All companies want to improve – one of the easiest ways to reduce scrap, excessive downtime, damaged equipment and customer returns is to improve the skills and confidence of your employees. Since it’s not logical to send all of your employees away for training, the only viable solution for achieving workforce competence is to establish a structured in-house training plan.

Interactive training is a computer-based training method in which the participant interacts with the course using a standard keyboard and mouse. The information is presented using animation, digital video, titling, and professional narration. During the course, the participant is asked questions which they must answer correctly before they can proceed. If a question is answered incorrectly, the information pertaining to that question is repeated until the information is retained.

Yes, our interactive training is extremely flexible. Courses can be customized, allowing the facilitator to insert text, digital pictures, audio, and questions. Sections of the courses that may not agree with your plant’s mode of operations can be easily turned off. We also provide you with a DVD that provides step by step instructions on how to customize our courses, entitled “Using Custom Pro”.

Our simulator, PICAT, is a virtual machine which acts and responds like the real thing. Each simulator provides over 60 defect scenarios in which the employee must make adjustments to the machine, material, or controller to correct the problem. As the participant progresses to the complex defect scenarios, they develop a more logical approach to troubleshooting as well as more confidence in their abilities.

All of our customers receive full customer support. Each customer has the option to send in their training computer for configuration at no additional charge. This includes loading all of the software and setting up your training station so you just have to do is plug it in. We also provide setup manuals and videotapes and are available via phone and e-mail for both installation and training support. Our primary goal is to ensure that your training initiative gets up and running as soon as possible.

First, we will fully configure your interactive training station – including the installation of all the software and courses as well as entering all your participants data into the program. Second, a plastics professional will visit your plant and provide thorough instruction on how to use, track and administer the training. Third, you will be provided with a digital camera/audio recording device and instructed on how to use it for customizing your training courses. Lastly, we will gather information about your particular training goals and use that information to develop supplemental on-the-job training materials and a plant-specific training plan for all of your employees.

All of our interactive training programs use CourseWorks™ – the delivery, tracking and monitoring software. Pretests and posttest can be administered to assess an employee’s knowledge level before and after taking a course. Passing scores are assigned to ensure that the participants have retained the information before taking another course. CourseWorks is ISO and QS 9000 compliant; providing detailed results for outputting and review. Our advanced process simulator, PICAT, records every parameter adjustment made during each troubleshooting exercise and uses a 'real-time' clock to calculate what would be the actual amount of processing time.

Although interactive training has many benefits, it can never fully replace the need for instruction on the actual production floor. The drawback is that most hands-on training is typically disorganized, causing employees to receive inconsistent and limited information. We strongly recommend using interactive training in conjunction with focused on-the-job training sessions while making specific goals and objectives to keep the training on track.

We have found that most employees want to perform well at their jobs but lack the skills and confidence to do so. When supported by management, a structured training initiative shows that the company is committed to its employees and will undoubtedly increase their morale and loyalty.

Our interactive training courses use 3D animation to illustrate complex concepts. This allows participants to see operations such as the screw melting the plastic pellets or the workings of a slide actuator. Without animation, it is impossible to see exactly how certain processes work, making it difficult to convey the topics effectively.

We have the industry’s largest library of interactive courses in the world – with over 187 plastics training titles and 6 new courses being produced every 12 months. These courses are developed by industry experts emphasizing industry’s best-practices. We have relevant training materials that cater to virtually any plastics company.

Yes, there are many companies, schools, colleges, and institutions using the software in exactly that capacity. The most effective formula we have seen thus far is when the program is first played over a digital overhead projector, and the students are then allowed to take the training program individually to learn at their own pace and then take test on their own.

Our training courses always stress safety and industry best-practices whenever possible. We also offer a full library of 56 different health and safety courses.

We recommend between one and three hours of interactive training a week. In some cases more advanced employees can take a more aggressive approach, but limit individual sessions to one or two hours at a time.

The software can run on a standalone computer, a local area network (LAN), or a wide area network (WAN) using one of two configurations. The software can be loaded onto each computer with a shared database, or loaded directly onto a server. Please contact one of our service reps for more information or to discuss your specific networking needs.

It is not necessary to hire additional employees to train your workforce. We recommend choosing two employees to share the task of facilitating and scheduling training. The computer-based interactive training is self sufficient and requires no supervision, just a facilitator to periodically review and monitor participant progress.

The minimum system requirements are as follows:

• IBM compatible PC running windows 98, 2000, or XP
• Pentium II processor or better
• 128 MB RAM
• CD-ROM Drive
• SoundBlaster audio card (or compatible)
• Speakers or headphones
• 200 MB Hard Drive Space to run courses from CD
• 10-20 GB Hard Drive Space to run courses from PC