Water Online the Magazine gives Water & Wastewater Engineers and end-users a venue to find project solutions and source valuable product information. We aim to educate the engineering and operations community on important issues and trends.
Issue link: http://wateronline.epubxp.com/i/255370
equations used in daily plant optimization. D a s h b o a r d s that graphically d e m o n s t r a t e process perfor- mance indica- tors and their expected oper- ating ranges provide real- world feedback to the situations operators may face. A good example of these approaches is a live look at the facility's online O&M; manual, as shown in Figure 3. One roadblock is the base language that engineers and opera- tors speak. From pro- cess models to drawings, e n g i n e e r s c o m m u n i - cate in for- mats that are novel to o p e r a t o r s . On the flip side, opera- tors com- municate their c h a l l e n g e s , daily tasks, and operating procedures in ways that can befuddle the engineer. Fundamental to any successful training interaction is bridging this divide so that both parties are fully under- stood. Every plant has its own language, where names or numbers are surrogates for the engineering term or project. It is incumbent on the trainer to ask about, understand, and then incorporate the jargon used by the plant's staff. Not only does this help cement the new knowledge, but it also shows that the trainer has taken the initiative to learn the audience, gaining real credibility. Understanding how this knowledge affects work- ing life addresses one of Knowles' points. Helping the audience visualize its application using scenarios that mimic real situations can drive the information deeper into the brain by using additional senses besides hear- ing. Asking questions that draw the trainee into the scenario establishes a lesson that can be relived when the situation happens. Flipped Classrooms Secondary education, mainly high schools and colleges, are implementing new teaching strategies. Flipped classrooms reverse the traditional lecture model. Instead of spending lim- ited contact time delivering content, the class period is used for hands-on activities, interactive quizzes, and collaborative "home" work. Time outside of class is devoted to traditional lecture materials, such as recorded lectures on YouTube. This concept is gaining national exposure (Miller, 2013). Colleges have used interactive classrooms, in which each stu- dent has a clicker to answer questions from the professor. Real- time results offer feedback on knowledge transfer. You may have seen similar approaches via text message polls at conferences. Interestingly, real-time answers show significant improvement if students are asked to discuss their thoughts with those around them. Such collaboration is at the heart of adult learning. So how do we apply these concepts to our industry, where hands-on engagement drawing on operators' experiences is rare? Some ideas on how to do this are: • Start training with introductions, asking participants' roles and responsibilities. • Regularly ask questions, using quizzes or polls. • Ask participants to discuss concepts with their neighbors. • Incorporate technology, such as a link to online O&M; manuals. • Sandwich classroom time into field visits. Conclusion When applied to operator training within our industry, these emerging educational trends have the potential to improve interest, engagement, and retention. This will result in moti- vated, more knowledgeable operators and more efficient water treatment facilities overall. We can use lessons from adult learning research to flip the classroom and take advan- tage of new technological resources. All-in-all, training is more effective when it: 1. Clearly defines purpose and context; 2. Relates to the operator's daily experience; and 3. Encourages trainee participation and engagement. Quality operator training is a significant investment of time and money. However, a well-planned training program will pay off in operator understanding, which translates to improved plant performance. REFERENCES Malcolm S. Knowles, E. F. (2011). The Adult Learner, Seventh Edition. Oxford, UK: Elsevier, Inc. Miller, J. (August 2013). Flipped Out. Spirit (Southwest Airlines Magazine), pp. 73-81. Operator Training wateronline.com ■ Water Online The Magazine 10 Steve Walker is the principal operations specialist for Carollo Engineers, with more than 29 years of experience. Prior to working for Carollo, Walker was the treatment superintendent for a 185-MGD facility in Denver, CO. He holds top level wastewater certifications in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona, and serves on the State of Colorado's Water and Wastewater Operators Certification Board. Walker earned a BS in Technical and Industrial Administration and received the William D. Hatfield Award for outstanding performance and professionalism in the operation of a wastewater treatment facility. Jeff Berlin is a senior project engineer for Carollo Engineers, with more than 12 years of experience in wastewater treatment planning, design, and construction. Berlin is responsible for training operators in a 114-MGD secondary treatment facility in Denver, CO. Figure 3. A live "look-in" to an online O&M; manual can help familiarize personnel with tools already available to them. This look-in highlights short video clips from a field training course and a cutaway view of a pump. Figure 2. 3D CAD models are good training tools. Renderings such as this one of a pump station or recorded walkthroughs of the 3D model are interesting and informative. 8 _ V E R T _ 0 2 1 4 E Z i n e _ C a r o l l o _ D G . i n d d 2 8_VERT_0214 EZine_Carollo_DG.indd 2 1 / 3 1 / 2 0 1 4 1 : 0 3 : 0 9 P M 1/31/2014 1:03:09 PM