Beko Unveils Compressed-Air E-Learning Programme

Beko Technologies has developed an interactive internet-based e-training concept that enables the compressed-air specialist to realise the global knowledge transfer of its staff worldwide. Study contents of the online academy are also accessible as an e-learning course to all - an interactive knowledge pool, for example, for engineers, universities, students and compressed-air users. The company said the purpose of the academy is to be able to learn independently anywhere in the world and deal in an efficient manner with the time resources of the learner.

Beko Technologies is active worldwide with 15 branch offices where it employs nearly 300 staff members - with an upward trend. This development made increasingly greater demands on the education and further education of the personnel and on the need for information for customers and their employees. It was found that the training courses, initially planned as regular in-class lectures, did not guarantee the desired learning efficiency. Different levels of knowledge, long journeys by the international participants and special requirements of their home markets complicated a homogenous learning programme.

Individual training sessions, in turn, proved to be less efficient than group sessions, as the motivating aspect of joint learning was missing. A new training system has been developed to remedy this. To begin with, the entire compressed-air technology and product knowledge to be imparted was compiled. This information was structured in the next step, divided into several degrees of difficulty and these assigned to the different degrees of knowledge of the 'trainees'. In this manner, the Beko Education Center (BEC) developed a linearly designed, modular course of studies, which, step by step, leads to new learning levels.

This company knowledge and the Beko Technologies training activities were networked throughout the world via the internet. The training programme of the BEC was expanded to 'Blended Learning' - a well-balanced mixture of online and real-life elements. The starting point of the web-based learning section is an introductory online course, which is subdivided into 12 topic modules. This course imparts the essential basic knowledge of compressed-air technology. The Basics of Compressed-Air Technology course is also available to interested external persons.

The course addresses, for example, engineering and planning offices, students of technology, apprentices of technical professions, managers and employees in companies using compressed air, teachers, professional schools and so on. The public training programme offered by the BEC provides access to the complex field of compressed-air processing and condensate management. The learning targets of the interactive online course are: to understand air and, above all, compressed air as a medium; to get insight into the physical processes which are connected with the compression of air; to understand why it is necessary to reduce the air humidity, particle and oil fractions in the compressed air; to understand the effects of efficient discharge and processing of compressed-air condensates; and to learn how to implement this as efficiently as possible.

The training course consists of 12 topic modules, which are subdivided into up to 25 interactive individual screens. Each of them addresses a separate learning step, which is animated by numerous interactive action possibilities. An interaction element can be an illustrated test question, a small 'excursion' into a detail, or an animation. Sometimes there are virtual objects or switches that need to be moved to initiate processes. An example of the 'game effect' of the programme is the Air Station Simulator, a virtual compressed-air station.

In this module, the course participant receives a concrete planning task: for the operation of compressed-air screwdrivers, a customer requires general shop air of 2.4.2 quality in accordance with the ISO 8573-1 standard. On the screen, the compressed-air processing components in a virtual plant need to be arranged in such a manner that the required quality is achieved. As well as the compressor, a refrigeration dryer, a compressed-air reservoir, a fine filter, a universal filter, and a water separator are available. These individual components need to be dragged to the correct position within the compressed-air plant using the mouse.

They can be placed, moved and exchanged arbitrarily. In addition, the compressed-air quality can be measured at all components of the composition by means of a virtual measuring device. Having decided in favour of one configuration, the learner clicks on 'Done' and receives a detailed explanation regarding correct or incorrect planning. The 12 modules of the course are entitled as follows: Compressed Air: It Drives Almost Everything; What Air is All About; Inside of the Compressor; Compressed-Air Treatment: Filtration; Humidity - Never to be Neglected; Compressed-Air Treatment: Refrigeration Drying; Compressed-Air Treatment: Membrane Drying; Compressed-Air Treatment: Adsorption Drying; The Best Dryer to Meet the Requirements; Avoiding Energy Loss; The Most Efficient Way to Drain Condensate; Condensate Treatment That Never Fails.

The modules are interspersed with four interim tests to briefly recap in a light-hearted manner what has been learnt so far. By means of up to six animated yes-no statements with detailed feedback, it can be ascertained whether everything has been understood correctly or whether individual topics should be repeated. The online course is concluded with an intensive know-how check with 30 problems, which test the entire knowledge imparted in the course of studies in random order, providing three possible answers for each question. Only those who pass this final test successfully will have access to another functional module, by means of which a personalised certificate can be generated and printed out.