A recent article in the Wall Street Journal shed some light on United Parcel Service (UPS) and its recent adoption of blended learning techniques to help train new package delivery drivers. The mining industry can learn much from this innovative and successful model of training. Frustrated that 30% of its driver candidates were flunking UPS's traditional driver training program, the world's largest package delivery company decided to take a more hands-on approach, which combines:
Video simulations that teach common tasks and help new drivers to identify potential obstacles
A contraption called a "slip and fall" simulator that mimics walking on slippery surfaces (pictured above right)
An obstacle course around an artificial village that trainees must negotiate with actual UPS delivery trucks. The program, which has been rolled out at one training center so far, has been very successful; only 10% of the 1,629 trainees who have been through it have failed. Allen Hill, UPS's senior vice president of human resources, is quoted as stating that moving beyond the traditional classroom and using technology and hands-on learning, the company has "enhanced the probability of success" of its driver trainees.
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