When we talk about advancements in transportation training, we should look at the trends that have been cited by the FMCSA and DOT. Even the National Highway Institute has pointed towards the rising popularity of online transportation training and courses for various kinds of drivers and safety-sensitive position holders. They have proven to be a very important factor in improving the condition and the overall safety of the roads, bridges, and freeways of the country.
These courses enhance the skills of these professionals and enable them to improve their job performance significantly. Even the Federal Highway Administration recommends the use of online learning tools and courses to prepare drivers and safety-sensitive position holders across enterprises that are involved either directly or indirectly in the transport sector.
The Key To Remaining Innovative Even After Decades
According to the Federal Highway Administration, there have been numerous developments in courses and online learning techniques over the past few years. Staying innovative is a big challenge. But this has been solved by a rather huge influx of learning management systems brought in by several privately owned institutions and learning centers. Even numerous third-party administrators have entered this sector and are making a huge difference by enabling drivers and safety-sensitive positions to access web-based training that is available to them 24/7.
Other than this, numerous web conference training sessions also enable participants to establish connections with one another and enter into discussions to help widen their knowledge base. The course instructors are virtually connected with every candidate on the go. The candidates can either record the online class and refer to it later or listen to it while they are at work and imbibe relevant knowledge without wasting any time.
Note: According to independent studies and various statistics disclosed by the National Highway Institute, more than 27,000 registrations for online transport courses and training modules were received by several online training institutions and third-party administrators that initiated these programs in the year 2014 alone. The trend in 2022 suggests an even bigger number.
The Importance Of Virtual Reality Simulations In Online Transport Courses
Virtual reality is not just an important and entertaining part of virtual gaming. VR has entered the realm of online transportation training as well and both the FMCSA and DOT seem to be on board with this change. Drivers and safety-sensitive position holders in your company can now enter a virtual world environment and understand the real-life risks and challenges involved in this sector without the need to leave their desks behind. The participants or candidates are also allowed to use different avatars or fun and interesting virtual representations of themselves while participating in these educational and fun simulations. They can also become a part of various technical sessions, lectures, and virtual trials of various machinery, safety equipment, and drug and alcohol testing devices. It enhances their overall knowledge about the various aspects of dot compliance.
Exploring The Many Benefits Of Online Transportation Training For Your Drivers And Safety-Sensitive Position Holders
Cut Down On Training Costs
As a commercial entity working in the transport sector, these courses allow you to reduce your training cost significantly. You do not have to invest in the transportation of your candidates to the training facility. There are no costs of accommodation, hospitality, or arrangement of meals for anybody. The study material is made available to them on their smartphones or company tablets that you have provided them with.
Easy To Scale And Expand
So let’s imagine that you have decided to include a few more trucks and drivers in your fleet. You do not have to do anything at all. Just create more accounts for the drivers that have been added to the module. You get easy access to the dashboard of the LMS application because you are the administrator. Just provide suitable hardware to your new drivers and ask them to enroll in the learning module.
Access To Updates And Notices Anywhere
This is the most amazing part of these online courses. They are available to all your drivers and safety-sensitive position holders from any location they might be working at. For example, if the FMCSA or the Department of Transportation rolls out a new rule or perhaps modifies an existing regulation, the same can be notified to your drivers regardless of their location. You can send out a message on all the connected devices and they can be updated on the new rule without any interruption at all.
Easy To Use, Fast To Implement
You will notice one thing about these LMSs in the transport sector. They are very easy to use and fast to implement. There is a very slight learning curve to them which does not take away from the precious time of your drivers and safety-sensitive position holders. There is minimal hardware and software investment which also translates into significantly reduced cost of training.
Constantly Updated Study Material
Because these courses are online, they are constantly connected to the internet. This means that if governing bodies such as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or the Department of Transportation rule out any update or announce a change in any of the rules and regulations, the same can be updated in the course content without any delays. So, this means that your drivers and all safety-sensitive position holders get access to the latest and most frequently updated course content that keeps them functional and dot-compliant throughout the year.
Engage Your Employees For Longer
These courses and online training modules allow you to keep your drivers deeply engaged throughout the year. You are able to invoke a sense of deep responsibility and belongingness in them towards your company. This helps them become a part of your family and makes them more loyal to your enterprise as well.
Measure The Effectiveness Of The Course
In the end, remember that you are the admin of these courses. The control of this LMS is with you. You can access all the dashboards and accounts created for every employee working in your company. This gives you the tools and analytics to measure the progress and success of all your employees. You can keep track of how well they are doing in every course that they have enrolled in. It helps you make your company safer and keeps it dot-compliant.