This means that if you do not want to download these programs, you can simply login and view from any computer or similar device anywhere in the world (however it should support Flash/Shockwave, since many of our animations and simulations require it). This means that if you do not want to install any additional programs on your PC/laptop/computing device, or if your device does not run Windows, you can still take our courses. The same course, same look and feel but totally online and nothing to install on your machine.

Enrollment will be online with automatic registration through Paypal (you need not have a Paypal account-any credit card would do as well). Or if you wish, you can even bulk purchase by buying via check or bank transfer, the preference is left to you. As  usual, learners can take a test after they complete the course and get a certificate on passing too! It will help your career and is proof of your comptetency in these subjects, that employers are looking for. You can even pre-order these now with just your intent to buy, no payment is required. Call or email us from here.

However, this can  hardly be described as e-learning. A real e-learning course will have not only video but also a lot of interactivity using Flash animations and other simulations, multiple paths through which learners can proceed, the ability to set your own pace and so on. This is really helpful as it interests the learner and does not saddle him/her with information that is irrelevant. When I mentioned this to people on another forum, I was told that there is a lot of questions and answers back and forth in a classroom environment, which is not possible online. While some of it may be true, it can be easily corrected by collating all these questions and doubts and their answers and weaving it into the learning course. This will keep on making the elearning course better and better and at some point of time be much better than the best professor who teaches the subject.

Now comes the best part of the story so far. Let us imagine this ideal best professor to teach a particular subject, say Ststistics, is Mr. Smith at Harvard (just for an example) and the second best is his junior teaching assistant Ms.Jane. Their expertise in teaching statistics, plus their experience of students’ doubts, questions and arguments has led to the preparation of an excellent course. Now imagine that into this course design are added various animations, simulation exercises, examples from industry and business experts to form a formidable e-learning course. This course is now much better than the sum of its parts, so it is a degree of magnitude better than what Prof. Smith or Lecturer Jane would teach. Now this same course is made available online to 100,000 students worldwide- see the effects? Mindboggling.

This is what he meant by “the future of learning is e-learning”. This is exactly what we at Abhisam Software have been saying for years together but nobody seemed to notice. But I am happy that since good ol’ Bill “gets” it, everybody else will, sooner or later.

Why is this threatening to a lot of the “powers that be”? Because now you need not pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to go to an “elite” university to learn the above Statistics course. You can learn it at home for a few hundred dollars or a few thousand dollars. For anybody and everybody. You need not be “accepted” at a premier school. You need not “demonstrate your innate genius” to get inside the elite school for an opportunity to learn. In fact you need not step out of your home to learn. Or if you wish you could loll on a beach and get access to the same course. You can take it at your own pace. No need to take on endless student loans. No need to appeal to past teachers to get good letters of recommendation. No need to… I’ll stop here. You get the idea? E-learning is truly liberating, an idea which has come.

Obviously some elements would want to prevent this from happening. But the genie is out of the bottle and cannot be brought back.

Our own e-learning courses are priced to be very very affordable to learners in all parts of the world. For example the subject of Safety Instrumented Systems is taught by a few elite in classroom type classes a few times a year for as much as $3000. But you can get the same knowledge, when you take our e-learning version for just $199 (now being offered at a special of $177). This benefits everybody, including the subject matter experts who have contributed to this course as well as the learners.

Comments are welcome below.

This updated training course covers all aspects of Hazardous Area Instruments and Controls, with changes to the IEC standards and ATEX directives fully reflected in the course contents. The original Hazardous Area Instrumentation training course was very well received by engineers and technicians in oil & gas, chemical processing, pulp & paper, power and other industries, as also by engineering consultants, contractors and even regulatory authorities. The updated version of this course is even better than the earlier version. Furthermore, the updated version will be available free of cost, to all customers of Abhisam Software who have purchased the earlier version within the past one year.

This new version of the Hazardous Area Instrumentation training course consists of the following six modules.
1. Basic Concepts
2. Classification (Area Classification, Material Classification  and Temperature Classification)
3. Methods of protection (including explosionproof, intrinsic safety, increased safety, pressurization and other methods)
4. Using Fieldbus in hazardous areas (covers entity, FISCO, high power trunk, amongst other topics)
5. Certification and Labeling
6. Inspection and Maintenance

Though the module names are the same as the earlier version, the content has been revised to a great extent. The changes in the IEC standards and the ATEX directives have been included in the relevant modules, so that this course is now all that you need to have for becoming a pro as regards Instrumentation and Control systems in Hazardous Areas.
These modules contain several topic pages containing Flash based animations, actual photographs of hazardous area instruments and equipment, rich graphics and easy to understand text, so that the subject becomes very easy to learn. Engineers and technicians who work in the process industries are sometimes intimidated and confused by the array of standards, systems and acronyms that are used by experts in hazardous areas. This course makes it all so very easy to understand that after completing it one can easily apply the various hazardous area concepts and standards to actual workplaces to enhance the safety of assets and people.
The course is also available in an online LMS based system which would be ideal for corporations, universities and training institutes, who may wish to train large numbers of people in this subject. All training reports including learner login times, modules accessed, scores obtained on tests and other data can be made available in a spreadsheet for training records and tracking. Learners can also take an online test and qualify for a certificate at no additional charge.
As a limited time bonus, Abhisam Software is also giving away a copy of their popular ebook “Practical Guide to Hazardous Area Classification” alongwith this updated course.

For more information about the updated course please click here
If you have purchased the earlier version of the course, you may be eligible for a FREE upgrade. Please send your original purchase details to support@abhisam.com

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.

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!

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.

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.

Furthermore, you can see the free preview of the Practical Guide to Hazardous Area Classification here and see for yourself how cool it looks. Note that the information inside is pure gold to those who are not sure how they should be classifying their hazardous areas. There has been no change in the content, but the presentation is much better, rather than the older pdf.