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But how can your company choose the correct tool from the wide variety of options that the market offers? Even more important, how can you get everyone on board with the change? “I’ve been working this way for twenty years, why would I change it now?” It's pretty common to hear that phrase from the team members, isn't it?

Understanding how to integrate smart technology into maintenance and operation workflows can help workers who are resistant to change become more open to using those tools in managing and completing their jobs or tasks. The key is keeping in mind that the software has to adapt to the process and not the process to the software. To achieve this objective, it is crucial to have the team trained in the new functionalities that the software provides and help them understand how it will be improving their daily activities.

Why is training worthwhile?

The importance of employee training to an organization should never be underestimated. Training is not an unnecessary expense but a great investment as it will reduce tasks that add no value for the employee, which translates into a cost reduction for the company in the medium and long term.

The prime motivator for employee training is to improve productivity and performance. Frequent training will provide the employees with the expertise they need to fulfil their role and make a positive impact on your business. The skills they learn empower them to deliver a better quality of work with a fast turnaround rate. New tools will connect the physical with the digital, and allow a better collaboration and access across departments, partners, vendors, product, and people.

For optimal operation of the industry, it is crucial to have excellent coordination and communication of different work teams, such as maintenance and production. Training both areas creates team cohesion, which achieves a common mindset and a shared vocabulary. Everyone should know how to understand the information that the software is providing, and care not only about how their own area is working, but also how their work is impacting the rest of the company.

How can we achieve a
successfull training?

As trainers, it’s our job to convince the staff that the new tools will make their job, and the job of people around them, more efficient and maybe even easier. A higher level of training and preparation of the staff means a higher level of productivity both qualitatively and quantitatively. It improves the effectiveness of the team, keeping them all on the same page.

7 Tips a good trainer should follow:

Company diagnosis. Analyze the current situation of different areas of the company. Understanding where the gaps lie in the processes will help to determine what kind of training the team needs to fill those gaps.
Empathic trainer. The consultant who is giving the training needs to be empathic with the team. Not everyone has the same knowledge or the same ease when it comes to learning and it is important to adapt to the different roles and profiles of the users.
Short sessions. Having long sessions of training could be counterproductive for the team, as they have to leave all their daily activities and they can’t concentrate in learning. Try to give just a few hours of training per week and see how it works!
Focused agenda. The training should be focused on the concrete processes that the company wants to improve. Giving a standard training that could be applied to any number of situations will probably not be successful in the sense that they might later ignore what was learnt.
Identify leaders. To help with the process, the trainer could identify leaders and mentors who are able to alleviate the efforts made into convincing everyone of the benefits of implementing the new tools.
Desired results. Define which are the company’s and the team’s desired results so you can have clear objectives and the training can be focused on them.
Evaluation methods. Have adequate evaluation methods in place to make sure that the team members have acquired the knowledge and can execute it.

Advantages and benefits
of a trained team

As with learning in general, the advantages of training your team are challenging to enumerate. There are, however, several clear benefits.

For the employee
1
It helps adapt to the demands
of constant progress
2
Frustrations are reduced
3
It improves problem solving
and decision making
4
It strengthens self-confidence
when executing tasks
5
Knowledge and skills are
constantly updated
For the Company
1
Increased profitability
2
Reduced monitoring
3
Less accidents and
production mistakes
4
Increased flexibility in the
organization
5
Reduced costs by optimizing
employee tasks

In the era of Industry 4.0 companies are compelled to transform to a digital mindset, thus allowing for greater efficiency and cost savings. Going smart enables workers to focus on more productive tasks, to their own benefit as well as the company’s.

The more involved your team is early in the process, the easier is to get them all on the same page. To achieve this goal, you must help the staff to feel confident and guide them in the best practices using the new technology.

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Eng. Antonella Piraccini
Head of Maintenance Process Consulting
Date: 23/11/2021