For reasons of confidentiality, we are unable to provide the names of past customers. However, we can use their stories to illustrate how we have already helped companies like yours.

Success Story 1: "We Need a System for Training
New Operators"

The Company
An open pit coal mine that produces metallurgical coal was transitioning from using a contracting company to run the daily production to using their own hired workforce.

The Problem
When the contracted company left the site, it took its equipment operators with it, leaving the mine with an urgent need to hire new people. A shortage of trained operators meant the mine had to hire untrained individuals and get them up to speed as quickly as possible. However, a local labour shortage made it difficult to even recruit new operators.

When new workers were hired, the company that owned the mine was unable to use their traditional method of training—experienced operators training inexperienced new hires—because all the experienced operators had left with the contracting company. The mine management realized they needed an all-inclusive training system.

The Solution
North Pacific systematically developed the materials to support a complete training system. This system included:

• Manuals for trainees that focused on procedures and operating concepts, so they could gain the understanding to operate efficiently and productively.

• Lesson plans for trainers to ensure that course delivery and trainee assessment remained consistent from one trainer to the next.

North Pacific's strategic partner, RW Consulting and Training Services Ltd., provided experienced operator trainers to deliver the training and implement the certification process.

The Result
New hires were enrolled in the training as soon as they arrived on site. Once they completed the training, they were certified by the trainer using an objective assessment process that required all trainees to demonstrate competence in each task required by the job.

Word soon got out that the training offered by the mine was good. In spite of the labour shortage, people began applying for work at the mine because they wanted to work for an employer who would train them well. In addition, the mine now has a training system that clearly demonstrates that due diligence has been done in training, should there ever be a need to show that all reasonable steps have been taken to train operators in the safe and efficient operation of their machines.

Success Story 2: "We Need to Reduce
Equipment Damage"

The Company
A coal-fired power generation plant, with long conveyor belts running from the coal plant to the generating station.

The Problem
Rollers supporting the conveyor belts were jumping out of their slots. The roller ends were jamming at a sharp angle to the belt and not spinning. As a result, the rollers were slicing through the belts, costing upwards of $300,000 each, in a matter of weeks. The belts were built to last three to five years.

Operators did not know what to watch for when doing their rounds and consistently missed the signs of trouble. Three belts had been destroyed by the time it was determined the problem was lack of knowledge on the part of the operators.

The Solution
North Pacific conducted a job and task analysis for the coal plant operator position. The analysis revealed that some of the job tasks needed to be modified and that there was a knowledge gap attached to many of the other tasks in the job. North Pacific developed a competency-based training program based on the revised tasks.

The Result
Within a week of completing the training, one of the coal plant operators was doing his rounds and identified a jammed roller. He immediately pulled the emergency stop cord as he had been trained to do and shut the plant down. He saved the belt and $300,000. Premature wear of the belts was significantly reduced.

The operators found the training materials easy to read and comprehend. The illustrations helped them better understand equipment operation, and they were able to learn the equipment operation better and faster.

Success Story 3: "Too Many Gaps in
Operator Knowledge"

The Company
A coal-fired power generation plant with a large staff of operators, technicians, trades people and engineers.

The Problem
None of the employees had a full understanding of the overall plant operation and how various systems worked together. It meant that many tasks took longer than necessary because workers were uncertain of the steps required; job performance suffered because workers were unclear on the most efficient and effective ways of doing their jobs.
For example:
An Instrument Technician did not understand how the systems worked in a remote pump house.
An Electrical Engineer took two months to figure out how the water treatment plant worked.
An Experienced Operator did not have a complete understanding of how some of the equipment he was responsible for running actually worked, meaning he could not maximize its efficiency.
A new operator from the local college had never seen the inside of a coal-fired power station. He was overwhelmed.

The Solution
North Pacific directed the development of a series of illustrated, self-paced, competency-based training modules that dealt with each system in the plant. North Pacific trained and guided in-house personnel in course development techniques and skills. All employees working in the plant were encouraged to study the modules.

The Result
The Instrument Technician, with the applicable modules in hand, was able to determine how the remote pump house systems operated. Upon checking the pressure switches, he found one of them to be 200 kpa out of range, and adjusted the settings as prescribed in the module.

The illustrations and descriptions in the modules enabled him to determine which valves he had to work on and their purpose in the process. He said, "I didn't have to go back to the plant for drawings or other information because everything I needed was in the training module. I felt confident that I was doing the job correctly. I didn't have to call the control room operator for help and I had no questions in my mind about the job after reading the module."

On one particular job, he estimated he saved four hours' time by being able to use the training manuals instead of going back to the plant for further information. He did not require an operator to be with him at the job site. He was able to complete the job on his own in one and a half days, whereas previously it would have taken two days with both the technician and the operator on site.

The Electrical Engineer estimated it would have saved him two months of work if he'd been able to read the module on primary water treatment prior to his assignment to the water treatment plant. Reading the module took him three days.

The Experienced Operator read the entire series of modules. He said, "Every time I read the modules, I learn something new. When I need information about equipment, I can refer to the module and get all I need."

The New Operator went through the entire set of modules. The plant found that new operators who had access to the North Pacific training materials were able to respond to questions about equipment operation more quickly and in far more detail than new operators who had been taught the job using the former unstructured training system.

The company found they could train new operators faster and with greater understanding of the equipment operation. It led to time savings and fewer trouble reports. The plant determined that in one year alone, the time spent by electricians searching for information had been reduced by 20 percent—a cost saving of $176,000 per year.

In addition, the plant was able to cross-train employees from other plant areas to provide better flexibility of human resources; cross-trained workers were able to fill in the gaps created by turnover, temporary assignments and other challenges. It also gave people in different areas of the plant an opportunity to advance.

Click here to read more about North Pacific's Defensible Training Systems.

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