Archive for June, 2010

Get the free mini ebook on elearning in the Process industries

| June 17, 2010 | 0 Comments

June 17, 2010- Now you can get a free mini ebook on “E learning in the Process Industries” in DNL format from the Abhisam Software Free Download pages. It should be out in a couple of days at the most. This mini ebook was first released way back as a White Paper, but now it has grown into a small (mini) ebook. Also the DNL format makes it easy to read with all inside links intact (much better than a plain jane pdf).

The mini ebook makes a strong case for e-learning in the process industries (industries that operate large scale, continuous and batch processes mostly associated with chemicals, oil & gas, petroleum, fertilizers, cement, gas processing, power and so on). The technology that is at the heart of these industries has evolved into a very sophisticated animal, but the methods that are used to train employees have not changed much. This is seriously hampering the efforts of these industries to upgrade their workforce, though many managers do not realize it. The constant refrain is the high cost of training, the shortage of skilled hands and the high cost of replacing people who leave or retire. This ebook provides a solution that is not at all difficult to implement, does not cost a fortune and can lessen these problems, if not eliminate them completely.

Which does greater damage-malfeasance or incompetence-the actual cost of NOT training

| June 12, 2010 | 0 Comments

June 11, 2010 -What is the cost of training your employees? $ XYZ per year? What if this budget (small in itself in most companies), gets slashed (sorry, optimized is the politically correct word) to $ 0.8 XYZ ? The bean counters that run most companies will tell you that it means a higher operating margin (though not necessarily by $ 0.2XYZ). So far so good, we are looking at the benefits side of the equation.

Now let us look at the costs side. NOT spending the $ 0.2XYZ may lead to employees not equipped with the right skills or right and essential training to do their jobs properly. In technically sophisticated jobs like engineering design or maintenance, this breeds incompetence. This incompetence can cause  a major industrial disaster. The cost of these disasters can reach (for a large company) maybe $100000XYZ.

Is it worth risking employees lives and the entire future of the company, the employees, other stakeholders and the environment for a measly $0.2 XYZ?

It has been proven time and again that malfeasance causes FAR LESS damage than does incompetence. Think of any large industrial accident. There are plenty of opportunities for evil persons to cause accidents by sabotage-however almost always they never actually reach the level of damage caused by incompetent and badly trained employees.

Your thoughts on this would be welcome!

Get the new Safety Instrumented Systems e-learning course at a discount

| June 7, 2010 | 0 Comments

June 07,2010-If you are a customer of Abhisam Software, having brought our excellent  e-learning courses on Hazardous Area Instrumentation or Gas Monitors, then you are eligible for a whopping 20% discount off the current price of the Safety Instrumented Systems e-learning course. If you are interested, get in touch with us at sales@abhisam.com to get your own COUPON CODE to avail this discount. But you have to hurry up as this offer is not going to last long!

The Safety Instrumented Systems e-learning course is a big hit, with many practising engineers downloading the course. This comes as no surprise, as this is the only comprehensive e-learning course that covers all aspects of this slightly difficult to grasp subject. The course covers everything including Safety Integrity Level (SIL) calculations, SIL verification, functional safety, an introduction to safety standards such as IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 and  functional safety concepts. The cost is a real no brainer, if you compare with classroom courses that charge about TEN times as much for the same course.

World Environmental Day-Switch to e-learning from traditional classroom learning

| June 5, 2010 | 0 Comments

June 05, 2010 -Today is World Environmental Day.  So let’s see how we can contribute to the environment’s well being. There are of course many ways that every individual can contribute to the environment. Use less energy, conserve and preserve trees, don’t pollute the air and water. Saying all this is fine, but how does one realistically do this? Well, one of the ways is by using e-learning, rather than traditional classroom based learning. To attend classes that are away, you have to hop into an automobile, burn up fuel and drive to the class. Not only you, but every student and the teacher/professor does the same. How many gallons and liters? Then you take notes on paper that is produced by cutting up trees. Then the professor dishes out study material that is also paper based.

Is it really necessary? Certainly not! If you switch to elearning, you can study from the comfort of your home or office or the beach! No need to burn up fossil fuels, pollute the air (and perhaps the sea due to deepwater drilling that the oil companies need to do so that you can burn up the gasoline in your car!)

Study online and save the course on your computer. Interact with others like you on online forums. Do not print anything or write anything. So no need to cut trees and make paper.

Have a look at the video below.