miner begins work at the mine 11. The balance, if any, of the 24 hours of training on any other subjects that promote occupational health and safety for miners at the mine. Newly Hired Experienced Miner Training Program (46.6): Newly hired experienced miners (remember the definition of "experienced miners" above) must receive a different training program than newly hired (non-experienced) miners do. The two training programs are similar and there’s overlap, but in general, newly hired experienced miners have to complete less training than new miners do. Some of this training must be completed before the newly hired experienced miner can begin work. The rest of it must be completed within the first 60 days. There’s a partial exception for an experienced miner "…who returns to the same mine, following an absence of 12 months or less…"-see 46.6(f) for the details. Newly hired experienced miners must receive no less than four hours of training on the subjects numbered 1-8 below before they begin work at the mine. In addition, they must receive training about self-rescue and respiratory devices, if used at the mine, no later than 60 days after beginning work. It’s all explained in detail in the table below. When Newly Hired Experienced Miner Training Must Occur Subjects Required by Newly Hired Experienced Miner Training Program Before new miner begins work 1. An introduction to the work environment. Includes a visit and tour of the mine, or portions of the mine that are representative of the entire mine (walk-around training). The method of mining or operation utilized must be explained and observed. Before new miner begins work 2. Instruction on the recognition and avoidance of electrical hazards and other hazards present at the mine. Instruction can include things such as traffic patterns and control, mobile equipment (e.g., haul trucks and front-end loaders), and loose or unstable ground conditions. Before new miner begins work 3. A review of the emergency medical procedures, escape and emergency evacuation plans, in effect at the mine, and instruction on the fire-warning signals and firefighting procedures. Before new miner begins work 4. Instruction on the health and safety aspects of the tasks to be assigned. Includes the safe work procedures of such tasks, the mandatory health and safety standards pertinent to such tasks, information about the physical and health hazards of chemicals in the miner’s work area, the protective measures a miner can take against these hazards, and the contents of the mine’s HazCom program.Note: According to 46.4(d), "Practice under the close observation of a competent person may be used to fulfill the requirement for training on the health and safety aspects of an assigned task in paragraph (b)(4) of this section, if hazard recognition training specific to the assigned task is given before the miner performs the task." Before new miner begins work 5. Instruction on the statutory rights of miners and their representatives under the Act. Instruction should be based on the Federal Mine Safety & Health Act of 1977. Before new miner begins work 6. A review and description of the line of authority of supervisors and miners’ representatives and the responsibilities of such supervisors and miners’ representatives. Before new miner begins work 7. An introduction to your rules and procedures for reporting hazards. Before new miner begins work 8. Site-specific hazards. Note: Part 46 doesn’t specifically call out training on "site-specific hazards" in the same way that it does the other topics listed above (or below), but instead notes that the training topics listed above "must also address site-specific hazards." As a result, we’ve chosen to call them out specifically so it’s less likely you’ll miss this. No later than 60 calendar days after a new miner begins work at the mine 9. Instruction and demonstration on the use, care, and maintenance of self-rescue and respiratory devices, if used at the mine. Various "New Task" Training Programs (46.7): A miner must be complete a "New Task" Training Program every time the miner "is reassigned to a new task in which he or she has no previous work experience." This training must be completed before the miner can begin the new task. In addition, the miner must receive similar safety training "If a change occurs in a miner’s assigned task that affects the health and safety risks encountered by the miner." Again, let’s pause for a definition from the regulation: Task: a work assignment or component of a job that requires specific job knowledge or experience. [46.2(n)] So, for example, you might have New Task Training programs like the ones listed below (and obviously, there could be many more). Dozer Operator Haul Truck Operator Welding Operating a Crusher According to part 46.7, the training must include "the health and safety aspects of the task to be assigned, including the safe work procedures of such task, information about the physical and health hazards of chemicals in the miner’s work area, the protective measures a miner can take against these hazards, and the contents of the mine’s HazCom program. " There’s an exception for miners "who have received training in a similar task or who have previous work experience in the task. " These miners must "demonstrate the necessary skills to perform the task in a safe and healthful manner." See 46.7(c) for more details. Annual Refresher Training Program (46.8): Once you’ve provided your "new hire" miners with the New Miner Training Program or the Newly Hired Experienced Miner Training Program, and you’ve delivered any New Task Training Programs necessary, the next thing to do is to turn your attention to the Part 46 requirement for Annual Refresher safety and health training. All miners must receive eight hours of annual refresher training. This training must be provided "No later than 12 months after the miner begins work at the mine" and "Thereafter, no later than 12 months after the previous annual refresher training was completed." (46.8) Again, let’s take a look at a key definition here from 46.2. Miner: (i) Any person, including any operator or supervisor, who works at a mine and who is engaged in mining operations. This definition includes independent contractors and employees of independent contractors who are engaged in mining operations; and (ii) Any construction worker who is exposed to hazards of mining operations.  The standard goes on to say that "The definition of "miner" does not include scientific workers; delivery workers; customers (including commercial over-the-road truck drivers); vendors; or visitors. This definition also does not include maintenance or service workers who do not work at a mine site for frequent or extended periods." This training can include repeats of the training that was provided as part of the New Miner and the Newly Hired Experienced Miner Training Programs. We’ve covered that above, so we won’t go into detail about that here. In addition, however, 46.8 says two things that are of particular interest here. First, the standard says that you "must include instruction on changes at the mine that could adversely affect the miner’s health or safety." And second, the standard lists some additional topics for which you could provide annual refresher training. This list is informative, so we’ll copy a rather large section of the standard here [46.8(2)(c)]: "Refresher training must also address other health and safety subjects that are relevant to mining operations at the mine. Recommended subjects include, but are not limited to: applicable health and safety requirements, including mandatory health and safety standards; information about the physical and health hazards of chemicals in the miner’s work area, the protective measures a miner can take against these hazards, and the contents of the mine’s HazCom program; transportation controls and communication systems; escape and emergency evacuation plans, firewarning and firefighting; ground conditions and control; traffic patterns and control; working in areas of highwalls; water hazards, pits, and spoil banks; illumination and night work; first aid; electrical hazards; prevention of accidents; health; explosives; and respiratory devices. Training is also recommended on the hazards associated with the equipment that has accounted for the most fatalities and serious injuries at the mines covered by this rule, including: mobile equipment (haulage and service trucks, front-end loaders and tractors); conveyor systems; cranes; crushers; excavators; and dredges. Other recommended subjects include: maintenance and repair (use of hand tools and welding equipment); material handling; fall prevention and protection; and working around moving objects (machine guarding)." Site-Specific Hazard Awareness Training Program (46.11): According to 46.11(d), "Site-specific hazard awareness training is information or instructions on the hazards a person could be exposed to while at the mine, as well as applicable emergency procedures." The training requirements for site-specific hazard awareness training apply to two large groups of people: First, the miners performing miner operations. In most cases, this site-specific hazard awareness training would be provided initially as part of the New Miner Training Program or the Newly Hired Experienced Miner Training Program. In addition, it could be covered in various New Task Training Programs (which can be included in the previous two). And finally it might be included in the yearly Annual Refresher Training Program. Second, it must be provided "to any person who is not a miner as defined by §46.2 of this part but is present at a mine site." All together, that means mine operators must provide site-specific hazard awareness training to the following people [46.11(a, b, and c)]: Newly hired miners and experienced miners, as defined above. This training can be part of their new miner and newly hired experienced miner training programs. Miners, such as drillers or blasters, who move from one mine to another mine while remaining employed by the same production-operator or independent contractor (provide site-specific hazard awareness training for each mine) Office or staff personnel Scientific workers Delivery workers Customers, including commercial over-the-road truck drivers Construction workers or employees of independent contractors who are not miners under §46.2 of this part Maintenance or service workers who do not work at the mine site for frequent or extended periods Vendors or visitors Who’s NOT required to receive and complete site-specific hazard awareness training? According to 46.11(f), "Site-specific hazard awareness training is not required for any person who is accompanied at all times by an experienced miner who is familiar with hazards specific to the mine site." In terms of the training topics/subjects to be covered, the standard has this to say: "Information or instructions on the hazards a person could be exposed to while at the mine, as well as applicable emergency procedures. The training must address site-specific health and safety risks, such as unique geologic or environmental conditions, recognition and avoidance of hazards such as electrical and powered-haulage hazards, traffic patterns and control, and restricted areas; and warning and evacuation signals, evacuation and emergency procedures, or other special safety procedures." What Is an MSHA Part 46 "Training Plan?" So we’ve now covered the 5 "basic" Part 46 Training Programs. To refresh, they are New Miner, Newly Hired Experienced Miner, Annual Refresher, Site-Specific Hazard Awareness, and any number of New Tasks. Now let’s take a step back and learn about what Part 46 calls a Training Plan (46.3 and 46.4). A Training Plan is "a written plan…that contains effective programs for training new miners and newly hired experienced miners, training miners for new tasks, annual refresher training, and site-specific hazard awareness training." [46.3(a)] Mine operators regulated by Part 46 must develop an implement a Training Plan. What Must a Training Plan Include? The Training Plan is a written plan for delivering your various Part 46 training programs. According to 46.3(b), here’s what your Training Plan has to include (at minimum): "The name of the production-operator or independent contractor, mine name(s), and MSHA mine identification number(s) or independent contractor identification number(s)" [46.3(b)(1)] "The name and position of the person designated by you who is responsible for the health and safety training at the mine. This person may be the production-operator or independent contractor" [46.3(b)(2)] "A general description of the teaching methods and the course materials that are to be used in the training program, including the subject areas to be covered and the approximate time or range of time to be spent on each subject area" [46.3(b)(3)] "A list of the persons and/or organizations who will provide the training, and the subject areas in which each person and/or organization is competent to instruct" [46.3(b)(4)] "The evaluation procedures used to determine the effectiveness of training" [46.3(b)(5)] Do You Have to Submit Your Part 46 Training Plan to MSHA? Typically, you don’t have to submit your Part 46 Training Plan to MSHA. Note that 46.3(a) says just that "You must develop and implement a written plan…" and that the plan is "considered approved" if it includes the elements listed above and in 46.3(b). However, you CAN "voluntarily submit a plan for Regional Manager approval" if you want [see 46.3(c) for more about this]. Also, if your Training Plan DOES NOT include the items listed in the section above [taken from 46.3(b)(1-5)], then you’ll HAVE TO submit your Plan to your MSHA Regional Manager for approval. Here’s what the standard says: "A plan that does not include the minimum information specified in paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(5) of this section must be submitted to and approved by the Regional Manager, Educational Field Services Division, or designee, for the region in which the mine is located." Submitting Your Training Plan to the Miner’s Representative You must ALWAYS submit a copy of your Training Plan to your miners’ representative, if any, "at least 2 weeks before the plan is implemented" [46.3(d)]. In addition, IF you intend to submit your Training Plan to MSHA for approval,you must make the plan available to the miner’s representative "at least two weeks before you submit the plan to the Regional Manager for approval"  [46.3(d)]. If the mine has no miner’s representative, "you must post a copy of the plan at the mine or provide a copy to each miner at least 2 weeks before you implement the plan or submit it to the Regional Manager for approval." After you’ve made the plan available to miners and/or their representative, know that "within 2 weeks following the receipt or posting of the training plan under paragraph (d) of this section, miners or their representatives may submit written comments on the plan to you, or to the Regional Manager, as appropriate" [46.3(d)]. Finally, if you DO submit your plan to MSHA and they approve it, "you must provide the miners’ representative, if any, with a copy of the approved plan within one week after approval. At mines where no miners’ representative has been designated, you must post a copy of the plan at the mine or provide a copy to each miner within one week after approval" [46.3(d)]. Keeping Training Plan Available for Inspection by MSHA, Miners, and/or Miner’s Representative Here’s what you’ve got to know about keeping your Training Plan available for inspection: "You must make available at the mine a copy of the current training plan for inspection by us and for examination by miners and their representatives. If the training plan is not maintained at the mine, you must have the capability to provide the plan within one business day upon request by us, miners, or their representatives." [46.3(i)] Implementing Your MSHA Part 46 Training Plan Having a Training Plan is great. First, because you’re required to. But second, because it’s good to have a plan for your mine safety training. But having a plan is only the first part of the solution. The second part is to put that plan into action. You’ve got to deliver the safety training to your workers-and that’s what Part 46 means by "implementing the plan," which is what 46.4 is all about. When you provide the training, you’ve got to ensure that it’s: Conducted in according with the written training plan Presented by a competent person Presented in a language that the miners who are receiving the training understand. Before we go further, let’s backtrack a bit (within Part 46, that is) and make sure we know the definition of "competent person." Competent Person: "a person designated by the production-operator or independent contractor who has the ability, training, knowledge, or experience to provide training to miners in his or her area of expertise. The competent person must be able both to effectively communicate the training subject to miners and to evaluate whether the training given to miners is effective." (46.2, Definitions) Who Can Conduct the MSHA Part 46 Training? You can conduct your own training, but you don’t have to. Here’s what Part 46 has to say: "You may conduct your own training programs or may arrange for training to be conducted by: state or federal agencies; associations of production-operators or independent contractors; miners’ representatives; consultants; manufacturers’ representatives; private associations; educational institutions; or other training providers." [46.4(b)] What Training Methods Can You Use for MSHA Part 46? MSHA places few, if any, restrictions on you for the training method you use to deliver your Part 46 training. In their own words: "Training methods may consist of classroom instruction, instruction at the mine, interactive computer-based instruction or other innovative training methods, alternative training technologies, or any combination of training methods." [46.4(c)] Can Training Required by OSHA Satisfy MSHA Part 46 Training Requirements? In short-yes. According to 46.4(c), "You may substitute, as applicable, health and safety training required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), or other federal or state agencies to meet requirements under this part." Of course, as 46.4(c) goes on to say, "This training must be relevant to training subjects required in this part." So you can’t just give any OSHA-based safety training and then say it applies to MSHA’s Part 46 requirements. And finally, even if it OSHA-based safety training, if you’re going to use it as part of your MSHA Part 46 Training Plan, you’ll have to document it in the terms required by MSHA in 46.9 (which we’ll discuss soon). Can Employee Health and Safety Meetings Help Satisfy MSHA Part 46 Training Requirements? Yes. According to Part 46.4(e), "Employee health and safety meetings, including informal health and safety talks and instruction, may be credited under this part." That’s true, at least, for the following training programs: New Miner Training Program Newly Hired Miner Training Program Annual Refresher Training Program (Note that Part 46 DOESN’T say it’s ok to apply this training time for New Task Training Programs or for Site-Specific Hazard Awareness Training Program). As we learned about OSHA training earlier, if you’re going to use health and safety meetings as part of your Part 46 Training Plan, you’ve still got to document each session in according with Part 46.9, Records of Training. In addition, when you’re recording the amount of training during one of these meetings, only include the portion of the session actually spent in training-discussions about families, the weekend, sports, and donuts don’t count. Records of Training for MSHA Part 46 Training OSHA requires that you create records of training on a form call the 5000-23 OR on a similar form that "on a form that contains the information listed" below [46.9(a and b)]: The printed full name of the person trained The type of training The duration of the training The date the training was received The name of the competent person who provided the training The name of the mine or independent contractor, MSHA mine identification number or independent contractor identification number, and location of training (if an institution, the name and address of the institution) The statement, "False certification is punishable under §110(a) and (f) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act," printed in bold letters and in a conspicuous manner A statement signed by the person designated in the MSHA-approved training plan for the mine as responsible for health and safety training, that states "I certify that the above training has been completed." When Must Records of Training Be Made for Training in Different MSHA Part 46 Training Programs? You must make records of training at times times depending on which Training Program is being satisfied. Here’s the key information: For New Miner Training Program The training within the New Miner Training Program has three different delivery and recording deadlines, as listed below: For training delivered to meet 46.5(b) requirements, no later than when the miner begins work For training delivered to meet 46.5(c) requirements, no later than 60 calendar days after the miner begins work at the mine For training delivered to meet 46.5(d) requirements, no later than 90 calendar days after the miner begins work at the mine For Newly Hired Miner Training Program The training within the Newly Hired Experienced Miner Training Program has two different delivery and recording deadlines, as listed below: For training delivered to meet 46.6(b) requirements, no later than when the miner begins work For training delivered to meet 46.6(c) requirements, no later than 60 calendar days after the miner begins work at the mine For New Task Training Programs Records of training for New Task Training programs must be created upon completion of the new task training [46.9(c)(3)]. For Annual Refresher Training Programs Records of training for the Annual Refresher Training Program must be created "after each session of annual refresher training under 46.8″ [46.9(c)(4)]. For Site-Specific Hazard Awareness Training Programs Records of training for Site-Specific Hazard Awareness Training Programs must be created upon completion by miners of site-specific hazard awareness training under §46.11 [46.9(c)(5)]. But there’s a special exemption in Part 46 that applies to this requirement. Here’s what 46.9(i) has to say (pay special attention to the bold letters): "You are not required to make records under this section of site-specific hazard awareness training you provide under §46.11 of this part to persons who are not miners under §46.2. However, you must be able to provide evidence to us, upon request, that the training was provided, such as the training materials that are used; copies of written information distributed to persons upon their arrival at the mine; or visitor log books that indicate that training has been provided." Since the definition of "miner" as defined in 46.2 is key here, let’s review that [46.2(g)(1-2)].  Miner means: (i) Any person, including any operator or supervisor, who works at a mine and who is engaged in mining operations. This definition includes independent contractors and employees of independent contractors who are engaged in mining operations; and (ii) Any construction worker who is exposed to hazards of mining operations. (2) The definition of "miner" does not include scientific workers; delivery workers; customers (including commercial over-the-road truck drivers); vendors; or visitors. This definition also does not include maintenance or service workers who do not work at a mine site for frequent or extended periods. Maintaining Records of MSHA Part 46 Training So how long do you have to keep these records of training, you ask? According to 46.9(h), you’ll have to keep most copies of training certificates and training records during his or her employment AND for at least 60 calendar days after a miner terminates employment. An exception here is that you only have to keep records and certificates of annual refresher training under 46.8 for two years. As you might have guessed, MSHA will want to be able to view your records of training. As explained in 46.9(g), "You must make available at the mine a copy of each miner’s training records and certificates for inspection by us and for examination by miners and their representatives. If training certificates are not maintained at the mine, you must be able to provide the certificates upon request by us, miners, or their representatives." Finally, you’ve also got to give miners a copy of their training records and certificates when they leave your employment [46.9(f)]. Paying Miners for Training Basically, you’ve got to provide training during work hours and you’ve got to give miners normal pay for completing the training. In addition, if the training involves travel, you’ve got to pick up the bill. Here’s how 46.10 puts it: (a) Training must be conducted during normal working hours. Persons required to receive training must be paid at a rate of pay that corresponds to the rate of pay they would have received had they been performing their normal work tasks. (b) If training is given at a location other than the normal place of work, persons required to receive such training must be compensated for the additional costs, including mileage, meals, and lodging, they may incur in attending such training sessions. Contractors and MSHA Part 46 Training Because it’s common for contractors to work at a mine site, the question arises: "Who is responsible for providing Part 46 training to contractors?" Let’s break it down into two categories to see who’s responsible for what. First, the production-operator: Has the "primary responsibility for ensuring that site-specific hazard awareness training is given to employees of independent contractors who are required to receive such training under 46.11 of this part." "Must provide information to each independent contractor who employs a person at the mine on site-specific mine hazards and the obligation of the contractor to comply with our (MSHA’s Part 46) regulations, including the requirements of this part." And next, the independent contractor who employs a miner: "Each independent contractor who employs a miner, as defined in 46.2, at the mine has primary responsibility for complying with 46.3 through 46.10 of this part, including providing new miner training, newly hired experienced miner training, new task training, and annual refresher training." "The independent contractor must inform the production-operator of any hazards of which the contractor is aware that may be created by the performance of the contractor’s work at the mine." And here’s the definition of "independent contractor" from 46.2: Independent contractor: "Any person, partnership, corporation, subsidiary of a corporation, firm, association, or other organization that contracts to perform services at a mine under this part." Conclusion: What Is MSHA Part 46? Hopefully by this time, you’re no longer asking yourself "What is Part 46?" By now we hope we’ve given you an effective overview, including getting you up to speed on each of the following: What is MSHA? What is MSHA Part 46? What is a Training Program? What are the Required MSHA Part 46 Training Programs? What is an MSHA Part 46 Training Plan? How to Keep Records of MSHA Part 46 Training-and How Long? And more, including contractors, compensation, and other issues The safety training required in Part 46 is critical for keeping a safe and healthy work force at mines. And there are all sorts of reasons to comply if you’re a mine production-operator. It’s the right thing to do, there are heavy compliance penalties if you don’t, studies show a direct link between workplace safety and the financial bottom line of companies, and more. But complying with all the requirements can take some doing. There are logical issues involved in delivering the training, in knowing who has to take what training and when, and in creating the Training Plan and training records required. That’s why many companies today are integrating technological means to help them comply with Part 46. In particular, e-learning courses on mine safety delivered along with other types of training in a "blended learning" approach, and a learning management system (LMS) to help deliver, assign, track, and report on that training. We’ll learn more about each in following posts in this series. The post What Is MSHA Part 46? Training Requirements for Surface Mines appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

We’re back with a look at the final section of ANSI Z490.1, the American National Standard for Criteria for Accepted Practices in Safety, Health, and Environmental Training. In this article, we’re going to look at ANSI Z490.1’s recommendations for documenting your EHS training and keeping records. Because this article is the first in a series about ANSI Z490.1, know that we’ve got separate articles covering: ANSI Z490.1 Introduction Sections 1, 2, and 3 (scope/purpose/application, definitions, and training program administration/management) Section 4 (developing EHS training) Section 5 (EHS trainers and training environments) Section 6 (evaluating EHS training) Section 7 (EHS training documentation and recordkeeping) Need an LMS, EHS training courses, or other help with your safety training program? Contact Convergence Training to learn more. EHS Training Records: Documentation and Recordkeeping ANSI Z490.1 notes that documentation and recordkeeping are important parts of an overall training management program (remember, the program is covered in Section 3). Those records are to cover the following phases of EHS training: Development of EHS training (development as a general topic is covered in section 4) Delivery of EHS training (delivery as a general topic is covered in section 5) Evaluation of the training program (evaluation as a general topic is covered in section 6) We’ll cover ANSI’s documentation requirements of each section or phase of EHS training below. General Requirements for EHS Training Documentation and Recordkeeping The standard notes that you should set up a recording system for all EHS training records and documents, and that the system should guarantee that (7.1.1): The records are easy to retrieve and identify and are maintained in an orderly fashion The records are current, accurate, legible, and dated, and that the dates should include revision dates when appropriate The records satisfy relevant/applicable regulatory and/or legislative requirements The records are maintained for a specified time period On the issue of maintaining records for a specified time period, the standard notes that the amount of time that records should be kept may be mandated by legislation, regulations, and/or company policy. Your company’s written training plan should include procedures for document control of these documents and records. EHS Training Records: Confidentiality and Availability The standard again reminds you that, when it comes to "access, availability, and confidentiality of records," your written training plan should include procedures for this. That written training plan is showing its worth again here. On the issue of confidentiality, the standard reminds you that your EHS training records must "meet regulatory requirements for availability, disclosure, confidentiality, and protection of trade secrets." (7.3.1) Records of EHS Training Development As a reminder, development is the phase during which you’re creating your EHS training materials, and it’s covered in section 4. You may not have thought that you’d need to keep records of this, but Z490.1 says you should. Here’s what it says those records should include: Your target audience The learning objectives Sources used to develop your training materials The person(s) designing and developing the training materials The qualifications of that person/those people All training materials developed for a course Plans for evaluating the course and for continuing improvement of the course Records of EHS Training Delivery Now this one may be less of a surprise. You probably figured you’d have to keep records of your training delivery (covered in section 5). But even here, you may be surprised by the information the standard suggests recording. Here’s what the standard says to record: Date of training Location of training Duration of training Name and description of course Names of person(s) delivering training Qualification of that person(s) Delivery method used for training Trainees attending/participating Trainees who successfully completed the training Records of EHS Training Evaluation Finally, you should create and maintain documents of your training evaluation (evaluation is covered in section 6). Evaluation records should include: Records of your actual training evaluations Records of periodic reevaluation of the course Issuing Credits and Certificates for Completion of EHS Training Finally, Section 7.4 addresses topics related to issuing credits and certificates. One thing it says that is "no credits or certificate of training shall be issued unless the criteria for completion have been met by the trainee." (7.4.1) Fair enough, no? Second, it says that if the training provider does issue credits for completed training, "they shall be issued in accordance with recognized established standards, regulations, or industry protocols." (7.4.2) And finally, when issuing a certificate or other written documentation that signifies the successful completion of a course to the trainee, the certificate must include: Trainee’s name A unique number that identifies the trainee Course title Date and hours of instruction Statement that trainee has successfully completed the course Number of credits, if issued Name and address of the training provider Date the periodic refresher course is due (if required), or the completion expiration date The level of training or type of certificate awarded (if applicable) Any other information required by any related regulation Signature of BOTH trainee and training provider Conclusion of ANSI Z490.1 Summary Articles That wraps up our overview of ANSI Z490.1, the American National Standard covering Criteria for Accepted Practices in Safety, Health, and Environmental Training. Soon we’ll have some form of downloadable guide that includes information on all the sections. Until then, feel free to go back and look at the different articles you may be interested in, or read them all in order from start to finish: ANSI Z490.1 Introduction Sections 1, 2, and 3 (scope/purpose/application, definitions, and training program administration/management) Section 4 (developing EHS training) Section 5 (EHS trainers and training environments) Section 6 (evaluating EHS training) Section 7 (EHS training documentation and recordkeeping)   Need an LMS, EHS training courses, or other help with your safety training program? Contact Convergence Training to learn more.   The post EHS Training Records & Documentation: Best Practices from ANSI Z490.1 Section 7 appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

Not that long ago, we wrote a lengthy discussion of graphics and visuals for training materials. The article introduced 25 graphic techniques for making your training materials more effective, and it was based on the book Visual Language for Designers by Connie Malamed. That post was so popular, and we found writing it to be so informative, that we thought we’d dig deep again and read another book on the issue of training graphics and visuals in training materials. This time, we checked out Graphics for Learning: Proven Guidelines for Planning, Designing, and Evaluating Visuals in Training Materials by Dr. Ruth Colvin Clark and Chopeta Lyons. It’s a create guide full of tips for how to create graphics for elearning (and all types of learning, really). If Malamed’s book was considerable in length-and it was-then the Clark/Lyons book goes even further-a whopping 420 pages. So, we’ll cover different aspects of the book in different posts. In this post, we’re going to just look at a part of Clark & Lyon’s book that introduces six different types of graphics and when to use each in training materials. Convergence Training is a training solutions provider-we make several learning management systems (LMSs) to meet the needs of companies of different sizes and in different industries, many libraries of e-learning courses for workforce training, custom training solutions for any industry, and mobile apps to bring training and workforce efficiency tools to your mobile device. Contact us if you have questions or want a demo. Why Use Graphics in Training Materials? This may seem obvious, but let’s start at the beginning. Why should you use graphics and/or visuals in your training materials at all? The obvious reason to add graphics to your training-which is the same reason you should always have before you add anything to your training-is they CAN make your training more effective. In fact, a study by Richard Meyer shows that adding RELEVANT graphics to training materials can create an average learning gain of 89% compared to learning materials that are just text (see note 1). So that’s pretty significant and compelling. But did you notice that word RELEVANT up above? That’s key. Because if a graphic isn’t relevant to the training material, or if it’s inappropriate in some other way, you can kiss that 89% learning gain goodbye. In fact, if you’re not careful, your use of visuals can actually depress learning, meaning they cause people to learn LESS than they would from training materials that are purely text-based. So what we’ve got here is the classic double-edge sword. Use relevant graphics in an appropriate manner, and you help people learn more. Use irrelevant graphics and/or use them in an inappropriate manner, and you’re making it harder for people to learn. So graphic wisely, my friend! How to Create Graphics for eLearning: Different Types of Graphics One way to make sure you’re using a graphic (a) that’s relevant and (b) appropriately for your training goal is to determine what type of graphic it is. Clark and Lyons’ book gives us a list of seven different types of graphics: Decorative graphics Representational graphics Mnemonic graphics Organizational graphics Relational graphics Transformational graphics Interpretive graphics Let’s begin by learning what they mean by each of these different types of visuals. Decorative Graphics A decorative graphic is a pretty picture, or an image that’s added for purely aesthetic reasons, or one that’s added purely for the sake of humor, or one added because it’s "interesting" or "kinda" related to the training topic but not directly related to the learning objectives. An example that Clark and Lyons give in their book is an image of an airplane being struck by lightning in a lesson about how lightning forms. Clark and Lyons say that you shouldn’t add graphics merely for decorative purposes. It may seem like it will draw your learner’s attention, and that’s true-but it risks drawing their attention away from the material you’re trying to teach. Let’s consider another example, something I saw in real life. It was a clip-art image of a pumpkin placed in the corner of a PowerPoint presentation that was about hot work in industrial facilities. The pumpkin  was added because the training session was held right around Halloween. You can see it did nothing to support the learning objective of teaching me the hazards of hot work and the rules for doing it safely, but you can also imagine that it might have sparked any number of thoughts in my head related to Halloween. Although the Clark/Chopeta book addresses this use of decorative images well, perhaps the classic treatment of this is in Richard Mayer’s book Multimedia Learning, so feel free to check that out if you’re curious for more on this. Because these types of images are discouraged, we don’t have a sample image to share with you here. Unless you count that smiley-face emoji. Representational Graphics A representational image is a "realistic" depiction of a person, place, thing, or symbol. That doesn’t mean it has to be a photograph or entirely life-like. A simplified line drawing-for example, a line drawing that traces the outline of a bicycle-qualifies as representational in this context. Below is an example representational graphic. It’s an image of wire rope from our Wire Rope Basics course. It’s an accurate representation of wire rope and helps explain to a new worker what wire rope is. It goes one step further than perhaps a photo might be able to do, though, by using animation to show the inner core of the rope and the outer strands. An image of wire rope and its different parts: an example of a representational training graphic Mnemonic Graphic Mnemonic graphics are graphics intended to help people remember factual information that would otherwise be hard to remember. These are related to the old mnemonic devices that we all learned about in elementary school-ROY G. BIV for remembering the colors of the visible spectrum (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet), and Did King Phillip Came Over From Germany Swimmingly? as a way to remember the different levels within the biology taxonomy (Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species). Below is a an example of a mnemonic graphic from our Alert Driving course. The image of an oar helps reinforce a three-step method for driving safely-Observe, Anticipate, and React. An image of an oar used to remind learners of the Observe, Anticipate, and React method of defensive driving; an example of a mnemonic graphic Organizational Graphics Organizational graphics show "qualitative" relationships between things. For example, a graphic organizer in a book that explains the different parts of the book and how they are related together is an organizational graphic. I mention this in particular because it’s something that Clark and Lyons do very well in the book we’re drawing these ideas from. Below is an an example of an organizational graphic from a course on Hot Work Permits. It’s from an early screen in the course, and displays visually for the learner the four hot work "roles" that the course will explain. The course returns to this image, highlighting the relevant role, before explaining the responsibilities of each role. A graphic like this helps to set the scene for a learner and remind the learner throughout the training where he/she "is," what’s being discussed, and why. Image showing the four roles involved in issuing a hot work permit: an example of an organizational graphic Relational Graphics A relational graphic shows "quantative" relationships. Examples include pie charts and bar graphs showing numerical trends. Here’s a relational graphic from a source on process control charts. As you can see, the chart shows the relationship between moisture content and different paper rolls. A process control chart showing moisture in different rolls of produced tissue paper: an example of a relational graphic Transformational Graphics Transformational graphics illustrate change or movement through time and/or space. For example, an image of an infant, a child, a teenager, an adult, and a senior citizen placed along a timeline would be a transformational graphic, because it helps to illustrate the transformation in aging. Below is a transformational graphic from our Pulping and Papermaking Overview course. The graphic shows the transformation that occurs in the industrial process that converts wood to pulp and eventually to paper. The course, naturally, then explains how that process happens. Graphic showing transformation of raw product (wood) to pulp and finally to finished product (paper): example of transformational graphic Interpretive Graphics Interpretive graphics illustrate abstract concepts or things that are invisible. Here’s an interpretive graphic from our Anhydrous Ammonia course (anhydrous ammonia is a chemical used in fertilizers, power plants, and as a refrigerant). The interpretive graphic helps the learner understand the structure and components of the anhydrous ammonia molecule. Here’s an image of anhydrous ammonia at a molecular level: an example of an interpretive graphic   Next: Different Types of Training Content and Training Goals/Objectives Now that we’ve looked at some different kinds of visuals you can use in your training, let’s look at the other side of the coin. We’ll now consider the type of material you’re trying to teach your learner. The point, as you might have guessed, is that you’ll pick a specific type of training visual to match the type of training material you’re trying to teach your learner. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s introduce some different types of training materials and/or different training goals. They are: Facts Concepts Processes Procedures Principles Now let’s learn more about each of the types: I believe this scheme for breaking down training materials into these different types originated with M. David Merrill and his Component Display Theory. Click to read more more about Merrill’s Component Display Theory. Now that you’ve got the different types of training materials down, let’s see which graphics to use for which type of training material. Different Training Graphics for Different Types of Training Materials: How to Pick the Right Training Graphic Now that you know the different types of graphics and the different types of training material, below are some tips for which types of graphics to use for each of the different types of training materials. Facts Here are Clark’s tips for using graphics to help teach your learners facts. Representational graphics work well for facts. For example, a realistic picture of a hammer that’s labeled "hammer." Clark has a few other tips for you regarding facts. First, because facts can be hard to remember, try to create a job aid that includes helpful visuals and post that job aid where the worker needs the information. So, instead of a picture of a hammer, a poster in the work area with 20 different tools, each labeled, would be optimal. Also, if you are including a representational image of a fact, Clark suggests including it within its normal work context. For example, a picture of a hammer on the work bench in the work area. Organizational graphics can also help when creating graphics of facts. For example, in the section above, we suggested putting together a job aid with pictures of 20 tools on a poster. You can apply the benefits of an organizational graphic by putting the tools into some form of two-dimensional table, and by putting hammers and hammer-like tools on the top row and pliers and plier-like tools on the bottom row. Mnemonic graphics can be a help in cases when you can’t create a job aid like the poster with pictures of tools discussed above. The mnemonic graphic can help the learner commit the fact to memory in a way that makes it easier to retrain the information and retrieve it when it’s needed. Relational graphics can help explain facts during training when the facts are numerical. For example, a pie chart that shows customers in different industries, or a bar graph that shows increasing injuries over time. Processes Here are Clark’s tips for using images to help training your employees about processes. Transformational graphics work well for explaining processes. Think of flow diagrams and charts, with images of the "changing" materials/product at each stage of an industrial process. Relational graphics can also work well for processes. Here, think of schematic drawings and visual analogies to help explain something abstract, like how a computer system receives data from one system, processes that data, and passes it on to another system. Procedures Here are Clark’s tips for using images to help training your employees about procedures. A "blend" of representational and transformational graphics can work well for procedures. For example, if you’re teaching someone to use a software application, use representational screenshots put together to show multiple screens and the changes in those screens throughout the procedure. Or, to teach someone a specific procedure when working with a machine, use realistic images of the various steps within one graphic that shows the entire "flow" of the procedure. Principles: And finally, here are Clark’s tips for using images to help training your employees about principles. Representational graphics that "mirror" the work environment can be effective during training. This is especially true if you’re setting up a computerized training simulation and/or scenario-based learning experience. For example, if you’re teaching clerical staff to perform clerical tasks, a computerized image of a typical office at work with "hot spots" such as the filing cabinet and the computer terminal that they click on at appropriate moments to explain the appropriate work flow would work well. Interpretive graphics work well for explaining principles-for example, relationships between various described in scientific observations. Clark further notes that there’s "a clear relationship between the amount of time learners spend with visuals and subsequent learning," and so suggests "to encourage learners to engage with static interpretive visuals, include questions that promote the processing of such visuals, for example, "explain in your own words why…." (see note 2) Conclusion To Our Different Training Graphics for Different Training Content Blog Post That’s that-hope you enjoyed it and learned a thing or two. Many thanks and all credit to Clark and Lyons for writing the book this material is based on. Remember that we encourage you to buy and read it yourself-Clark & Lyons, Graphics for Learning. And, if you’re interested in stuff about visuals and training materials, don’t forget our earlier blog post with 25 Graphic Design Techniques for Better Training, which is itself based on a different book by Connie Malamed-Visual Language for Designers. This book is also highly recommended. As a further note, we hear that Malamed has just finished another, similar book and think it’s out right now-check that one out too. We’ll follow up this blog post with some additional posts based on the Clark and Lyons book. We’ve got one in particular in mind, covering their suggestions for using visuals for the following cognitive/learning purposes: Direct Attention Awaken Prior Knowledge Minimize Memory Load Build Mental Models Transfer Learning Motivate Learning Learner Differences Have a great day, and let us know your own thoughts about training and the visuals that make training better (or worse). NOTES: 1. See Clark/Lyons, More than Just Eye Candy: Graphics for e-Learning, The e-Learning Developer’s Journal, August 11, 2003 (accessed on web here: http://www.clarktraining.com/content/articles/MoreThanEyeCandy_part1.pdf) 2. See Clark/Lyons, Graphics for Learning, p. 319. The post How to Create Graphics for eLearning: Matching Graphics to Content appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.