Maintenance Plan for Training Materials

TeamOJT Tip of the Month for December, 2007

A maintenance plan is needed to establish and continue the coordination and communication that makes a vital training program-one that is in a state of ongoing improvement. Maintaining structural process integrity is as much a part of the job of building a training program as is building the product.

A good maintenance plan needs to identify who owns the plan and keeps it up to date, what documentation is required, who constructs the documentation, who is responsible for providing the appropriate information for the documents and records, and where those materials are stored. The plan needs to include documents identifying the status of all training materials (something easily referenced and updated); some type of receipted control distribution system identifying changes made, who gets copies, revision information, etc.

You also need to maintain all process documentation to help ensure compatibility of training content with other documentation: i.e., standard operating procedures, job or task instructions, company procedures and polices - basically all documentation that instructs or guides employees in task accomplishment or describes conditions under which tasks/jobs are performed, and the germane quality and engineering standards.

Maintain all training and certification records for both trainers and trainees (including individual training plans). You probably want to maintain records of who knows how to do what, when they were trained to do it and levels of expertise, who is qualified to train what, etc.

You need to maintain all training program evaluation documentation including:

1. objectives defined during the analysis phase (as well as business objectives and how they are related to training objectives)
2. baseline data (pre-data) collected prior to implementation of training
3. any data tracked by trainers or managers following training
4. evaluation results for trainer/trainee performance; program and training material content and implementation; and benefits - training, performance, and attitude benefits such as quality improvements, enhanced productivity, and increased job satisfaction.

Maintain and document areas of training program obsolescence, new training needs (such as those required due to advancing technology or new products, equipment, processes), opportunities to streamline to make more cost effective, and organizational changes that affect training.

Maintain all documents that help identify and link corporate goals and initiatives to future training.

And finally, the maintenance plan should include a process for maintaining visibility to ensure continuing support and expansion - updates to senior management, newsletters, etc. to highlight benefits of the training, etc.

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