Beyond Off-the-Shelf: Why Customized Industrial Automation Training Wins Every Time

As many manufacturers look to remain Industry 4.0 competitive, they turn toward automation and IoT technologies to enhance efficiency. As part of this initiative manufacturers need to build organizational capabilities particularly in the areas of human capital to support and maintain these systems.

To do so, manufacturers must develop effective training for factory automation and enterprise systems. However, when it comes to training there is no such thing as a one-size fits all. Every manufacturing plant operates with unique processes and challenges and off-the-shelf industrial automation training often falls short of meeting these specific requirements.

While off-the-shelf control systems training offers convenience and quick access to resources, it may not provide the depth of knowledge or relevance needed to drive real change within your manufacturing facility.

Limitations & Challenges of Standard Automation Training

Off-the-shelf training materials are pre-packaged, ready-to-use, vendor-designed resources to offer generic knowledge across various industries. While they provide a quick fix for training needs, they often lack the depth and relevance required to address the specific challenges faced by individual manufacturers. Here are some common complaints about off-the-shelf training:

• Lack of Tailored Content:
  Off-the-shelf courses may not align with a manufacturer’s specific environment, automation platforms, and processes of individual plants or organizations, resulting in a disconnect between the training content and the real-world needs of the participants.
• Limited Practical Use:
  Off-the-shelf training often lacks hands-on experience and real-world scenarios, which are essential for ensuring that participants can confidently apply their knowledge to navigate real-life situations effectively.
• Limited Focus & Wasted Resources:
  Vendor training focuses on specific PLC product(s) and does not incorporate the entire needs of a plant into a single curriculum. Not only is this fragment approach costly and time-consuming, but it also lacks providing learners with cross-tool integration and alternative solutions, hindering their ability to develop a holistic understanding of automation concepts and techniques.

Advantages of Customized Industrial Automation Training

On the other hand, customized control systems training offers tailored learning experiences that address each manufacturer’s unique platforms and gives employees the tools needed to maintain and support the plant’s control systems.

Unlike other automation vendor training programs, customized automation training comprises all learning objectives and real-world scenarios into a single comprehensive curriculum. This means topics such as PLC, SCADA, and MES can be covered within one class.

Customized control systems training results in better outcomes for learners due to several key advantages:

• Organizational Context:
  Course development focuses on the manufacturer’s projects, processes, systems, and code ensuring maximum relevance and applicability to the automation of the team’s daily tasks.
• Efficiency:
  Platforms and equipment training are consolidated into one comprehensive course, saving time and resources.
• Holistic Approach:
  Go beyond technical knowledge and gain insights into control system integration and industry best practices.
• Hands-On Experience:
  Learners can confidently apply their knowledge in practical, real-word situations.

With customized training, manufacturers receive targeted learning objectives ensuring a perfect fit every time.

Choosing the Right Training Approach for Your Factory Automation Team

When choosing between off-the-shelf training and customized training, there are a few things to consider: relevance, efficiency, and cost.

• Relevance:
  Off-the shelf training content is often tailored to a larger audience group vs customized training that offers personalized learning objectives that fill specific skill gaps and relevancy to individual industries and standards.
• Efficiency:
  Off-the-shelf training often has 3-5 days of content that may or may not be relevant times and if multiple vendor training is needed that means 3-5 days of content for each course. With customized training the curriculum is designed holistically accounting for all relevant plant systems and code, so there is no wasted time or resources.
• Cost:
  Although custom training may have a higher upfront cost, it offers long-term savings by requiring a one-time fee vs off-the-shelf training which charges based on the number of users, which can get especially costly as an organization grows.

While off-the-shelf training may seem more accessible initially, customized training surpasses off-the-shelf training with its tailored learning objectives, relevant content, and long-term cost savings. Customized training offers the perfect solution for organizations seeking tangible results.

How Can We Help with Your Industrial Automation Training Needs?

NeoMatrix offers comprehensive, customized training programs that encompass a wide range of topics, including PLC logic training, SCADA and HMI training, as well as providing insights into SQL and digital transformation, among other key topics related to control systems.

With over 20 years of hands-on experience, we’ve gained in-depth knowledge of PLCs, including renowned brands like Allen Bradley and Omron, mastering their functionalities, nuances, and optimal utilization.

NeoMatrix has extensive experience with various automation software, so whether there’s a need for Ignition training or Rockwell Automation training, our team of trainers possess the skills to support each individual manufacturer’s objectives. Additionally, varied class formats are available, accommodating preferences for online PLC training, in person classes or a mix of both.