The 5 point guide to the benefits of eLearning for the Construction Industry

For many years, eLearning and the Construction industry have been seen by some as ill-suited. The hands-on, practical nature of the construction industry was considered to be at odds with the corporate sensibilities of eLearning. However, significant changes within the construction industry and innovations within eLearning are now giving this match the potential to become unexpectedly valuable and bring great improvements to construction companies. Here are 5 reasons why.

1. Reduce logistic costs

Geographical factors restrict who can do which training and when. The logistical and financial headaches that these factors cause can be effortlessly avoided with multi-device, mobile eLearning. This means that the trainee can access their training anywhere, on any modern device, at any time, saving the expense of instructors, travel, venues and learning material.

2. Ensure training validity

Late last year a joint BBC London and Newsnight investigation uncovered a string of corrupt practices - such as cash for licences and rigged exams - at a series of industry test centres. This allowed incompetent, ignorant and dangerously unqualified workers to enter construction sites and endanger their colleagues’ and their own lives. With tools such as performance report and facial recognition, eLearning can make it nearly impossible for this sort of cheating and corruption to happen. Here’s how:

• Training Analytics: powerful reporting tools can be used to compare a user’s exam results with their performance during the training module and online quiz. If there’s a discrepancy between the two – such as they scored poorly for hazard awareness in the module but nail those questions in the exam – then it would be picked up immediately.
• Facial Recognition and Online Identity Verification: what if a trainee decides they’d rather pay someone else to pass the exam for them? With facial recognition software or online identity verification, you can guarantee the identity of the individual throughout the module and the exam. So, if the person sitting the exam is not actually the same person who completed the eLearning module then they won’t be allowed to take the exam.

3. Keep track of training history

Being able to prove that a worker has completed the relevant training is vital in an industry where heavy machinery is used daily and work at height is required. With eLearning, you can easily demonstrate that a worker completed the proper training, when they did it, how long it took, which content was covered and – if it’s part of a blended solution – which trainer taught them. Find out more about the LMS behind these insights here.

4. Reduce the number of industry fatalities

More construction workers were killed in the past 5 years than members of the armed forces during the Afghanistan war (see the source here). Many companies have been fined because the workers were proven to be untrained for the task they were carrying out. With eLearning, we can try to get the next 5 years to tell a different story.

Human trainers can provide good or bad learning; with eLearning, you can guarantee that a consistently engaging course and a good understanding of the subject matter is delivered to every employee in your construction company. Training modules that incorporate gamification, stories and challenges can mean better learning and higher retention, and better-trained workers mean fewer accidents and fatalities.

5. Be an industry leader with Virtual Reality

By incorporating 3D models and environments into your eLearning, you can take your training to the next level and gain an edge over your industry competitors.

For most eLearning, this is still a very expensive and impractical pipe dream, but at Sponge we’re committed to bringing you the tech of tomorrow, today. We have developed Virtual Reality and 3D capabilities and will soon be able to offer immersive 3D environments and interactive 3D models as part of our course development. By creating interactive 3D environments, we give workers the chance to safely practice the skills they will need in real life.

Sponge’s collaboration with IPAF, the globally recognised leader in powered access training and accreditation, demonstrates the benefits that construction companies can get by implementing eLearning solutions for their employees.