We’re going to be in Indianapolis for the AIHce Expo from June 16-21. If you’re already planning on attending, or if you’re thinking about it, make sure you come by and visit us at booth 848. We have a bunch of new additions to our EHS course library to show off and we’ll be doing demos of our Learning Management System and our Contractor Training software.
We’ll also be giving away some free stuff, so be sure to stop by and say hello.
Valves are commonly in use in most workplaces, and in our homes, but most of us don’t understand how valves work even on the most basic level. This course is designed as an introduction to basic concepts related to the use and operation of valves in common industrial settings. Whether you’re a novice or a long-time expert refreshing your training, our Valve Basics course has the information you need.
Our Valve Basics course includes training and test materials covering the following topics:
Visit BuyBetterTraining.com for details on how to purchase our Valve Basics dvd.
Our newest course is Line Breaking Safety. This course is an introduction to the safe opening of pipes, lines, and vessels that contain hazardous materials. We created this training module after receiving a lot of demand for a line breaking course from our industrial clients. We’re happy to announce we’re finished and that it looks great!
We spent a long time producing Line Break Safety, with over 180 hours on research and writing and over 600 hours on multimedia production. We think it was worth it, though, because this course is unlike anything else currently available on the market. Our expert contributor, Dustin Fryberger of Steinmans LLC, had this to say about it when he viewed the finished course:
“That was one of the most professional and interesting courses I have ever seen. I absolutely loved it. You guys hit the nail on the head.”
Line Breaking is a complicated subject. There are so many different ways that pipes and lines can be configured, with many different types of pipes, junctions, and connections. There are also so many types of hazardous materials, and every material has its own set of dangers and safe procedures. This is why the research and writing of this project was so important; we wanted to make sure we were communicating concepts that would apply across-the-board in most line breaking procedures.
To that end, we reviewed actual line break permits and safe operating procedures from some of our industrial clients. We also reviewed the relevant OSHA regulations and widely-recognized best practices for line breaking. After gathering all of this information, we sorted through it to discover the most common dangers, precautions, and safe work requirements that most workers would find meaningful at their jobs.
We received review of the script and the finished multimedia from Dustin Fryberger, the owner of Steinmans LLC, located in Newark, Delaware. Fryberger is an engineer with a background in industrial facility work. His company, Steinmans LLC, specializes in the design and fabrication of standard and custom line blinds for isolating piping and equipment. Mr. Fryberger’s hands-on experience with pipeline procedures helped ensure that our training passed the necessary test for real-world accuracy and relevance.
We are unaware of any training product currently on the market that offers such a thorough introduction to line breaking safe working procedures. We are very confident that this course will be a great tool for introducing industrial workers to the basic concepts having to do with line break dangers, line break safe operating procedures, and the importance of planning and permits in this type of work.
We’ve begun production on three new training modules that we think many of our customers are going to be excited about:
Proper operational and safety training is essential for companies working with wire ropes, and we’re excited that we’ll soon be providing a computer-based training solution to you. As always, the completed modules will incorporate 3-D and 2-D animations, sharp and clear writing, audio narration, interactive practice screens, and tests to assess learner retention and comprehension.
Wire Rope Basics will cover: the parts of a wire rope; the different core and strand materials; different finishes; lay length, lay direction, and regular and lang lays; rotation-resistant ropes; rope classifications and rope constructions; nominal diameter; nominal strength; design factor; and maximum working load.
Wire Rope Preparation will cover: selection, transporting, storing, the importance of avoiding kinking, uncoiling, unreeling, drum winding, drum capacity, and drum spooling.
Wire Rope Use, Maintenance, and Inspection will cover: the importance of breaking in a rope, best work practices for wire ropes, lubrication, inspections, valley and crown breaks, common breaking patterns and what they signify, cutting and seizing wire ropes, and tips for extending the service life of wire ropes.
Check back soon to see samples of the Wire Rope training courses and find when they’re ready for purchase.
We’re doing the ASSE Safety Expo again this year, so if you’ve missed us in the past, come visit us at this year’s show in Denver from June 3rd-5th.
We’ll be at booth 960, doing live demos of our Convergence Server Enterprise training management system and showing off some new samples from our Environmental Health and Safety training library. Contact us to set up an appointment for a demo or a consultation at the show. Hope to see you there!
Convergence Training Viewer, our free small business LMS, is now available for download from Software.Informer.com, where it received their “100% Clean” award, indicating it has been tested and proven to be virus free and safe to install. This has always been the case, of course, but it’s nice to have another trusted source out there where people can get their hands on our software.
Note: We’ve discontinued this product. Check out our line of new learning management systems (LMSs).
Convergence continues to produce the most modern training available for the industrial market, including warehouse forklift introductory and refresher training:
– Forklift Safety
– Forklifts: Reducing Product Damage
Our Forklift Safety course includes critical information on OSHA safety regulations and industry best practices communicated via stunning visuals and common-sense language that your workers can easily understand and put immediately into practice.
In addition to worker safety training, warehouse managers know the importance of avoiding costly product damage. Our course Forklift: Reducing Product Damage provides valuable information on the most common ways products, like boxes and crates, are damaged in the warehouse environment and offers cost-saving recommendations to avoid damage.
What makes our Reducing Product Damage course unique is that it’s based on interviews with six warehouse managers from different industries. From those intensive interviews, we produced training focused on the most common causes of forklift-related damage to product. The result is a course that is getting a great response from warehouse managers.
These two courses are designed to work together as necessary training tools for warehouse managers and safety trainers to provide introductory and refresher forklift training. Here’s a quote from Dave Mina, a warehouse manager who uses our courses to more effectively train his staff:
“We are using three Convergence Training DVDs for our initial training and refreshers. The DVDs are well put-together and the visuals are great. All of the information, to my knowledge, appears correct.”
– Dave Mina, Warehouse Manager; Dunmore Corporation
We’re just about to release an updated version of our highly successful learning management system (LMS), Convergence Server Enterprise, and figured you’d like to know more about it.
Overall, here’s what we’ve done:
Here are some of the biggest changes and new features in the system:
Activity Update and Completion Status Reversion – When updating any type of Activity, Administrators can choose to change the completion status of all Learners who have already completed that Activity to Incomplete.
Task Sign-Off Options in Tasklists: – Administrators creating Tasklists can specify who can give credit for completing the Tasks within the Tasklist (the assigned Learner; only an Admin; dual sign-off by the Learner and an Admin; Learner or Admin; anyone but the Learner).
Bulk Completion Record Wizard – When manually creating a Completion Record for Documents, CBTs, Quizzes, or Training Events, Administrators can now select more than one Activity at a time.
Updated Reports – Reports have been modified to make it easier to select parameters; to allow for reporting on Groups; to create new, easier-to-search Report List menus; and to create a new Frequently Used Reports link.
Ability to Make Activities “Inactive” – Administrators can inactivate Activities. This will remove the Activity from any Learner’s Training Plan, from all Reports (unless they are specifically requested), and from all screens on the Administration tab except the Manage Activities screen.
Clickable “Drill-Downs” for Qualifications and Requirements – Administrators can now click on links within the Manage Qualifications and Manage Requirements screen to see the Requirements within a Qualification and the Activities within a Requirement.
Redesigned “Assign Training” Screen with New Assignment Detail Options – New four-step process for assigning training, including creation of “Renew Due Date” for training that expires after an assigned Learner first completes it and additional options for specifying Expiration Date.
File Attachments on Regions, Sites, Departments, Teams, and Users – Administrators can add attachments to a Region, Site, Department, Team, or User.
File Attachments on Completion Records – Administrators can add attachments to a Learner’s Completion Record.
If you’re already using the Convergence Server Enterprise LMS, you’re going to love this new version. And if you’re not yet using this LMS, now’s a great time to start. For more information about Convergence Server Express, or our other Learning Management System offerings, visit our website.
We’re happy to announce the release of a new crane safety video as a counterpart to our Overhead Crane Basics course. Overhead Crane Operational Safety provides an overview of the safe operating procedures for moving loads with floor-operated overhead industrial cranes and covers the dangers associated with lifting and moving a load with an overhead crane. Check out a sample from the video below.
You can save some money on your overhead crane training by purchasing our Cranes Combo Pack, which includes both videos at a discounted price.
Keep an eye on this blog if you’re interested in more crane training videos. We’re working on developing our library to include a number of new videos covering the safe operation of all manner of cranes and slings.
Come visit us March 28th to March 29th at booth 421 at the Northwest Facilities Expo. We’ll be showing off new courses from our environmental health and safety library, and talking to folks about our integrated workforce training solutions. Stop by and say hi!
We’re excited to announce that we have several courses related to material handling safety being researched.
Convergence Training recognizes the need for computer-based training to teach the importance of safe material handling, proper lifting techniques, and back injury prevention awareness.
Back injuries are one of the most common, disabling, and costly of all workplace injuries. Proper lifting and material handling training can lead to a reduced risk of injury as well as a decrease in revenue lost to product damage.
Our new courses will include the following titles and topics:
While we’re in the research phase, we’d really appreciate any comments from our customers. Are there any special topics related to material handling you’d like to see addressed? If so, we’d really appreciate your comments. Just leave a note here and we’ll check it out here. We really value customer input and make every effort to include your thoughts in our safety training materials.
Over time, we’ll post updates here to let you know how we’re progressing during the production of these courses, and again when they’re ready for sale.
