MANUFACTURING

TRAINING GUIDE:
How to Make Training that Works
:  
Table of Contents

PART I: IDENTIFY YOUR TRAINING NEEDS PART IV: IMPLEMENT

1. Identify Business Goals and KPIs, Page 6 14. Review Your Materials, Page 31
2. Identify the Job Roles, Page 7 15. Do a Pilot Test, Page 32
3. Identify the Tasks for each Job Role, Page 8 16. Deliver Your Training, Page 33
4. Analyze Current Worker Performance of Tasks, Page 9
PART V: EVALUATE AND REVISE
5. Analyze the Tasks, Page 11
17. Survey Employee Reaction, Page 37
6. Analyze the Employees You’ll Be Training, Page 13
18. Test Employee Knowledge, Page 37
PART II: DEVELOP LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND TESTS 19. Observe On-the-Job Behavior, Page 37
7. What Are Learning Objectives?, Page 16 20. Measure Business Results, Page 38
8. How to Create a Learning Objective, Page 17
9. Creating Tests (aka Assessments), Page 19
10. Types of Tests, Page 21

PART III: CREATE YOUR TRAINING MATERIALS

11. Tips and Techniques, Page 23
12. Match Your Content to Your Training Materials, Page 25
13. Match Training Types to Content, Page 29

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 Online Manufacturing Training Courses

ONLINE
MANUFACTURING
TRAINING COURSES
We offer off-the-shelf online training courses for
manufacturers on the following topics:

• Principles of Manufacturing
• Industrial Maintenance
• Industrial Power Generation & Utilities
• Health and Safety
• Quality
• HR & Soft Skills
• More

LEARN MORE

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 Introduction

INTRODUCTION
Manufacturers face a series of difficult issues these days.
For one, they have to compete with overseas producers who
manufacture products at lower labor costs. For another,
they’ve got an aging workforce and the need to quickly
“train up” new replacements that are young and bright, but
inexperienced.

We have customers who tell us that it has typically taken 20-

30 years to train a new hire to fill high-level manufacturing
jobs. Faced with the challenges above, manufacturers realize
they have to provide more effective training to condense
this training cycle. And that’s why it’s increasingly important
to turn to the proven, researched, and scientifically valid
techniques of training development and instructional design
when creating training material for manufacturing.

In this guide, we provide a step-by-step method to help you

design and create the best training program that you can.
Follow the process and tips in this guide, and you’ll be much
further ahead in your training development than you would if
you proceed without a sound plan.

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PART I
IDENTIFY YOUR TRAINING
NEEDS
PART I: IDENTIFY YOUR TRAINING NEEDS IDENTIFY YOUR BUSINESS GOALS & KPIs

IDENTIFY YOUR KPIs

BUSINESS GOALS & KPIs Another helpful thing to do in addition to creating a list
of your business goals is to identify the key performance
indicators (KPIs) used to measure them. Then you can hold
Business Goals the training and later check the KPIs again. This will help you
determine if your training had a positive effect on the KPIs
All job training should ultimately help your business achieve and therefore your business goals.
its business goals. So you should start by identifying the
goals of your business (or your department, or whatever
Getting Business Goals and KPIs
the appropriate business unit is). These business goals may
include things like: As a trainer, you may not always know exactly what the
• Increased profit/revenue business goals and KPIs are for the company or specific
departments. When you’re asked to create training, ask
• Increased production
managers and supervisors what business goals the training
• Increased quality
supports and what KPIs are used to measure those goals. If
• Improved regulatory compliance they’re not certain, ask them to try to figure this out. Doing
• Decreased expenses this will give you an important tool to use when you evaluate
• Decreased waste if the training you later create and deliver was effective.
• Decreased downtime As you go through the rest of the training development
• Decreased accidents, injuries, and/or incidents process, you should always ensure you’re creating training
• Decreased amount of time to train workers to fill specific materials that will help your business achieve these goals.
roles We will return to this idea of measuring the business effect
of your training at the end of this guide, but you should also
keep this in the back of your mind.

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PART I: IDENTIFY YOUR TRAINING NEEDS Identify the job roles

IDENTIFY THE JOB ROLES It’s important to create a list of job roles for the following
reasons:
• Your goal is to make a worker qualified for his or
The next thing to do would be to identify the job roles at your her real job. This list will keep you focused so your
workplace. training doesn’t meander into things that aren’t actually
Of course, those roles are going to depend on the type of necessary for the job.
company you work for. But for an example, at a typical paper • You will later have to determine the tasks that you have
mill, the list might look something like this: to train workers in each job role to perform. This list
• Machine Tender prepares you for that.

• Assistant Machine Tender • You will want to have an effective way of managing
training for job transfers. Again, this will set you up nicely
• Back Tender
when a worker switches form one job to another.
• 4th Hand
• You will want to be able to create cross-training in some
• 5th Hand
cases. This will help you identify the training a worker
• Winder Operator needs for different job roles and ease the cross-training
• Assistant Winder Operator logistics.
• Etc. • You will want to be able to run reports to see who’s
trained and not trained for various roles. Again, this will
help you do that.

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PART I: IDENTIFY YOUR TRAINING NEEDS Identify the tasks for each job role

IDENTIFY THE TASKS FOR EACH

JOB ROLE
Once you’ve developed the list of the different job roles at your site, create a
list of all the job tasks the people assigned to each job role have to perform.

Let’s take a warehouse worker as an example. What are all the tasks a person
in this role has to complete in order to perform his or her job? It could include
tasks like these:
• Start and operate palletizer
• Drive forklift
• Use forklift to pick up pallets and transport them to the warehouse
• Place loaded pallets into warehouse storage
• Place loaded pallets into delivery truck
• Place loaded pallets into railcar

Tip
If it seems daunting to create a list of every task that must be performed by a
worker in a given role (or in all roles), start with the major tasks. Include tasks
that are most important for production, ones that are most critical for safety,
or ones that have the most expenses associated with them. Then create
training for those and return to “fill in the gaps” with smaller tasks later.

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PART I: IDENTIFY YOUR TRAINING NEEDS Analyze current worker performance of tasks

ANALYZE CURRENT WORKER

PERFORMANCE OF TASKS
You’ve now got a list of the job roles at your company. In addition, you know
every task that the workers in each job role have to perform. Eventually,
you’ll want to create training materials to train workers to perform each task
associated with every job role (although as we said earlier, you may focus on
the “key” tasks at first). And we’ll walk you through those steps of doing all that
shortly.

Before you do that, it’s a good idea to evaluate the current performance of
your workers to see if they are performing their tasks correctly. This will help
you identify any current performance gaps between your desired or ideal
production state and your current state.

You’ll do this by having someone (yourself, department managers, or

whoever’s appropriate) get out in the field and evaluate your workers’
performance and the quality of your product.

If everything’s great, fantastic. You’ll still need to set up your training programs
(or most likely evaluate/revise them) for new hires and future transfers, but
things are looking good for now.

On the other hand, if there is a gap between your ideal state and your current
state, you’ll want to consider that issue further by doing a performance
analysis. We’ve explained how below.

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PART I: IDENTIFY YOUR TRAINING NEEDS Analyze current worker performance of tasks

• State and describe the problem with the • Consider a non-training solution if it is a skill gap:
performance. Make sure you know exactly what is Before you move forward to create training to close a
wrong or less-than-ideal. Don’t just say “they’re not doing skill gap, try to identify a better solution that doesn’t
it right.” Instead, shoot for something like this: “Worker involve training. For example, maybe redesigning the
isn’t making proper weld on corner joint.” work area, automating a process, or creating a simple job
• Ask yourself: Does the performance problem really aid workers can refer to in the field can remove the need
matter? Maybe you’ve got a performance problem but for the skill.
it’s not a big deal (for example, maybe training to correct • Develop and provide training to close the skill gap:
it might cost more than “living with” the problem). Be At this point, you’d know it’s time to begin planning,
sure the issue merits creating a training solution. developing, and implementing training. We’ve got lots of
• Determine if it’s a “skill gap.” Training will only solve tips for you on how to do this in this guide, so stay tuned
the problem if it’s a skill gap—meaning, there’s a skill and keep reading.
your employees need but they don’t currently know how Click to read more information about performance analysis.
to perform it. Make sure you’ve got a real skill gap before
you create training. Sometimes there are other reasons
for performance problems—no incentive, competing
workplace priorities, etc.

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PART I: IDENTIFY YOUR TRAINING NEEDS Analyze the tasks

ANALYZE THE TASKS

The next thing to do is to perform a task analysis. During the task analysis,
you’ll take a job task that you plan to create training materials for, and you’ll
analyze it until you’ve created a list of the different steps a worker has to
perform in order to perform the task as a whole.

The point, as you may have guessed, is so that you can create training
materials that teach people each step of the task.

This might seem easy, and it’s not rocket science, but it can also be a little
trickier than it seems. And that’s especially true if you’re an “expert” on the
task, because there may be steps you take for granted or don’t even take
notice of anymore.

Pick a Task to Analyze

Start by picking one task associated with a job role. This is the task you’ll break
down into its different steps or sub-tasks.

Example: “Operate a Forklift.”

Identify the Smaller Steps within that Task

Take that one task and break it down into a list of smaller tasks. It will
probably help to watch an expert performing the task on the job to come up
with this list. You can also talk with department managers or experienced

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PART I: IDENTIFY YOUR TRAINING NEEDS Analyze the tasks

workers to have them explain to you how to do this. But be careful, as these
“experts” often tend to leave out steps that they take for granted. When you
write your list, be sure to:
• Put them in chronological order—the first step performed on top of the
list, the last step performed on the bottom
• Begin them with an “action word” or “verb”—a behavior the worker
performs, like “push,” “join,” “cut,” “open,” or something similar

Example: Our “Operate a forklift” task can be broken down into a series of
smaller steps, including (but not limited to):
• Perform pre-inspection
• Start forklift
• Drive forklift
• Lift loaded pallets from palletizer

Check Your Steps Again to See if You’ve Got It Right

Take a moment to review your list and see if you’ve got it right. The big thing
is to make sure you’ve included the correct level of detail. In general, you’re
more likely to leave out a step, but be sure you’re not going into a ridiculous
amount of detail either (for example, there’s no reason to include “raise your
arm” before “push the Start button”).

Keep in mind the knowledge level of the typical employee who’ll you’ll be
creating this training for—that’s the level of detail you want to provide.

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PART I: IDENTIFY YOUR TRAINING NEEDS Analyze EMPLOYEES YOU’LL BE TRAINING

ANALYZE EMPLOYEES
YOU’LL BE TRAINING
Before you develop any training, it’s also a good idea to learn more about the
people who’ll be expected to take that training. This will allow you to create
training materials that are most appropriate for your training audience.

The best way, of course, is to ask the employees themselves, either in one-
on-one settings, a larger meeting, or through some form of questionnaire.
You might also try general observations and discussions with the employees’
manager(s) to find some of this information.

Below is a list of some things to try to find out.

• Which of your job tasks do you think you know well?

• Which of your job tasks could you use help with?
• In general, what do you like about training?
• In general, what do you dislike about training?
• Which types of training do you like: classroom-style; task-based
instructions in the work area; guided training on the job with a mentor
(job shadowing or following); videos; computers and e-learning; role-
playing, simulations, and scenario-based training; written materials;

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PART I: IDENTIFY YOUR TRAINING NEEDS Analyze EMPLOYEES YOU’LL BE TRAINING

others?
• What type of training do you dislike: classroom-style; task-based
instructions in the work area; guided training on the job with a mentor
(job shadowing or following); videos; computers and e-learning; role-
playing, simulations, and scenario-based training; written materials;
others?
• What’s an ideal amount of time to spend per training session?
• What do you like most about work and about your job?
• What do you like least about work and about your job?
• What motivates you to work as hard as possible?
• What causes you to not work hard or care?

You can use this information when you’re designing training to try to tailor
your training materials to your training audience. For example, some
employees may be more open to e-learning courses, while others may
prefer classroom-style. Likewise, it can be very helpful to know which tasks
employees already think they do well and which tasks they feel the need extra
help on—you can skew the training toward the tasks they need help on, while
perhaps using a pre-training test to check if they really do know the other
tasks well.

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PART II
DEVELOP LEARNING OBJECTIVES
& TESTS
PART II: DEVELOP LEARNING OBJECTIVES & TESTS What are learning objectives?

WHAT ARE LEARNING Why Are Learning Objectives Important?

OBJECTIVES? Your learning objectives will function as a sort of “road map”

for the rest of the process of creating training materials. Once
you’ve created your objectives, you’ll use them as a guide
Now that you’ve done all of your analysis, it’s time to begin while you’re creating:
thinking about your training materials. Once you’ve created
• The actual training materials that you’ll deliver to your
a list of tasks and performed the task analysis to break those
workers
tasks down into their smaller parts, you’re going to want to
• Tests (or other forms of “assessments”) to determine if
create your learning objectives.
your training materials were effective
A learning objective is a simple statement that describes what
Your training materials should only include information and
your learners should be able to do after they complete your
activities designed to help your workers satisfy the learning
training materials. It should reflect something they have to
objectives. Resist the temptation to add additional materials.
do on their job, and it should also be something that will help
This is a common desire but actually makes your training
the company reach its business goals.
materials less effective. In learning, it’s true that less is more.
That’s because you risk overwhelming your employees if you
include too much information—read more about this here.

Likewise, your tests and other assessments should evaluate

whether or not your workers can satisfy the learning
objectives, and should evaluate only that.

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PART II: DEVELOP LEARNING OBJECTIVES & TESTS How to create a learning objective

HOW TO CREATE A LEARNING

OBJECTIVE
A learning objective should ideally include the following three components:
• A performance (performed by the learner and observed by an evaluator)
• Conditions (under which the learner shall perform the performance)
• Criteria (by which the performance is evaluated by another)

In some cases, it may not be necessary to include the conditions, and it’s not
always practical to include the criteria, but the more you say about them when
possible, the better.

Learning Objective Part 1: The Performance

The objective must explain what learners have to do or perform to
demonstrate that they have satisfied the objective. The key is the objective
must require the learner DO something. And that’s the performance. Ideally,
that performance will be a task. Like “Start up the boiler.” In those cases, the
performance is pretty easy to write.

In some other cases, you may create an objective for something knowledge-
based. For example, maybe you want the employee to know how a machine
or a process operates. Because there’s an emphasis on having the learner
do something that someone else can observe as evidence that they’ve done

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PART II: DEVELOP LEARNING OBJECTIVES & TESTS How to create a learning objective

it, it’s important to avoid learning objectives like “know” • What will be denied to me? (For example: Insert all
and “understand.” How can you tell if someone “knows” or machine codes without the use of a written guide.)
“understands” something? Instead, restate the objective so • In which conditions will the performance have to occur?
that the learner has to do something like “state” or “list” or (Example: Successfully operate the machine for eight
“explain” to demonstrate that he/she knows or understands. hours under normal working conditions.)
For example, here’s a bad knowledge-based learning
objective: Understand the process by which sugar is made.
Learning Objective 3: The Criteria
And here’s a good knowledge-based learning objective: List Finally, the third part of a learning objective is the criterion
each of the steps in the sugar manufacturing process. or criteria. You can think of this as telling the worker how
well you want them to complete the performance under the
Remember, your performance should be a verb—something
stated conditions. Here are some examples:
your worker has to do. And it should be something
observable so that any evaluator can clearly see and agree • Identify four out five product defects on a moving
that the worker has done it. And finally, when the worker manufacturing line.
performs the objective on his or her job, it will help the • Close ten boxes in a minute.
company reach one of those business goals we discussed at
Remember, it may not always be necessary or practical to
the beginning of this guide.
include criteria in a learning objective. When that’s true, don’t
include them.
Learning Objective Part 2: The Conditions
Click to read more about learning objectives and even more
The next thing to do is to state the conditions in which about learning objectives.
learners must complete the performance. The conditions will
tell the learner the following:
• What can I use while doing the performance? (For
example: Given a threading device, thread material
through the machine.)

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PART II: DEVELOP LEARNING OBJECTIVES & TESTS Create tests (aka Assessments)

CREATE TESTS (AKA

ASSESSMENTS)
Once you’ve determined what your employees need to know or do on the job,
and you’ve created learning objectives to match, then you need to make sure
you create tests that match as well. In other words, create tests that allow you
to effectively determine if your employees have met those learning objectives.

You’ll do this by creating one or more “test items” for each learning objective.
By test item, we mean one part of your test. For now, think of this as a
question within the test.

There’s more to be said about tests, but if you remember that they should
match your learning objectives and should test something that will ultimately
help your company reach a business goal, you’re already most of the way
there.

When to Create Your Tests

MANY experts in instructional design and/or learning and development will
tell you the best time to create your tests is right after you’ve created your
learning objectives. That’s right–AFTER you’ve created your learning objectives
but BEFORE you’ve created your training content/activities.

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PART II: DEVELOP LEARNING OBJECTIVES & TESTS Create tests (aka Assessments)

This may seem weird, funny, strange, or counter-intuitive to important than others–if so it’s OK to create more test
you. It did to me the first time I heard it. But it’s worth giving it items so you’re sure the workers can perform them.
a shot. Here are a few reasons why this makes sense: Or, your worker may have to perform a skill in different
• You just created the learning objectives, so they’re fresh situations on the job–if so, it’s OK to create different
in your mind. Now’s the time to create those tests–while test items for the performance of the skill in each of the
the fire is hot. Remember your goal in creating tests is different situations.
to make sure your employees can satisfy the learning • What will be the passing score? To come up with this,
objectives, so this linkage makes sense. you can use what seems to you the lowest level of
• If you create your training materials first and then create performance acceptable on the job. Or, you can get
your training materials before you create your tests, you advice from subject matter experts (SME) who may have
run the risk of letting something in the training materials an opinion. One thing to keep in mind is that you may
pull your test off-target a bit. have different passing scores for the different learning
objectives within your training–maybe some objectives
Before You Create Your Tests are absolutely critical and require 100% passing, whereas
others are less critical and 80% is OK.
Before you begin creating your tests, it’s worth your time to
create a plan. While planning, consider the following issues:
• For each learning objective, what kind of test items do
you need to create–a knowledge test or a task-based
test?
• How many test items should you create in total? To
determine this, know that you’ll need at least one test
item for every learning objective. Then, you may decide
to create more than one test item for some or all of the
objectives. For example, some objectives may be more

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PART II: DEVELOP LEARNING OBJECTIVES & TESTS Types of tests

TYPES OF TESTS Task-Based Tests

A task-based test is a test of your worker’s ability to actually
Knowledge Tests perform a real job task in a real work environment (or a
realistic one).
Knowledge tests are generally used to determine if your
employee can demonstrate that he/she knows something or In some cases, your task-based test will ask your employees
can apply that knowledge. Knowledge tests include: to perform the skill in real life. In other cases, your task-based
test will ask your employees to perform the skill in some form
• True/false questions
of simulated environment. For example, airplane pilots are
• Multiple-choice questions
tested in sophisticated flight simulators, and I’ve seen similar
• Multiple-response questions simulators for crane operators. Of course, fancy simulators
• Matching questions are expensive, and in some cases the simulation may be
• Drag and drop questions (some) something a little more simple, like an e-learning course that
• Fill-in-the-blank questions presents a work-like scenario and then asks the worker a
“what would you do in this situation?” kind of question.
• Short answer questions
• Essay questions You’ll frequently have a supervisor evaluate the performance
of the employees performing the task-based test. In those
Your knowledge tests should include one or more test items
cases, you’d create a checklist or some form of rating scale
for each learning objective. Again, in common terms, this
that they can use to record their evaluations.
means one or more questions per learning objective.
Click to read more about testing.

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PART III
CREATE YOUR TRAINING
MATERIALS
PART III: CREATE YOUR TRAINING MATERIALS tIPS & TECHNIQUES

TIPS & TECHNIQUES practice or hold a Q&A session to reinforce those ideas.
If you’re creating an e-learning course, you can break the
course down into smaller screens with practice questions
Keep it Short every so often. And if you’re training people on many topics,
you can spread the training out over many days, weeks, or
The brain isn’t an empty vessel you can pour an endless months.
amount of information into. There are limits to how much it
Click to read more about chunking.
can take in at one time.

As a result, it’s important to be concise in your training.

Combine Words with Visuals
Sticking to your learning objectives will help you do this.
Remember that in training, less is more. Studies show that training can be especially effective—
meaning your employees will remember and apply more—if
it includes words (in the form of written words or spoken
Break Down Your Training Materials into words) AND visual images.
Smaller “Chunks”
Anytime you can create training that includes both, you’ll
There’s a limit to how much information people can take in make your training more effective. This can include a
and store at one time. This limit used to be represented by classroom-style discussion about a machine with the real
the rule “7 plus or minus 2.” More recently, this estimate has machine there (or a picture of it); a simple Power Point that
been scaled down to about 4 “bits” of information. That’s includes words and images or images that you talk about;
not a lot, and you can see how easy it is to overload your e-learning courses with images and audio narration; and
employees with new information. other types of training that include words and images. So
One thing you can do to is to break your training down into try to avoid training sessions in which you’re just standing in
small “chunks.” For example, in classroom training, you can front of everyone talking.
introduce a few topics and then arrange for some time to

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PART III: CREATE YOUR TRAINING MATERIALS tIPS & TECHNIQUES

Write and Speak Clearly and in Your Use Analogies and Comparisons
Employees’ “Language” We’ve already mentioned that employees come to training
Your training is going to involve speaking or written materials. with their own life experiences. And this can help you as
This includes classroom-style training, e-learning courses, or a trainer, because it’s easier for employees to remember
something your workers read on their own. new information if you can somehow “connect” that new
information with something they already know.
The way that you speak to or write for your workers can
make your training more or less effective. Here are some Making analogies during training can be a great way to do
general tips: that. When you make an analogy, you make a comparison
between one thing and another thing. During training, you
• Keep it short; workers get overwhelmed if you linger
can make an analogy that compares something that your
• Use conversational language appropriate for your
workers already know to new information you’re trying to
employees; avoid formal or overly academic language
teach them.
• Use the second person (“you”) when addressing the
employees; don’t just talk about yourself or refer to For example, if you’re talking about a mixing process in
employees as “the employees” which it’s important to get one material evenly distributed
throughout a second material, you could make an analogy
• Avoid the use of specialized terms and jargon when you
about chocolate chips in cookie dough or mixing powered
can; define them when you have to use them
lemonade into a pitcher of water.
• Format written materials to make it easier to scan and
quickly know what each section is about—use section
headers, bullet points, labeled tables, etc. Large sections
of dense, unformatted text is more likely to overwhelm
your trainees.

Click to read more about writing training materials.

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PART III: CREATE YOUR TRAINING MATERIALS Match your content to your training materials

MATCH YOUR CONTENT TO

YOUR TRAINING MATERIALS
Not all of the information included in your training is the same kind of
information. For example, your training may include the following:
• Facts—Simple statements in an “x is y” format, such as “this is the power
boiler” or “our goal is to run at 90 percent capacity or greater.”
• Concepts—A way to describe a certain kind of thing, such as “all paper
machines have wet pulp entering at one end and a dry sheet exiting the
other.”
• Processes—An explanation of how a system works, such as kraft pulping.
• Procedures—A step-by-step listing of how to do something, such as
thread materials into a converter.
• Principals—Instruction in “what, why, and how” to apply guidelines
in changing circumstances, such as how to modify raw ingredients to
produce paper of optimal quality in changing circumstances.

This is important to know because you can make your training more effective
for each of these types of information by designing them in different ways.
Here’s a quick overview:

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PART III: CREATE YOUR TRAINING MATERIALS Match your content to your training materials

Training About Facts Training About Concepts

Because facts are essentially “random,” they’re hard for the Most of your training about concepts will be in the form of
brain to remember efficiently. So when possible, instead of providing a definition and teaching workers to recognize
training your workers to remember facts, try to create job examples of the concept. Here are some tips:
aids that they can refer to either during training or on the job. • Always include a clear definition of the concept so your
For example, if they need to know a series of codes to enter workers can recognize examples of it
into a machine, create a list of the codes and place it by the • After defining the concept, provide some examples
machine.
• Provide “bad-“ or “non-examples” of things that are
If it IS necessary to train your workers to remember facts, try similar but don’t fit the concept—for example, a lion
these tips: does not fit into the concept of house cat
• Diagrams, such as a photo of a machine with the parts • Analogies can be helpful
labeled, are effective • Your learning objective should require a behavior
• Tables and lists are a good way to display numerical that asks your learners to demonstrate that they can
information and other data recognize examples of the concept
• Old-fashioned drill-and-practice is still an effective way to
remember facts when that’s truly necessary; you may try Training About Processes
to use e-learning to make this less tedious
You might want your workers to know how an entire process
• Mnemonic aids, such as “every good boy does fine” for
works so they can understand how to do their job better, why
remembering the musical notes “egbdf,” can help
they perform their own tasks, or how their work is related to
• Your learning objectives should require a behavior that
work at the rest of the mill/site. Providing process training will
demonstrates knowledge (list, name, state, etc.)
also help make your workers better troubleshooters.

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PART III: CREATE YOUR TRAINING MATERIALS Match your content to your training materials

Here are some tips:

Training About Procedures
• Clearly identify the different stages/steps/flows in the
process You’ll probably provide a lot of training to your workers
• Use tables, lists, diagrams, and flow charts to present the about how to perform procedures. This could include “this
different steps/phases is how we bill for hours” or “this is how we operate the
welder safely.” Here are some tips for teaching your workers
• If you want your workers to know how the various steps
procedures:
of the process influence one another, don’t just explain
the steps but give them practice in answering questions • If the procedure is always done the same way, from
like “what would happen if we did this differently?” beginning to end, present it as a linear procedure with a
single clear order
• You may have a learning objective that’s purely
knowledge-based; in that case, use a verb that asks for a • If the procedure includes “decision points” at which the
behavior like “list” or “sequence” or “explain” employee may move on to different steps, present it as a
“decision” procedure (flow charts work well for this)
• If you’re creating a “list” or “sequence” objective like we
described above, you could have workers do this with • Teach the procedure in three different phases: clearly
drag/drop or sequencing questions in an e-learning list the steps; demonstrate the procedure so workers
course can follow along; and then let the workers perform the
procedure while you give helpful feedback
• Your learning objective may be designed to see the
worker apply his or her knowledge of a process to do • You will typically teach a procedure not because you
something (such as optimize or correct the process); if want the employee to remember it but because you
so, use a learning objective that asks for that behavior want them to perform it. Therefore, the learning
objectives should require your worker to perform the
Click to read an explanation of how process training can
actual procedure.
improve troubleshooting.
• If it’s difficult to set up a real-life or in-the-field
performance, try e-learning courses to simulate it.

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PART III: CREATE YOUR TRAINING MATERIALS Match your content to your training materials

• Demonstrate the application of the guidelines in a real

Training About Principles work or simulated-work environment; demonstrate the
You train workers about principles when changing same principles being applied in different circumstances
circumstances mean they can’t always simply follow a • Ask for their feedback during demonstrations: Can they
procedure. By way of analogy, a master chef applies identify the principles? What worked and what didn’t?
principles learned in culinary school to make a different • Let workers practice applying the principles in realistic,
meal to satisfy different customers every night. And, work-like scenarios in different circumstances; provide
in manufacturing terms, a machine operator will apply helpful feedback
principles learned during years on the job to keep a machine
Click to read more about creating different kinds of training
running optimally and produce product of the highest quality
materials for different types of learning, and click again to see
even during changing circumstances.
how different types of visuals in your training materials can
Or, in lean manufacturing, a lean expert applies many lean help.
principles to make different work processes, areas, or even
companies more efficient producers.

Here are some tips for teaching principles:

• Principles are usually made up of a set of guidelines. For
example, the principle of lean manufacturing includes
guidelines like “increase value for customer” and
“decrease waste.” Begin by making sure your guidelines
are correct.
• Present the guidelines that make up the principle to your
workers in a clear, organized manner

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Principles: CREATE YOUR TRAINING MATERIALS Matching Training types to content

MATCHING TRAINING
TYPES TO CONTENT
PRINCIPLES
The Training Pyramid
You can think of facts, concepts, processes,
procedures, and principles as making a sort of
training pyramid, with the foundational information
a worker needs to know at the bottom (facts,
concepts, and processes), the procedures he/
she needs to perform in the middle (procedures), PROCEDURES
and principles (application of principles, advanced
problem-solving, troubleshooting, etc.) at the top.

An effective training program makes use of many

different kinds of training for the different types of
information in the training pyramid. For example,
written materials and e-learning courses can be
highly effective in presenting facts, concepts, and FACTS, CONCEPTS, AND PROCESSES
processes at the foundation of the pyramid. And, as
you go higher up the pyramid, instructor-led training
with opportunities for hands-on practice and face-
to-face feedback becomes increasingly helpful.

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PART IV IMPLEMENT
PART IV: IMPLEMENT Review your materials

REVIEW YOUR MATERIALS

Now you’ve got your training materials and your tests ready to go. But you
shouldn’t start training all your workers just yet. Instead, you should review
your materials and do a pilot test first.

First, review the materials yourself, or get some help from a subject matter
expert. Check to make sure that you’ve got the right learning objectives
and that your tests and your training materials match the objectives.
Check to make sure they support a real business goal. And check to see
if your materials match the guidelines listed above for effective training
(active learning, adult learning principles, written at appropriate level, takes
advantage of visuals when possible, etc.).

You’ll also want to check your materials and your tests to make sure they’re
clearly written and not confusing. Remember that it’s easy to not notice if
something you created is confusing, so getting the advice of a second person
is very helpful here.

In general, look for anything that might confuse your workers or detract from
your goals of (a) training your workers to satisfy the learning objectives, (b)
testing to see if they can satisfy the learning objectives, and (c) having them
apply the training in their jobs. If you find problems, make some changes now
to address them.

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PART IV: IMPLEMENT DO A PILOT TEST

DO A PILOT TEST
Next, if you can, perform a pilot test of your training materials with a small
number of employees. The employees should match the larger population of
employees who will take the training later as much as possible. If you can’t get
a small group together, see if you can do this with just one employee.

Ask for their feedback on the materials, observe their behaviors during the
training, and carefully check their results on the tests. Are there parts that
they find confusing? Are there tests or test items that everyone gets right or
everyone gets wrong? If so, you may need to do some revision.

If your testing includes some form of checklist or rating scale that supervisors
will use to evaluate task-based training, make sure that’s properly written too.
See if your evaluators are confused or if they’re giving different scores for the
same performance.

And, most importantly, check to make sure your pilot test audience is able to
perform the learning objectives when they’re done. That’s the goal, after all.

If you find some kinks, here’s a chance to iron them out. Otherwise, now it’s
time to deliver the materials to your larger training audience.

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PART IV: IMPLEMENT DELIVER YOUR tRAINING

DELIVER YOUR TRAINING

Congratulations—it’s time to deliver the training to the employees! As a result
of all your careful planning and work, you’re going to see some great results.

Notifying Employees
It may seem obvious, but one of the most critical things you’ll have to do in
this phase is inform the employees that will attend the training. Give them
plenty of time in advance so that they can work it into their schedules and
complete any necessary pre-training preparation.

Other Notifications and Scheduling Logistics

In addition, you may also have to do things like inform the workers’ supervisor,
reserve rooms for training, buy any necessary supplies, work through any
scheduling or traveling logistics, and perhaps even have food and drinks
available. Get your ducks in order in advance, so your training goes off as
smoothly as possible.

The Training Day

Implementing training can take a variety of forms. It may be classroom
instruction; practice opportunities such as role-playing exercises, focus
groups, case studies, or small group assignments; on-the-job skills-based
training; the delivery of paper-based hand-outs for individual reading and

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PART IV: IMPLEMENT DELIVER YOUR tRAINING

study; the completion of e-learning modules on a computer;

a combination of some or all of these; or more.
Learning Management Systems
If your training includes an on-the-job skills-based Using a learning management system (LMS) can play a big
component, make sure you know exactly what the employees role in helping you during this step. An LMS is a software
must do to demonstrate competence. You should have application used assign, deliver, track, and report on training.
defined this in advance, when you’re creating your learning If you use an LMS at work, it’s easy for your employees to
objectives, and don’t leave it unstated or vague. log in and see a list of training they’ve been assigned. Many
LMSs even include notification systems that send emails to
If your training includes a classroom instruction component, the workers when new assignments are made or due dates
there are a number of things you can do to make this are approaching. In short, an LMS can automate a lot of the
more productive. Although the key things involve letting clerical, scheduling, and notification procedures you’d have
the employees be active participants instead of passive to do yourself in this step (and they do a lot more than that,
and bored listeners, more mundane things like room too).
temperature, lighting, table and chair set-up, visual aids, and
the instructor’s presentation style also play a role. There are
a number of good books and websites that can you help you
with this; the Association for Talent Development’s website is
a good place to start looking.

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PART V EVALUATE & REVISE
PART V: EVALUATE & REVISE How to evaluate training

HOW TO EVALUATE TRAINING

Once your training materials have “gone live,” you’ll want to collect information
and data about it so you can ensure it’s effective. The standard method for
this is the Kirkpatrick Four-Level Evaluation. We’ll explain that in the following
section, and give some additional thoughts to close out this guide.

The process of evaluating and revising training materials takes place at

different times and continues indefinitely from there. The goal is to gather
data about the training materials, your workers’ performance, and the
ultimate effect on your company’s KPIs and business goals, and to continually
improve the training.

Four Levels of Training Evaluation

You can evaluate your training program at four different levels. They are:
• Level 1-employee reaction—How did your employees feel about the
training?
• Level 2-learning/testing—Did your employees satisfy the learning
objectives?
• Level 3-on-the-job behavior—Are your employees performing the new
skill on the job?
• Level 4-business results—Are the new skills having a positive effect on a
defined business goal?

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PART V: EVALUATE & REVISE How to evaluate training

tests online in a learning management system (LMS), you

Survey Employee Reaction can then use the reporting features to collect, present, and
Level 1 evaluation makes use of surveys and Q&A forms analyze that data. This can be very helpful for measuring
handed out to employees immediately after training. These training effectiveness over time, for one learner, and/or for
can help get first impressions from your employees. People various departments.
have a tendency to give high marks on surveys, so keep a Click to read more about learning management systems
close eye out for remarks that are less positive. (LMSs).
Many surveys like this are done using checkboxes and/or
numerical ratings. While these can provide good information, Observe On-The-Job Behavior
try to also include a place where your employees can enter
Level 3 evaluation checks to see if workers are applying the
their own, off-the-cuff comments. You may find these
skills on the job. You can collect level 3 evaluation data by
especially helpful.
observing workers yourself or having department managers
do the observations.
Test Employee Knowledge
If everything’s going well, your employees will be applying
Level 2 evaluation looks at your workers’ abilities to satisfy their new skills on the job just as you planned. If so,
the learning objectives of their training. You will find this congratulations.
information by looking at the results of the tests delivered
However, you may find that employees are not applying the
after training. Delivering a pre-training test and a post-
new skills. There may be a few reasons for this:
training test can be an especially effective way to measure
this, because you’ll get good data to show the results of the • They know how but something else is preventing them
training. from doing so or contributing to their not doing it. Check
out the section about the Performance Analysis early in
Your tests may take many forms, including tests your learners this guide to review this type of situation.
complete online, task-based tests, and more. If you deliver

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PART V: EVALUATE & REVISE How to evaluate training

• They were able to perform the skill long enough to pass

your level 2 test but forgot how to do it during their
Conclusion: An Orderly Manner for
real job. Consider revising your training and providing Creating Effective Training
refresher training, providing on-the-job feedback, and/or
That wraps up our guide to help you create more effective
creating some type of job aid that they can refer to while
training materials for the workers at your manufacturing site.
they’re working.
Following these steps will help you create more effective
• There’s some non-training factor at play. Maybe an
training materials. You’ll find having an orderly, logical
incentive system can create additional motivation.
manner of designing, creating, and evaluating training should
make your training program more efficient and effective.
Measure Business Results
Good luck with this and have fun. Remember that by
You may remember at the very beginning of this guide,
providing effective training, you’re helping your workers
we mentioned the importance of creating a list of your
succeed and helping your company reach its goals. What a
company’s business goals. Once you had that list of goals,
great opportunity!
you were supposed to keep them in mind as you went
through the process of creating training materials. The idea Click to read more about developing effective training
being that your training materials should always contribute programs.
toward helping your company reach those goals.

Now’s the time to check the key performance indicators (KPIs)

that track your company’s progress toward its business goals.
You’ll remember we mentioned these near the beginning of
this guide. If you measured your KPIs both before and after
the training program (and continue evaluating them as time
passes after the workers get to work), you can begin to track
if your training is having the desired effect.

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PART V: EVALUATE & REVISE Industrial-Strength Learning Management

INDUSTRIAL-STRENGTH
LEARNING MANAGEMENT
The Convergence Learning Management System (LMS)
is a web-based software system that administers your
manufacturing training program, including training that
occurs “offline” as well as online. It’s designed specifically
for use in manufacturing and industrial settings and
makes the following a snap:

• Assigning • Storing records

• Notifying • Reporting
• Delivering • Mobile compatibility
• Tracking

We also offer an integrated Incident Management

System for reporting, correcting, and tracking
workplace incidents.

LEARN MORE

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