Those in the forklift truck industry who have met Ted Nilsson, training supervisor at Linde, know that he's proud of his southern Swedish roots and usually has an amused smile across his lips.
Those who've met him in a training context also know that he's pragmatic and has a clear objective – making his students safe and knowledgeable truck operators. Although he may sometimes take the road less travelled, one thing he'll never do is turn his back on quality.
If you deliver training materials to Linde, you might think Ted's demanding and thorough nature makes him a bit difficult to deal with.
And he may very well be. But he is somewhat of a dream customer for MA-system. Here's why.
First a little background information: Linde's four instructors train about 2,000 students annually. It's hardly surprising that the main focus is forklift trucks, but they also provide lift, crane and liability courses.
When Ted started working as an instructor seven years ago, he noted pretty quickly that there were problems in the industry.
“People said that a truck course should last five days. At the same time, not one single employer was willing to be without their employees for so long,” says Ted, throwing up his arms.
He wrestled with the problem for quite a while. He butted heads with clients and tried to find solutions to find solutions that would maintain quality while meeting the requirements of the training contractors. It wasn't easy. Not until he found a new way to organise the courses:
“We started using eTruck and that proved to be our saviour. In one fell swoop, we could deliver the right knowledge and the right price, while at the same time having time to spare.”
With the setup championed by Ted, students get about two weeks to go through eTruck on their own. You use times when there is less of a workload, which means that absence for training practically disappears – a big win for the training contractor. The group then meets for review and practical training.
“A few days before the practical training, we check that the students completed eTruck. There's usually one or two that needs reminding”.
During the group session, Ted starts by making sure everyone really understands the theory. Over one or two hours, he reviews some important points from the Work Environment Act and internal rules at the company. The students must know what rules they have to follow.
Even if there is someone in the group who has not finished eTruck, they are allowed to participate in the practical training. But, Ted makes it clear that no one will receive a truck licence unless they can show they passed the theory test. This stance is respected. Anyone who thought they could coast through the training realise they were sorely mistaken.
After completing the course, it's clear that the students are satisfied with eTruck
“It's a good story,” says Ted. “It captures the students' interest and they want to continue. They want to know what happens next – all while learning truck theory. When they come to me for the practical training, I can see that they've learned. It's great!”
Ted has found that the setup has saved him a lot of time. He no longer has to worry about details like the projector not working or keeping track of how many books he has in stock, ordering new ones, and distributing them. All he has to do is send out the passwords and then monitor the results online.
Another perk for him is that he can now offer eTruck in English. Several of his students who don't have Swedish as their native language have preferred the English version.
It's probably obvious, but the training contractors are also pleased with how things are working out. They get more efficient training with less absence from regular operations. Moreover, it's at the right price.
“I think that eTruck has provided a great opportunity to weed out a number of ‘coffee break courses’*. They don't have the same competitive advantage that they use to.”
Another aspect of some less-reliable training providers is they can't seem to keep their registers in order. A truck operator who has lost their truck licence has no one to turn to in order to get a new one. For Ted Nilsson and his colleagues at Linde, this is not a problem.
“It's never been a real issue, but since we started using ePort we have full control. It's great!” exclaims Ted with a bit of emphasis.
For those who are not familiar with it, ePort is MA-system's service for managing all course administration, from planning and invitations to grading and register maintenance.
Previously, Ted used different Excel registers to keep track of things. This required a great deal of work since he had to do things like copying student information from one document and pasting it into another to be able to print a training certificate in the licence printer. Added to that, there were other formats he had to work in when handling quotes, order confirmations and invitations.
“Since we started using ePort in the summer of 2016, we have everything collected in one place. From start to finish, it took one hour to understand how it works. Then, we were all ready to work. It's really been great,” concludes Ted.
Maybe now you understand why he is one of MA-system's dream customers.
*The term “coffee break courses” refers to the kind of sketchy quick courses that hardly last longer than a coffee break.