Site: A tablet and capsule manufacture and packaging site in southern England with maintenance teams totalling approximately 35 technicians and craftspeople.

When: 2005/06

Background: Existing training material was generic and not designed to the specific need of the site. Most maintenance folks had not received CMMS training for many years and as a consequence use of the CMMS had become inconsistent, incomplete and poor quality. The data was unreliable.

Solution: To produce a new suite of materials specific to the needs of the site and establish and implement a delivery programme with appropriate update and refresher periods. It should also include proof of trainee understanding by a written and marked test.

Actions: I identified the hierarchy of training needs resulting in several levels, approximately 7, from awareness, for those just needing to obtain simple information from the system, to system administrator, for the person charged with the correct operation of the system and the validity of the data. The job roles were matched against the level needed to be attained. Each level was satisfied by a class based training session typically of half day duration. The classes were designed to be a mix of presentation, demonstration, on screen exercises, games and quizzes with prizes, and a final formal test. The design of the material was reviewed and approved by QA and in-house education specialists. The roll out programme ensured that supervisors were included in the earlier sessions to enable them to apply disciplined use by their staff in the field.