Emerson Exchange 365

Lucite International Senior Electrical Engineer, Kevin Wright, needed to learn about control valve engineering quickly before a major scheduled plant shutdown. There was a limited budget and no time to travel to a remote training location for a typical week-long course. So, he reached out to his Emerson local business partner, Rudy DeAnda, an Experitec account manager. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to try Emerson’s new Blended Learning model.

Wright became Emerson’s first customer for Blended Learning. It enabled him to do most of the training at the Lucite plant in Memphis. The Blended Learning consisted of three pieces – online video training, two-hour live virtual classroom sessions with a certified Emerson instructor and hands-on workshops using the actual equipment at Experitec.

DeAnda and Richard Ritter III, an Emerson instructional designer and instructor, designed a customized blended training program for Wright. The Blended Learning program has grown significantly with other companies seeing the benefits of local training. Blended Learning helps keep productivity up and costs down while improving retention rates.

Wright increased his control valve knowledge and troubleshooting skills while earning IACET (International Association for Continuing Education and Training) continuing education units towards his professional development. Also, he could immediately use and apply his new on the job skills between training sessions instead of coming back after a week of training and trying to apply those new skills.“I was able to retain more of this class compared to others since I was able to practice what I learned right away before the next lesson,” said Wright. “Due to the cost and time savings as well as the lack of interruption, I was able to justify attending more training sessions than I would with traditional classes.”

Lucite estimates that the company saved almost $1900 using the Blended Learning model. That is a savings of about 75 percent vs previous training that required students travel to a classroom. The estimate includes airfare, car rental, gas, food, parking fees and some expected employee overtime.

Using Lucite as a model, companies that send 10 employees a year to two training classes could be looking at approximately $38,000 a year in savings by using Blended Learning. If 100 people a year normally go to two training classes, that’s about $380,000 savings per year. Currently, Emerson offers 13 instructor-led Remote Virtual Classroom courses for Fisher products that can be combined with hands-on workshops and other training delivery methods to create blended learning models to meet any student’s needs. "That number is expected to grow," says Ritter. Overall, Emerson offers more than 400 courses accredited by the IACET in 150 countries using 130 factory-trained and certified instructors. 

Training is essential for companies as technology changes, advances are made and employees are asked to do more with fewer people. Emerson’s Blended Learning offers employers a mix of training delivery methods that are convenient, cost-effective, flexible and memorable. If your company is looking for new training methods that allow for schedule flexibility while saving money -- Emerson can help with its Blended Learning programs. The Virtual Classroom Courses include classes on:

• Delta V operator training
• Control valve maintenance
• Control valve instrument maintenance and calibration
• Control valve troubleshooting and diagnostics
• Control valve engineering

Read how blended learning helped get the job done.

Read how blended learning helped get the job done.

Read how blended learning helped get the job done.

Read how blended learning helped get the job done.

How has training helped your career grow? Have you ever tried Blended Learning? Comment below.

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