First Knowledge, Then Skill

Moreover, we've found through the years that operators can acquire skills more quickly if they truly understand the theory of operations, and how to put that knowledge to work.

Consider a comparison of operating and cooking. Even frying an egg requires a person to understand fundamental concepts: how to prepare the pan, the negative effects of burning butter, what happens as the egg fries, the effects on the finished product if you undercook or overcook. Move up to an omelet or soufflé and the fundamentals get more critical, the process more difficult to control.

Building a Knowledge Base

It's the same thing with burning black liquor in a boiler. You cannot do a good job of controlling the process-much less troubleshooting it-if you don't know what is occurring, why, and what to do when variations occur.

Fundamentals CBT is effective because it blends animation, sound, digital photos, video and sophisticated graphics to show fundamental concepts. We can follow flows through equipment-we can zoom in and out, we can "explode views," and examine the effects what happens when process variations occur. We can even take virtual tours through equipment, processes, systems, entire areas-at the user's individual pace and direction!

Figure 2: Steam Drum Flows

These lessons are packed with technical information, validated by engineers and other subject-matter-experts. Like good books, they offer additional insights with second and third exposures.

The subject matter is often conceptual. Use of icons, symbols and graphics allow us to illustrate these concepts in ways that trainees will recall.

Once you see the natural circulation of water inside a boiler tube, it becomes instantly memorable. If you've experienced the sound of a leak or seen smelt spout buildup, you're more aware of these potential dangers.

Many concepts, for example the chemistry underlying the burning of black liquor, are difficult to fully understand. CBT in this case allows us to standardize the instruction-no variation in what the trainees see and hear-and repeat it as many times as it takes to master the information.