Knowledge is Key

An interview with Barry Boyle of CompuPharma

“E-learning technology offers potential for reducing costs where budgets and head counts are being cut”
-Barry Boyle, CEO of CompuPharma

NGP. What are some of the main issues affecting large pharmaceutical/biotech companies today when it comes to training?
BB. A large number of companies are still using training approaches which assumes that mere presence in a classroom confirms that something has been learned. It does not. This applies particularly to classroom training for compliance and related subjects as well as SOP Training. A Trainee’s mere signing under the phrase, ‘read and understood’, on an SOP is no guarantee that anything has been learned.

The new concept of ‘Competency-Based Training’ is designed to address this issue because trainees will be taught enough technical background to bring about a change in attitude because they will know the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’.

NGP. The company’s principal area of expertise is the application of e-Learning technologies. What factors drove the company to focus in this area?
BB. The company had the conviction that pharmaceutical and biotech companies would be interested in improving training management and reducing costs by having trainees take its library e-lessons online. The attraction would be the engaging features, such as; voice, photos, videos, 3-D, written text, as well as 24/7 availability and the presentation of consistent content. No one else was doing this in1998.

However, launching of the e-lessons was a problem initially as most manufacturers were slow installing their own Learning Management Systems (LMS) and actual take-up of this service was slow. This is no longer the case and use is increasing at this time.

NGP. What kind of audience do you have for your solutions and what are some of the benefits of deploying such training methods?
BB. The audience comprises of production personnel, such as operators, lab technicians.

Trainees benefit because the e-Lessons:

Are accessible 24/7 – freedom to decide date and hour taken; are self-paced – non-English speakers can repeat until it sticks; provide immediate feedback – there is a multi-question quiz at the end allowing self-assessment; save time and avoid classroom listening fatigue – takes much less time than classroom training; allow a comfortable knowledge-transfer rate – less than one hour with assessment – no time to get bored; are engaging – due to the mix of media – voice, graphics, photos, videos, 3-D, texts

NGP. Can you tell us about the kind of structure an e-learning program follows? What are some of the areas covered?
BB. Employee training is split into two areas: compliance and production. A mix of training methods is used (blended learning), composed of instructor-led, on-the-job, SOP and e-learning.

In compliance, the e-learning component is important because regulatory agency requirements are standard and lend themselves well to generic content.

In production, training tends to be plant/product specific. The e-learning component is small but is growing as e-lessons are developed for processes, equipment and maintenance. At this time, e-lessons are a good way to facilitate employee SOP understanding. Recently, building custom content for training on non-standard proprietary equipment/processes is growing

NGP. What does the future hold for e-learning? How much potential do these training methods hold for improving performance across many areas of the pharmaceutical industry?
BB. E-learning technology offers potential for reducing costs where budgets and head counts are being cut. However, there are also huge gains to be had from the items below.

Reduce Time to Market – e-lessons can be built and updated as a new project progresses thus personnel can be well trained prior to Start-up. This Reduces Time to Market, builds a Plant Training Program for the life of the plant and lays the foundation for a Productivity Improvement Program.

Plant Specific Training Program – the building of e-lessons for complex machines and processes, allows operations and maintenance to improve performance of equipment resulting in reduced downtime and improved quality. These e-lessons, with all the acquired ‘tricks’ for top performance become assets for competitive advantage.

Capture Complex Processes Many baby boomers are scheduled to leave their employ in the next few years and e-lessons may be the best way to capture their process knowledge before they go.

Barry Boyle, 1965 Engineering graduate from Glasgow University, has held many engineering and management positions in industry. Barry’s main focus since 2004 as CEO of CompuPharma is the use of e-learning to increase plant productivity, reduce Time to Market and the capture process knowledge prior to Baby Boomer departure.