A new training video for maintenance technicians takes learning styles into account.
Clear Roads, a research organization that focuses on winter transportation maintenance issues, has produced a new video about how to test de-icing chemicals. While it looks like a typical of training video, the specific communication approach is tailored to “hands on, visual learners,” says UDOT Maintenance Methods Engineer Lynn Bernhard.
Clear Roads has produced written manuals in the past, but “people weren’t using the manuals,” says Bernhard. “Why? We were not getting information to them in the right way.” Before making the video, Clear Roads contracted with University of Wisconsin at Madison to do some research on how best to communicate with maintenance workers. “You have to assess your audience,” says Lynn.
Research found that many workers are hands-on visual learners who like fast-paced instruction. The new video moves quickly from topic to topic and shows images of testing procedures.
Clear Roads is taking advantage of social media like Twitter and Facebook to let people know about the new video. Youtube makes accessing the video easy as well.