One of the wonderful things about the age we live in, is the never ending pursuit of technological advancement. We are constantly trying to create the better mousetrap and society, in general, is better because of it.

In the world of Learning Management Systems and training (safety and health in particular) the industry has made amazing strides over the last 10 years alone. Companies have the ability to train and upgrade their workforce in many ways and from various locations, yet we still deal with hazardous mishaps and workplace accidents that have had wide reaching consequences and catastrophic results.

Why?

The human element.

There will always be a chance for disaster when there is a component that cannot be controlled 100%. So, what is the best way to combat the issues of the human element in training and managing the safety of your company? People…or more precisely the development and support of your company’s people.

The best training systems and software in the world cannot prevent accidents and time lost to poor system management, but the support of a dedicated system administration can make the difference in not only avoiding accidents, but saving valuable time and energy spent on trying to figure out how to best utilize your LMS. The companies which have the strongest training programs are the ones that have access to cutting edge technology and cutting edge live support to back it up.

Some of the biggest and most profitable companies in the world avoid training miscues by hiring companies that have state of the art technology and a team of people to back that technology up. Signing up for software and a manual to train your workforce is like NASA using volunteers on space flights. As a company that serves shareholders and the community surrounding it, you cannot afford to leave your training needs up to people you hired to do something else. Finding a company that provides both technologically sound software and a knowledgeable team for support is imperative. No one wants to press a bunch of prompts on the phone to get answers to their safety and training issues. The strongest companies in the field of training and safety have support teams and programs using live administrative help dedicated to your company. Because, at the end of the day, the people whom back up your technology are just as important as the platform itself…

Since the dawn of man people have tried various ways to either hoard or pass along knowledge. Hunter gatherer groups had to share enough knowledge to teach younger members how to contribute to the food supply, but not so much that they’d displace the old. The Guilds of the medieval periods and later tried to protect craft skill within the Guild and to pass along knowledge and skills through various rites of passage. Skill in any occupation is the result of training and advancement within that occupation is a result of testing – or other method of skill demonstration.

As the Industrial age moved from requiring skilled craftsmen to hand-fit each piece of a product to line workers assembling components, training needs changed. Rather than learn a specific trade, many people learned a specific job. As the process or the product changed, workers were retrained for the new job.

The post WWII period saw another change in industrial production; the institution of methods to improve efficiency and quality. This period of time also led to many of the regulatory agencies that provide for safe and non-polluting production facilities. The drive for efficiency and compliance led to an ever greater focus on training. Training and empowerment of the individual was a key component of Edwards Deming’s principles for transforming business effectiveness. At the same time, the regulatory burden required accurate records of training and testing. Yet the training itself was being delivered in an inefficient manner, albeit the best available for the current technology. Personal lectures and seminars required learners to be away from work. Even teleconferences and television broadcasts required synchronous attendance; that is, the learners had to synchronize their attendance with the training.

The advent of new technology – the rise of the machines – brought new efficiencies to the world of training. Probably the single biggest jump in training technology was the videotape. It became practical for organizations to deliver site-specific training in less constraining, but still synchronous mode. Training could be repeated accurately and efficiently since the role of the trainer was displaced by the videotape. Tests were still administered and graded by hand. Records went in the filing cabinet and personnel files. The next big step came with the personal computer. Now, the training content could be delivered via multimedia-enhanced CD-ROMs and tests could be delivered and graded electronically.  Oftentimes, though these graded tests or certificates were printed and filed the manual way. Training by now had moved to become much more asynchronous which means the learner could choose to be trained at any time of the day or night and his training was not dependent on anyone else’s schedule.

When personal computers could share information on a network, it finally became possible to create a system to manage the tasks of assigning and delivering the training, administering the testing, and storing the records – a Learning Management System. There were many early examples of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) with varying degrees of robustness and features. Ironically, while the ability to deliver and manage training became much more time efficient on the parts of the learner and the instructor, the limitations of the early personal computer to deliver high-quality graphics and photo-realistic images often meant that industry had to settle for hybrid systems of videotape training and computerized testing.

The parent company of OverNite Software (Warren-Forthought), pioneered the delivery of training and testing using the Macintosh platform due to the ability to utilize stunning photo-realistic images within training courses. As the graphics capabilities of the Windows platform emerged, the LMS products were ported to that platform. The early networked solutions saved industry time and money by streamlining the training and testing process and by delivering compliance records to regulatory agencies. But there was still one bottleneck, and that was how to work with multi-site companies.

OverNite Software developed the ExxTend Learning™ LMS from the beginning to be completely internet based. This development began in the late 1990s, when the internet was relatively young and when Mosaic and Netscape were still dominant browsers. It was obvious that the internet was going to solve the issues of time and space and make training and testing available to anyone at anytime within a corporation, regardless of their location. Today’s LMS software, including the ExxTend Learning™ platform continues to thrive and offer more flexibility and richer content as the browsers and bandwidth improve. A top-quality LMS allows managers to assign, deliver and track training of any type including web-based, instructor-led, downloads and virtually every other form of training. Only by harnessing the machines – the web servers, the databases, the internet and the personal computer has this level of training management become so efficient and cost effective.

December 12, 2011 – Angleton, Texas

OverNite Software, Inc announced today that they are proud to welcome the well respected name of Hero BX to its growing list of industrial customers deploying their famed ExxTend Learning™ online training solution.  Armando Caceres, Jr., President of OSI, shared this remark, “We couldn’t be happier that a leading bio fuels producer such as Hero BX has chosen our industrial online training tools to deliver training to their employees.  We look forward to building a strong relationship that will last for years and years.”

Hero BX, located in Erie Pennsylvania, is a leading name within the Bio fuels industry manufacturing such products as Bioheat®  which is comprised of biodiesel blended with home heating oil to create a cleaner, greener alternative fuel to heat homes.  Bioheat®  is fast becoming a large part of biodiesel usage in the North Eastern part of the United States.  This product is just one of a complete line of Bio products produced by the ultra modern plant at Hero BX. http://www.herobx.com/

OverNite Software, Inc is home to the famed online training tools ExxTend Learning™, WorKingbird.com™, and eWebOQ™.  Among OverNite’s 18 industrial training libraries are such notable categories as Laboratory Practices, Environmental Health & Safety,    DOT Operator Qualification, Hazwoper, First Responders, & Port Facility Security.   http://www.overnitecbt.com/

Sometimes though, lack of training is not because of a lack of proper importance being placed on this area, but a lack of the proper technology to efficiently train and monitor workers. In the last 30 days alone, OSHA has incorporated over ten different policy and standard changes to its guidelines. Keeping up with the ever changing guidelines of safety has become just as important as keeping up with the latest technologies of each specific industry. Now, how does each company do that?

The answer can be as simple as aligning yourself with a training organization that can help implement a learning and training management system that has access to not only hundreds of vital courses in your industry, but is user friendly and easy to monitor from any location.

With the ever changing landscape of safety training and the severity of a lack there of, it is crucial to find a company that can help your organization properly and efficiently train your employees and keep you up to date on the latest reforms to safety policies. A learning management system that is deep, diverse and easy to monitor is the foundation for a culture of safety with any of today’s successful companies. Finding an organization that is up to date with all new standards and practices within your industry and government policy changes is mandatory in today’s ever changing safety training environment. Instead of finding out from a government agency where your company is lacking in your training, you must be proactive and create a system that implements certain elements to your training ,or else your company and sometimes the environment we live in unfortunately suffer the consequences.

SBCA Community’s Award Honors the Achievement

PHOENIX, January 10, 2011, Overnite Software Inc has been selected for the 2010 Best of Business Award in the Educational computer software category by the SBCA Community.

Being a small business owner sets you apart from most ordinary people and the SBCA Community is dedicated to helping people understand that running their own business is an obtainable goal and that everyone should try their best at living their dreams.

The SBCA Community is pleased to announce that Overnite Software Inc has been selected for the 2010 Best of Business Award in the Educational computer software category.

The SBCA Community Best of Business Award Program recognizes the best of small businesses throughout the country. Using the world’s most comprehensive directory of business information on people and companies and other research, the SBCA community identifies companies that we believe have demonstrated what makes small businesses a vital part of the American economy. The SBCA community recognizes business owners and managers because they often don’t get the recognition that they deserve in that they are role models for everyone in their life whether they know it or not. SBCA Commnuity 2010 Best of Business Award winners are a valuable asset to their community and exemplify what makes small businesses great.

About SBCA Community

SBCA Community is a Phoenix based organization. The SBCA Community is a private sector entity that aims to provide tactical guidance with many day to day issues that small business owners face. In addition to our main goal of providing a central repository of small business operational advice; we use proprietary research to identify companies that exemplify what makes small business a vital part of the American economy.

SOURCE: SBCA Community / FTM Marketing

CONTACT:

FTM Marketing, Inc.

Email: Press@SBCACommunity.com

URL: http://SBCACommunity.com

OverNite Software, inc. (OSI) announced today that it has been selected for learning management solutions including: Learning Management System, online training content, custom course development and system administrative services by Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC). “We are pleased to be able to provide these services to Marine Well Containment Company and are looking forward to a successful training partnership with them,” said OSI President Armando Caceres, Jr. “The agreement is indicative of the confidence that Marine Well Containment Company has in OSI and ExxTend Learning™ 5.0, our latest version of our benchmark training software that enables client companies to administer, track, and record training through a Web interface.”

About OverNite Software, inc. – OverNite Software, Inc. specializes in computer-based training and testing and is the developer of the ExxTend Learning™ system for training management. The ExxTend Learning application has been in daily use for more than a decade by Fortune 500 companies throughout the world. Providing interactive multimedia training products and performance support to clients in process and associated industries. Partnered with major petroleum, chemical, and energy firms, OverNite Software has developed a library of training courses that provide current and in-demand training, as well as aids for industry problem solving.

For further information, please contact:
David Stark, Manager – OSI Marketing, OverNite Software, Inc., 979.849.2002,
E-mail: david.stark@overnitecbt.com

Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) is a not-for-profit, independent organization committed to improving response capabilities for containing a potential future deepwater well control incident in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Membership is open to all oil and gas operators in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Current members include Anadarko, Apache, BHP Billiton, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Hess, Shell, and Statoil.