16 May 2005
Melbourne Airport is the latest organisation to use an innovative web based eLearning program trialed by Melbourne’s iconic sports venue, the MCG. The program, iLearn, lets employees fulfill training requirements ‘anytime, anywhere’ by logging into the Internet, and ensures that organisations are compliant with Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) guidelines.
Other recent buyers of the package include Melbourne and Olympic Parks (which includes the Rod Laver Arena, Vodafone Arena and Olympic Park Stadium) who commenced with iLearn by training their diverse range of employees and contactors in the lead up to the Australian Open Tennis. A number of major sports and entertainment venues around Australia are also considering the online training solution.
The groundbreaking program was developed by eBusiness and information management consultancy iFocus, along with the Melbourne Cricket Club, iLearn has been successfully used at the MCG for the past two years.
Greg Muller, managing director of iFocus says that a track record at the MCC made implementation easier and less expensive for other venues. "The structure of the platform and the content development has been done and most of this can be transferred to different organisations", he said.
Mr Muller says that compliance with regulations like OH&S is challenging for any organisation that hires a large and diverse mix of permanent and casual employees, along with contractors. "Different people require different learning pathways. For instance, an office worker needs a different amount of training from a welder.
"In the past this has been logistically difficult, so we developed a flexible web-based eLearning platform. The solution allows the organisation to manage their content centrally and tailor it to the skill requirements of different employees and contractors", he said.
Trainees complete modules depending on the type of learning required. They are tested and earn a certificate when the appropriate modules are completed. Mr Muller says that the system uses ‘targeted randomness’ to maintain the credibility of the testing. "If a trainee was to attempt a test more than once, they would find that 50% of the questions would be different each time. It chooses a mix of generic questions and personalised questions targeted to the user", he said.
The MCC has used iLearn for two years. Sharon Rappolt, General Manager, Human Resources at the MCC, says the program is also flexible for employees. "Staff can now log into the program at a time that suits them, and we can easily track the level of training they have completed", she said.
According to the MCC, 1,500-2,000 employees use iLearn for their training each year. Ms Rappolt said the response from employees had been positive. "iLearn has been designed to account for people with varying levels of computer knowledge and access. Trainees can use the program here on one of our computers, but the majority prefer to log in elsewhere."
The MCC estimates that induction training costs have been slashed by approximately 30% since moving to the web based program. "It frees the physical space utilised for training at the MCG and reduces training coordination and administration costs", Ms Rappolt said.
Ms Rappolt expects the savings to increase over time because the core content has been developed: "Content will continue to be modified in-house for compliance with any changes in OH&S legislation, along with changes to emergency procedures and internal policies.
"Because content is managed centrally, changes are deployed to all learning profiles simultaneously. The savings in terms of time and money are significant", Ms Rappolt said.
According to Mr Muller, new content is added through a simple SQL-based content management system, based on a three-tier (presentation, application, data) solution architecture.
He says that this system was chosen to maximise flexibility. "Storing the content in a database, and separating the presentation, application and data layers allows the administrator to create different learning profiles for each job or role", he said.
iLearn was designed with the user in mind at every stage, according to Mr Muller. "The users in this case are both the MCC and its employees. We had to create a system that the MCC could easily take control of, with the ability to manage their content. It also needed to be easily navigated and useable over a variety of bandwidths to satisfy a range of workers, including MCC employees, contractors, venue hirers, tenants and volunteers."
The MCC is expanding the program to include warden training, along with developing the platform to act as pre-application screening for future employees. "We are flooded with applications every year", Ms Rappolt said. "We expect online pre-application testing to ease the pressure of scanning each application."
For further information please contact:
Greg Muller
Managing Director
iFocus Pty Ltd
Phone: 03 8807 0100
Related information: