By SMILEY ANDERSAssociated Press
Saturday, November 21, 2009
A small, young Baton Rouge company is growing in hard times — and signing big clients — by turning training digital.
Learning Sciences Corp., about 18 months old, has signed The Fox Network Group, NBC Universal, the Sports Production Safety Group, the HEI hotel management company, PCS Nitrogen in Geismar and Louisiana state government agencies, says Chief Executive Officer Peter J. Ranzino.
The firm has created two programs for Fox. One explains hearing safety practices required by OSHA. The other teaches office ergonomics.
Fox also is part of the Sports Production Safety Group, a consortium that signed Learning Sciences Corp. for another hearing protection program, to be used by all major U.S. sports production companies. Other consortium members are Turner Broadcasting, ABC, CBS, CBS Sports, NBC Universal, SPEED and ESPN.
NBC Universal also hired it to convert the California Wildfire Safety e-learning course for use by camera operators and other production staff covering wildfires.
For HEI Hotels and Resorts, the subject is financial management of its hotels.
PCS Nitrogen had Learning Sciences set up a "rapid development" learning management system.
And state agencies have used it to train state workers on how to meet state and federal mandates.
"E-learning," as the computer classes are called, can instruct employees in weeks rather than the months required by traditional teaching methods.
In the mid-1990s Ranzino was a partner in the local video production company H20 TV Productions, which was producing a water sports travel show for Prime Sports and Fox Sports.
Researching the Internet's commercial possibilities, he realized that it could be used to train employees quickly and economically. So Ranzino, who said he had a brief and uneventful stay at LSU, became an Internet educator.
He left the production company in 1998 to establish Flying Fish Creative Services, named for his love of the water. By 2006 the company had 17 employees and more than 30 clients.
When he ended his association with Flying Fish, he had to wait until a non-compete agreement expired in 2008 to get back into e-learning.
"We take what the employer needs to train employees and transfer it into an instructionally sound online environment," Ranzino said. "It's customized for each client — it can be complex or simple."
Learning Sciences also can let the employer know how each worker is doing.
Joseph Hutchinson, a retired LSU professor, partners with Ranzino and designs educational technology. He said the method involves multiple modules so the employee can study each at his convenience before progressing to the next.
"While college is designed for younger students with more time, the employees in business and industry that we deal with have vast experience and well-developed skills," he said — and this calls for a different kind of instruction.
Ranzino said, "We don't need a big production; we concentrate on the subject matter, resulting in faster turnarounds at a lower price. Esthetics take a back seat to substance."
In other words, he said, "we concentrate on content, not bells and whistles. Ninety percent of clients don't want bells and whistles. And some want a program completed in 30 days or less."
A learning program can be put together in as little as two weeks.
Ranzino said the slowdown in the economy had helped his company, as companies looked to more economical ways to train employees.
"'Airline hanger' training, involving large groups of people, is too costly. Internet training is available 24/7, and employees can train at their leisure," he said.
Michael Hebert, vice president of human resources for PCS Nitrogen Fertilizer in Geismar said, "Our association with Learning Sciences Corp. has been a productive one. We have been implementing a new learning management system provided by Learning Sciences."
Of Ranzino, Hebert said "I must say that his aim is to satisfy his customers. He actually listens to our request and has made every effort to meet our needs."
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Information from: The Advocate, http://www.2theadvocate.com