You couldn't blame Master Corporal Jason Houle for feeling skeptical about his mission.
As part of a test run for new simulation software, the aviation technician at Canadian Forces Base Borden had just one day to teach nine recruits about the propeller system on the C-130 Hercules transportation aircraft.
Most of his students ranged in age from 19 to 25 and knew nothing about aviation technology. It was their first day of a 16-month course and students usually waded through weeks of theory before tackling the complex propeller system.
"But you know what? It turned out really, really well," MCpl. Houle said. So well, in fact, that in one afternoon the students were working at a skill level they would not normally reach until 12 weeks into the course.
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It seems the Canadian Forces may have something to teach the business world when it comes to using technology to bridge generational gaps.
For the last four years, the air force has been evaluating how its technicians respond to training that incorporates three-dimensional simulations of some of its equipment.
"I'm not really fascinated by technology for its own sake," said Lieutenant-Colonel Rick Thompson, who runs air force-wide training programs from Department of National Defence headquarters, including this recent push to incorporate more enriched media in training and development.
"We do have some deficiencies in our training system that we need to improve, and the managed delivery of electronic learning that incorporate three-dimensional objects as part of the learning package - I know that will work."
The air force found that software designed by Vancouver-based NGRAIN Corp. drastically reduced the amount of time and money spent on training and knowledge retention. Instead of studying theory, watching an instructor disassemble an engine and then having one or two chances to apply the knowledge on costly machinery, students could do it all themselves with an instructor facilitating.
What's more, it didn't matter whether the technician was a 19-year-old Facebooker or a 55-year-old boomer. "Your comprehension of a 3-D object on a computer screen doesn't really depend on how computer literate you are. ... It really looks like the object," Lt.-Col. Thompson said.
Which means the technology will also be used to bring an experienced technician up to speed on a new aircraft.
"That's definitely one of our challenges because we take a technician that may have all kinds of qualifications on the CF-18 - he's worked on it for 12 years - and then you put him on the Hercules, and it really takes two years to get him online, back to the point where he was," MCpl. Houle said.
With the click of a mouse, the technology allows technicians to, say, disassemble and reassemble the Hercules propeller system, see how each part relates to the others and learn about snags that may arise.
"We just don't want a prettier PowerPoint presentation," said Lt.-Col. Gord Danylchuk, a staff officer for technician training systems based at 1 Canadian Air Division in Winnipeg. "You want it to have a wow factor, but you want your solution to burn less resources, or ... allow a person to acquire knowledge quicker."
Over the last four years, NGRAIN designed several trial models for the air force, including the Bell CH-146 Griffon helicopter's flight control systems, fuselage and rotors; an anti-submarine warfare torpedo; the Hercules propeller and engine systems - even a hangar to see how many airplanes they could fit inside.
Starting this fiscal year, major technical training schools like the Canadian Forces bases at Borden, Greenwood and Trenton will begin to use NGRAIN's technology - after that, the technology and other enriched media will roll out across the air force.
And although the steps are slow and steady to ensure the technology fits precise specifications - the operational imperative, of course, being "We cannot fail" - the hope is that all the Canadian Forces will eventually have access to this technology.
"To be able to give a laptop computer to these kids and tell them to go home at night and do five or six engine removals or landing gear removals in a virtual setting, and then have them come in the next day and do it on the actual trainer - the benefits would be incredible," MCpl. Houle said.
Training tips
Rick Thompson and Gord Danylchuk, both lieutenant-colonels, have spent the last four years experimenting with a new simulation technology for air force technicians. Here's what you can learn from them:
Think long term
Get your cost-benefit analysis done up front, and make sure you know what purpose the technology will serve: Will you use it to save money, to train people faster, to burn fewer resources? What research have you done to determine its effectiveness?
Keep it easy
Your workers shouldn't have to ask the question, "Why do we have to learn this?" They should be able to see the benefit and incorporate any new technology with relative ease.
Technology is a tool
It works best in a learning environment that incorporates a variety of media; it doesn't replace everything else.
Matthew Trevisan
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