Lion discusses online training

THE NEW NORMAL?

TRAINING • IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL DISTANCING, THE BENEFITS OF ONLINE TRAINING HAVE COME TO THE FORE BUT, SAYS LION TECHNOLOGY’S ROGER MARKS*, THERE ARE DRAWBACKS

THE NUMBER OF US-based industry professionals who rely on online dangerous goods training had been rising since before the Covid-19 pandemic began. Now, given the social distancing requirements and limits on in-person gatherings faced by many due to the pandemic, online training has become a must-have tool to inform employees and maintain compliance.

Many have speculated this year that online meetings, events and training may be the “new normal” for schoolkids and professionals alike. If this is the case, finding an effective online training platform is crucial for organisations involved in dangerous goods transportation.

Employers should not have to choose between quality and convenience when they incorporate online learning into a dangerous goods training programme. These four key factors will help you capitalise on the benefits of online learning and avoid its major drawbacks. ACCURATE AND UP TO DATE Dangerous goods regulations are not written in stone. The requirements for highway, rail, air and vessel shipments change frequently. Outdated training can misinform and confuse employees, leading to unforced errors, rejected shipments, and even civil penalties for avoidable violations. When regulatory compliance is part of your job, reliable, up-to-date training is a must.

There are three questions to ask about any online course: • When was the course created or last updated? • Does the provider have a reputation for quality training? • Will the provider answer trainees’ questions about the course content? Consider this concrete example: In the US, the ORM-D classification for ground shipments will not be permitted after 31 December 2020, unless PHMSA extends the phase-out period before the end of the year. After that, packages previously shipped as ORM-D will require different markings. A hazmat training course – whether online or in-person – that fails to address this change will misinform shippers and lead to supply chain confusion.

CONVENIENCE AND ACCESSIBILITY Online learning has one key advantage over in-person training: you can access it anywhere you want. At least that’s the idea.

In the real world, your experience of any internet-based service may vary depending on factors like your device, operating system, web browser, connection speed, security settings, and so on.

When evaluating online training options, ask if technical support is available for trainees who run into predictable hiccups that every computer user experiences from time to time. Also, keep in mind the devices your employees will likely use. Is the course compatible with desktop computer only? Or can employees use tablets, smartphones or other mobile devices to complete it?

When we talk about ‘online’ anything, we generally mean the internet we all use at work, at home, and on the road. The internet we can access pretty much everywhere. Training that is only available via an internal corporate learning management system or intranet limits how, when and where employees can access training.

Dangerous goods regulations are not very user-friendly. But that’s no reason to expect dangerous goods training to be complex or frustrating. Easy-to-use navigation tools are an important part of online learning — especially when the content itself is dense and difficult to understand, like dangerous goods regulations are.

Before you purchase an online course, ask for a demo so that you can get acquainted with the training you expect employees to complete. You should know what to expect before you purchase any online training - especially for subjects as consequential as dangerous goods transport.

LEARNING TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY We all learn in different ways. We learn by hearing, by seeing, by reading and by doing. Training personnel with responsibilities for dangerous goods compliance is most effective when it includes interactions, exercises and periodic knowledge checks. These tools not only keep employees engaged during the training, they reinforce the content and help ensure employees can apply their knowledge to real-world situations.

Closed captions or subtitles have been shown to help those with and without hearing loss to learn more from a computer-based experience. Captioning is also invaluable to workers who take training in loud environments like warehouses or factories, and non-native English speakers.

Some online courses are limited to a text-only experience or a single audio/visual presentation. Effective training should include resources that supplement the course content and lay out they key elements of each online lesson or module. Workbooks, manuals, flow charts, infographics and exercises serve as valuable resources after the training is complete. An employee who needs a refresher on specific requirements, or wants more details about a unique situation, should not have to repeat an entire course to get it.

FOLLOW-UP SUPPORT Since the days of Socrates and Plato, question-and-answer has been a crucial part of the learning experience. During in-person training, employees can ask questions at any time by raising a hand. Employees should not have to go without this crucial element of training just because they train online.

Before you purchase online training, you should be confident that your training provider has the expertise and staff needed to answer student questions. Whether employees submit questions from the online course interface, via email, or through a live chat application, the answers they receive will help them better comprehend and retain what they learn.

Does your online training provider employ real, live trainers who can answer questions or provide clarification when needed? Or are employees on their own once the sale is complete?

Another question to ask of any training provider is this: What happens after the course is complete? Learning doesn’t stop when we leave the classroom. When we apply what we learn in the real world, it’s common for questions to arise that don’t have clear, obvious answers—even for regulatory experts.

Seek out dangerous goods courses that offer resources to support your team as you apply what you learn on the job. This might include features like updates for your training materials, alerts on major regulation changes, or a compliance helpline for answers from instructors and experts. TILL WE MEET AGAIN There will always be a need for in-person, instructor-led training. For now, employers can replicate some of the benefits of in-person training using live webinar training and self-paced online courses. When you evaluate online training solutions using the four factors in this article, you help ensure the training your employees receive is reliable, useful, and engaging.

We all share the hope that, when it’s safe to do so, governments can relax remaining social distancing mandates and restrictions on in-person events that help control the spread of Covid-19. When that happens, dangerous goods professionals around the world will convene again in conference rooms and event centres to share ideas, sharpen their expertise and learn together.

If virtual learning is the new normal, at least for now, employers must seek out training partners who make online learning effective and offer as many benefits of in-person learning as possible. *Roger W Marks is content writer at Lion Technology. For more information go to www.lion.com.

CURRENT TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS HAVE HIGHLIGHTED

THE POTENTIAL AS WELL AS THE SHORTCOMINGS OF