Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association
Blended Learning Provides More Favorable Benefits Than Merely On-The-Job Training
Benjamin Franklin was a very accomplished individual known for his numerous contributions to society. Some of those contributions are directly linked to the fire protection industry, including the formation of the first volunteer fire company in the United States, the development of fire insurance, and improving fire prevention techniques. The natural questions that resulted from this are: how did he become such a successful businessman, and how do I replicate that? One hint of his success is engraved on one of his other contributions, his involvement with the design of the first penny of the United States, the Fugio cent.
The coin showcases a sun, sundial, the word “Fugio,” which means “I flee,” and the phrase “Mind Your Business” on the obverse side. These symbols convey the message that time flies and remind us to focus on our business and/or personal matters. On the reverse side is the phrase “We Are One” along with 13 interconnected rings representing the original 13 states.
As a business owner, I have learned that pondering business matters increases growth, time flies if thoughts are not put into action, and we must become one if we are to be successful. One of the most important components of binding all three of these critical concepts together is training and education. Through training, we are becoming one. Our employees like to say, “One team, one dream.” Becoming one goes beyond our team. It’s also about coming together with our clients as we jointly create a vision, develop goals, and achieve objectives. Training has helped us build motivation, establish credibility, improve performance, mitigate mistakes, increase customer satisfaction, boost the bottom line, and provide additional sales through networking. Training has helped us mind our business while becoming one.
While training has its benefits, there are challenges to overcome. Time restraints, added costs, inconvenient location, losing the trained employee, and the unknown value of the content are all reasons I hear why training is difficult to near impossible as one tries to turn a profit, keep up with demanding schedules, and grow or sustain a business. However, I am a true believer in what Benjamin Franklin is credited for saying, “For the best return on your money, pour your purse into your head.” In other words, the money we spend to gain knowledge and education is a wise use of our resources and an invaluable sacrifice. The benefits of increased knowledge, skills, and understanding are lifelong and provide a return on investment.
Case in point, during one of our companywide Teams calls, we showed a photo of a few different sprinklers pulled from a spare head cabinet. They varied in thread size, response type, orientation, etc. To have the discussion over a simple photo, the call cost us 13 billable hours. However, the team left motivated by the jokes, increased knowledge in sprinkler identification, and confidence in the ability to work together. I was also proven wrong by one of our younger employees on the maximum K-Factor available for a 1/2-in. sprinkler. The discussion permitted us to perform better surveys, provide better hydraulic analysis, and tighten our ability to learn together. Not to mention, being vulnerable was priceless to them.
This type of microlearning, where we break for a short time and jump back into our workload, is one technique we use for training. Sometimes, they are more successful than others. Everyone learns at a different pace and from different techniques. So, it is good to be creative in delivery and technique. For example, this article uses various teaching strategies. A historical approach, use of objects, technical skills, personal experiences, and unanswered questions are all used to increase the engagement of the reader. Some components will relate more to one reader than the other but the hope is you will finish this article more educated.
The most successful technique for training is through blended learning experiences which combine various teaching methods. Blended learning may include traditional classroom settings, webinars, online self-paced courses, micro learning sessions, attending conventions, etc. A good mix of training will include both internally taught and external opportunities.
One of the most important aspects of learning is to involve others. Benjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” I can’t help but laugh at the times I told someone to include a key element in an email, only for them to tell me they forgot after I received their email without the critical content. I also cannot think of a time when I was asked to lead a discussion, give a presentation, teach a principle, or write an article where I did not learn something. As you ponder how to increase your training, be sure to invite others to lead the discussion, regardless of their level of experience. If they put an honest effort into preparation, the instructor inevitably also becomes a learner.
Finally, I wanted to share two success stories. We had an employee take some self-paced online courses, which resulted in NICET certification first and then eventually the passing of the FPE exam. Aside from personal benefit, this helped us with credentials and customer satisfaction, and most importantly, filled a leadership role that we desperately needed. We all know how hard it is to recruit for empty positions. I would never let the thought of an employee leaving after being trained as a reason to skip training.
The second scenario is about being creative in training. We had an employee who participated in a self-paced review course to help him with his next NICET certification. He found it helpful but narrowly missed his certification mainly because of the hydraulics section of the exam. He wanted an instructor who could answer his questions and explain certain concepts. He found a course that met his needs; however, it was semi-expensive for our small business, would require extended time out of the office, and included what we felt were undue travel accommodations.
We reached out to the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) and learned that we could schedule its instructor in our hometown and avoid some of the undue costs. However, there were minimum costs that kept it out of our reach. After some consultation with AFSA, we pitched the idea of a joint training session to our clients, competitors, vendors, and the local AFSA chapters and associations nearby. This ultimately allowed us to reach the minimum attendance requirements, reducing our costs. Our designer passed the exam with flying colors!
When our designer was asked to evaluate his experience with this course, he said, “While the self-paced online class helped greatly with respect to navigating the standards, providing easy-to-follow content, and general preparation for the test, in my opinion, there’s simply no substitute for the classroom environment particularly when it’s a difficult subject matter. Being able to watch and then perform multiple calculation examples on the board with in-person instruction from a knowledgeable instructor is truly invaluable. Simply being able to raise your hand and have a few minutes of one-on-one instruction really can make the difference between ‘getting it’ and not. I lost count of how many ‘ah-ha’ moments I had when something just clicked. It also never occurred to me before the training class that not only am I benefiting from my questions but also the questions of others. This can’t be simulated when learning on a screen.”
We highly recommend AFSA’s Sprinkler Hydraulics Calculation workshop and scheduling a shared local course. Sadly, however, many companies said they were too busy to allow its employees to participate. When it comes to training, a penny saved is not a penny earned.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Duane Johnson, P.E. is a fire protection engineer and NICET certified with over 30 years of experience. He is the owner of Diamondback Fire Protection, LLC in Maryland which provides engineering and design services.
