When I started writing this, I did not expect that tying shoes would so nicely summarize the many challenges facing training technicians. It was amusing to learn that—even as many of us manage training programs—we can’t even tie our shoes correctly. Micromoblity operations have only had half a decade to mature whereas we have been tying knots all our lives.

In this article, I will review some of the common challenges I have encountered with technical training, including challenges with documentation, effectiveness, standardization and accountability. And finally I will share some of the methods that have allowed us to overcome the majority of these challenges.

Lace Instructions

Eight steps for tying shoelaces properly

Current State

The goal of training and training documentation is to help technicians do their job consistently and effectively. The shorter the time it takes,the better. And most companies have a dedicated team, developing content specifically for this end.

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are the current gold standard for training material; yet in practice they are better described as sort of pointless. They depend on the optimistic expectation that providing a detailed document to technicians is sufficient for it to be followed. In reality, SOPs are often found in a dusty binder on a shelf in the service center. They are only opened when a technician needs to look up an uncommon repair or torque spec. Why is this?

The International Association of Drilling Contractors (think big oil rigs) interviewed hundreds of drilling technicians to better understand why they didn’t follow standard procedures. The top reasons, in order of ranking, include:

Individuals prefered to rely on their skills and experience
Procedures followed exactly take too long to complete
Procedures are difficult to locate or access
Procedures are already out of date

To better understand their psychology, let’s consider the first two issues with something closer to our own lives—tying shoes.

Relying on your experience

You’ve been tying your shoes since before you could read. It’s a habit that you have mastered and no longer think about. Now imagine your manager hands you a seven-page document on lacing. He tells you that, from now on, you need to triple-knot your shoes. When asked why, you are told, “Because that is what the SOP says!”

Most technicians are hired based on past experience performing similar tasks to similar products. That experience gives them the assurance that they know what they are doing. For many tasks, any further instruction will come across as, at best, irrelevant and at worse, patronizing.

Time constraints

Recall the last time a stranger pointed out your shoes were undone. Did you take the time to re-tie them perfectly? Or were they rushed and just good enough?

A service center behaves similarly when it has throughput metrics to hit. Perhaps there is a surge in return that day. In high-demand environments, there is the tendency to cut corners. Pedantic instructions are the last thing you will be considering.

Some lessons from shoe tying

Now that you are better able to sympathize with the technician, let’s turn the tables. According to a study put together by UC Berkeley, most people tie their shoes wrong! Odds are you have been too.

If we ignore lace material, a properly tied shoelace does not need to be double-knotted to stay tied. The error most people make is in the direction they loop the bow after the first knot. To get a strong knot, the pattern is over-under followed by under-over. The ensuing knot will have the loops nicely perpendicular to your shoes. Parallel loops mean you are much more likely to have your shoes come off.

Knots

If you’ve been tying your shoes wrong your whole life, this is great news. Let consider the impact:

Reduced time required to tie shoe
Fewer instances of shoe coming untied
Greatly reduced time required to untie shoe
More aesthetically pleasing knot

Technicians, despite past experience, can be wrong. Their methods may not be the most efficient. But handing them an SOP won’t help. Ask yourself how would you like to be trained on lacing your shoes?

Putting it into Practice

Given our starting conditions, let’s consider some DOs and DON’Ts:

DON’T	DO
Create compound or complex instructions	Break down tasks that can be captured in a few steps
Rely on online or remote instructions	Set up in-person instructions with trackable proficiency
Ignore feedback and rely on compliance	Gather feedback and roll in process improvement rapidly

Developing a mature and effective knowledge management system

Good training and knowledge management has some key traits. It’s personal—it’s agile—and it earns compliance. If you want everyone to tie shoes the same way, you had better figure out the best way to do it.

We’ve had a lot of success using Job Instructions (JI) for most operational and maintenance tasks. It is a tried and true training method that also has the added benefit of being a great starting place for most document development. The simple format is conducive to rapid iteration and improvement, which is ideal for adapting tasks from a test environment to real-world operations. It also helps keep documents up-to-date and relevant for technicians.

More formal documentation takes the form of Work Instructions—think diagrams, pass/fail conditions and a lot more development time. It makes sense to develop these where visual and reference are most beneficial.

Most importantly—training needs to happen in person. This is the only way to truly spur adoption of new processes, overcome bad habits and validate proficiency. Remember: technicians don’t have time to go searching for a document—especially when they can rely on experience to guide them though. You must meet the technician where they are, and be the experienced human that guides them successfully through the process.

To learn more and get access to our templates, ask us about booking our three-day training module for your team: Developing Your Staff - Methods for Agile Training and Knowledge Management. Or just practice teaching someone how to tie their laces.