Net Evolution

How an online training register for BHP Billiton's Mt Keith mine eased the administrative burden on HR staff and streamlined the process of enrolment for participants.

BACKGROUND

Part of BHP Billiton's Nickel West unit, Mt Keith is an open-pit nickel mine 720 km NE of Perth and 430 km N of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia's North Eastern Goldfields. It operates 24 hours a day on 12-hour continuous shifts, 365 days a year.

PROBLEM

Training administration was a complete headache.

The mine runs more than 300 courses a year covering everything from Induction programs through HSEC (Health, Safety & Environment) to Management and Leadership education. Administering these programs using manual methods was frustrating for participants, and was a drain on the limited resources of Training Administrator, Stacey Martell.

"I was spending at least an hour a day fielding phone calls and answering emails, so I had no time to think about forward planning and the bigger picture".

Another problem was that even when a course was fully booked, participants could continue to enrol. Worse, because the system was open to all users, events could be accidentally deleted, creating significant additional work for Stacey. "It was a nightmare."

The limitations of the existing system were made more apparent by the fly-in/fly-out nature of Mt Keith which meant the Training Administrator was only on site 4 days out of 7.

SOLUTION

Net Evolution's solution was to create a web-based Training Register. Built in ASP.NET, the huge advantage of the system is that once courses have been created, they effectively manage themselves.

Create courses in Categories

The application allows Training Administrators to create courses in a range of Categories (e.g. Induction, HSEC, Managing People, etc). This simplifies organisation and makes it easier for participants to find training that's relevant.

Universal access

Being web-based, the system allows anyone on Mt Keith's intranet to quickly discover which programs are coming up, and see at a glance if a course is already fully booked. When they enrol, they are sent an email that automatically makes an entry in their computer's diary system (e.g. Outlook or iCal).

Wait Listing

Even if a course is fully booked, prospective participants are able to register their interest and be Wait Listed. This requires no intervention from the administrator. If a participant cancels from a fully booked course, the first person on the Wait List is automatically emailed with an invitation. If they decline, the next person on the Wait List is emailed and so on until the position is filled.

Recurring Course Templates

Once a range of course templates has been created, the Administrator is able to reuse these in creating future courses. Again, this reduces the burden of managing a training schedule.

Registering Other Participants

The system has sufficient flexibility to allow users to register people other than themselves on courses. This is of particular benefit to PAs handling the diaries of their managers. When any communication is sent out about a course, it is sent to both the participant and the person who registered them.

Time Zones Facility

Another feature that is not common in many online training systems is the ability to register your time zone. In a company like BHP Billiton that straddles the globe, this can save embarrassment and confusion over the timing of courses.

RESULT

The resulting system had many benefits including:

Reduced administrative burden

The new Online Training Register has been welcomed by Training Administrator Stacey Martell. "It's taken a huge burden off my shoulders". Creating a course can be done in seconds and she now fields only a fraction of the calls she previously did in trying to manage the training schedule.

Streamlined course enrolment

But Stacey hasn't been the only beneficiary of the new Training Administration system. Participants are loving it too. "Because it's easy for people to see what's coming up, more people are enrolling. And that means I have to spend less time trying to drum up interest in courses."

Seamless handover

Since the course can handle course enrolments with virtually no intervention, it has made it much easier for the Training department to run during Stacey's downtime. In fact, since the system's introduction she's been able to move to her preferred 8 days on/ 6 days off schedule.

Creating Training - rather than Administering Training

Most satisfyingly, the system has allowed Stacey to spend her time in more productive pursuits. "It means I've got time to move beyond managing induction and the mandatory training programs to thinking about influencing the culture with programs like 'Fitness for Work'. It's been a magic tool. A real lifesaver."