AR:DEL Academy: sustainable learning
"We had the opportunity to learn from experts, which was a great experience for us," says Chu Thanh Nhan from the packaging manufacturer Kien Duc in Vietnam. Together with three of his colleagues, he attended the Reifenhäuser AR:DEL Academy in Troisdorf to receive training on a new blown film technology. Admittedly, Chu Thanh Nhan and his colleagues have a lot of experience in plastics extrusion already, but the new line features an ultra-stretch stretching unit that produces recyclable packaging. This requires the machine operators to have special know-how. And this is exactly what AR:DEL provides. The academy set up by Reifenhäuser offers customized basic and advanced training courses depending on the needs of the trainees.
Customized training content
The AR:DEL Academy offers a wide range of basic and advanced training courses to meet specific requirements in production. It starts with basic training for machine operators, then there is process training for foremen and production managers, and finally training for sales and management staff.
Even specialists come to like theory thanks to the interactive training concept.
Typically, a training session doesn't start directly on the line but in the classroom. "You have to explain the process calmly," says Pascal Vanschoenwinkel, one of the training experts at the AR:DEL Academy. "That's often not possible on the line because of the noise." For example, it's all about how to prepare the line, start it up, or operate it in production – valuable knowledge that will later help operators avoid rejects in production. After all, material costs are the be-all and end-all - which is why it's always important to optimize machine set-up.
The trainers describe the challenges that can arise when working on the machine, not with a classic PowerPoint presentation, but with an interactive lecture. In addition, videos clarify the various work steps and the trainers and the trainees also use a digital smartboard to draw the MDO stretching process, for example. Equipped with this knowledge, the trainees then start practical training on the line. "By combining different training tools, our training becomes varied and an interactive experience for everyone involved," says Vanschoenwinkel.
Training on the blown film line with Kien Duc
Relaxed and professional - that goes down well with customers
For Chu Thanh Nhan and his colleagues, the training was a complete success. "We learned an incredible amount from the training. After talking in detail about the best possible adjustments, we were able to try them out on the line right away. That was great." What he also liked: The trainers always took time to answer any questions and even joked around sometimes.
The relaxed yet professional manner of the AR:DEL trainers is also appreciated by other customers. Pascal Vanschoenwinkel finds this particularly important: "You have to create a pleasant atmosphere during training sessions that last at least a week. Also, we always treat the trainees as equals – I think that also contributes to a good atmosphere."
Knowledge accessible at any time on a digital platform
The AR:DEL Academy is part of Reifenhäuser's digitalization strategy. Nonetheless, "we wanted to get away from the typical PowerPoint presentations," says Vanschoenwinkel. That's why the AR:DEL team asked themselves how to make trainings more interesting and what the best ways will serve customer needs. The result is a training concept that focuses entirely on innovation and digitalization. Quizzes liven up the training day and this keeps attendees directly involved. However, the explanatory videos are the key element. They are used at repeated intervals during the training.
On-demand content offers customers tangible added value
The videos focus on the essentials and are easy to understand. Trainers agree that this is crucial to ensure they are really used. "Customer feedback to our on-demand content has been totally positive," says a Pascal Vanschoenwinkel with delight. At Kien Duc in Vietnam, they are also used to train colleagues who stayed at home
So, the videos are an important key to another claim by the AR:DEL Academy: Training is meant to be sustainable. That’s why we have a platform to collect all videos and training contents - the Reifenhäuser Learning Management System. Customers can access the system after the training to look up specific contents. "But we don't want to overwhelm anybody," says Niklas Tanski, also member of the training team. "That's why we only enable the specific content related to the customer's line." This has the advantage that trainees don't waste time searching for the right content. And because the platform is already integrated in the training, attendees know how it works.
Reifenhäuser Learning Management System (LMS)
The entire knowledge about lines is accessible on this platform at any time. All users have access to explanatory films, quizzes or 360-degree tours of their line. The Learning Management System is the ideal supplement for sustainable training. The platform is already available in four languages, German, English, Spanish, and Chinese.
Enthusiastic about the hospitality and variety at Reifenhäuser- the SIDF team
Providing a technology overview
This concept was also well received by delegates from the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF). They marveled that the platform was "fantastic" and the modern training methods were "impressive". As an organization of the Saudi government, the SIDF advises and decides on subsidy applications. That's why some of its engineers were trained in Reifenhäuser’s line technology at the AR:DEL Academy in Germany.
"The focus here was more on the technical background of the lines and general information - for example, on water and electricity consumption, or which raw materials should be considered," says Niklas Tanski, explaining the emphasis of this training. "This was important for the delegates so that they can better assess subsidy applications." To enable a good overview of the different technologies, experts from Reifenhäuser's Blown Film, Cast Sheet Coating, and Reicofil business units were therefore present at the training.
Trainers always take time for questions
"The training was really well structured and organized," was the unanimous praise expressed by the guests. "And despite the huge volume of information, there was still plenty of time for questions." But above all, emphasizes Mark Murphy, Senior Projects Expert at SIDF, "the training made it clear how important training is to achieve top quality in production".
Successful training graduates of the company Südpack
Engineers are present at all training courses
“The key to high quality and productivity in plastics extrusion will continue to be the employees - we’re absolutely convinced of this,” says trainer Niklas Tanski. This approach also resonated with Südpack. The company from Upper Swabia (Germany) is one of the leading manufacturers of high-tech packaging films and it was the first time they had purchased a line from Reifenhäuser. Together with a process engineer, nine machine operators went to Troisdorf for basic training. The interactive learning concept was also new for them. The group particularly liked the fact that the trainers adapted the content to each attendee and picked them up at their personal level of knowledge. "There was never too much assumed. It was highly interesting, plus the trainers were always approachable, you could ask anything," praises Hubert Straub, process technician.
The AR:DEL training center is located at Reifenhäuser's headquarters in Troisdorf - so trainers and engineers from the business units can exchange information at any time. In addition, an engineer is always present at all training courses to answer specific questions. After a week of training, Südpack attendees felt totally prepared to operate the line: "We learned an extreme amount and were super coached by the coaching team," says Mehmet Ayar, coach.
The opportunity to refresh what they learned with on-demand videos is also used intensively. ""Often it's just a minor problem that arises on the machine. With the videos, it can then be solved quite easily." Hubert Straub, process technician.
On-the-job support
The AR:DEL Academy also offers all training courses online, whether it is for advanced, customized or basic training. The team had already developed the concept for this before the Covid-19 pandemic. In the meantime, the online courses have been attended hundreds of times, proving that excellent results can also come from remote interactivity and videos. This concept is under continuous development. Ideas and suggestions for improvement come from the trainer team and of course from customer feedback. After all, says Pascal Vanschoenwinkel, the goal is always "to reflect the customer's daily work life as much as possible with our training courses".
Recently, the team produced short videos that run on cellphones. Machine operators are shown each individual work step in short clips, with photos, moving images and explanations of no more than one sentence. This on-the-job support is intended to provide AR:DEL customers with direct support where the questions arise: when working directly on the machine.
