VMRC Design Document

Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community

Occupational Safety and Health Administration Safety Programs: Fire Extinguishers and Portable Power Tools

Alex Lee Jones, Sarah Peachey, Shana Ryman

7 February 2013

Background

For our design project, we will be partnering with Joshua Mathews-Ailsworth and the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC). VMRC, located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, offers independent living, assisted living, and nursing home communities, as well as home care, wellness programs and rehab services for seniors in the area.

VMRC employs over 400 people in the following departments: Activities, Dining Services, Office/Clerical, Building & Grounds, Housekeeping/Laundry, Registered Medication Aide, Certified Nursing Assistant, Licensed/Registered Nurse (LPN/RN). For our project, we are redesigning two specific training programs: Fire safety and portable power tools. The power tool training program we will create is specifically for the Building & Grounds crew, while the Fire safety training module will be used by all employees.

Needs Analysis

Currently, VMRC is training their employees on fire safety and portable power tools through in-person, instructor led training. Joshua approached us with the need to revamp the current training sessions. Due to a lack of space and resources, VMRC is looking to change the current training session from in person, instructor-led sessions to virtual, self-regulated training modules that employees will take on computers on VMRC’s campus.

Joshua wishes to create computer training sessions that cover the same information that is currently being taught. The self-guided sessions should be no more than 30 minutes long and should be easy to understand, because of a lack of computer skills that exists among VMRC employees. Additionally, we need to create a quiz that assesses employees at the end of the training modules, so Joshua can see if they learned, and if they are ready to start working.

Learner and Context Analysis:
Target audience characteristics:
Fire Extingusiher

Fire extinguishers is an OSHA standard that covers all VMRC employees. They  have several very different divisions that make up the organization: Supportive Living (skilled nursing, assisted living, transitional care), Residential Living (which includes Dining), Marketing, Resource Stewardship (HR, IT, Environmental Services- Buildings & Grounds and Housekeeping & Laundry), and Life Enrichment. There are around 400 total employees, counting full-time and part-time positions. The organization has a higher female ratio. The age ranges vary across divisions from teens to retirement age. Most of the front-line positions at the organization require only a GED/high school diploma and some require a certification (such as a C.N.A.), but not a college degree. Most of our higher level supervisors or management level positions require at a minimum a bachelor’s degree. The two largest groups of employees are in Supportive Living (C.N.A.s, Shahbazim, and Nurses) and in Dining.

Age:	16-65
Education:	Mostly high school grad, some Bachelors and some certifications
Computer skills:	varies
gender:	mostly female
Attitudes:
Experience:

Tools
The tools program is specifically for the Buildings & Grounds staff. The B&G group at the moment is all male. There is also a lot of age variation there too, similar to the overall population, but the vast majority are at least in their 30s and many are older. A few are younger. The requirements for most positions are a high school diploma/GED. Certain certifications may be required for specialized skills

Age:	around 30
Education:	High shcool/GED
Computer skills:	minimal
gender:	male
Attitudes:
Experience:

Environmental analysis:

The instruction will take place in a computer lab setting at the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community. Learners will take the instruction individually with a headset.

Personas:

*	Jane is an Certified Nursing Assistant. She is around 40 years old, and has very little experience with computers. http://www.stjudenursingschool.com/cna.php
*	John on the groundskeeping staff at VMRC.He is about 30 years old. Has a GED and no experience with computers. http://inlandempire.jobing.com/company_profile.asp?i=4082

Instructional Goal

The instructional goal for the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community is to assure that the target audience is competent in fire extinguisher use and power tool safety.  The power tool training program is specifically for the Building & Grounds crew, while the Fire safety training module will be administered to all employees.

The fire safety seminar, which trains all employees on fire extinguisher training, reviews the pull, aim, squeeze and sweep (PASS) method.  The instructional design goal is to provide practical knowledge through attainable methods that employees can easily and quickly commit to memory.  Employees know how to react in a fire safety situation and can effectively use fire extinguisher equipment with confidence.  A short assessment shows if the instructional design goal has been met.

Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community administers the power tool training to the building and grounds crew only.  The instructional design goal is similar to the fire safety seminar instructional goal.  It is that the grounds crew will know how to use power tools with safety and that they are up to date on company rules.  A short assessment will prove if the grounds crew can successfully use power tools.

Content Analysis

In order to ensure that employees reach their respective instructional goals, we will create a short assessment at the end of each training module. The assessment will cover all material that is delivered and will show Joshua whether or not the employees attain the delivered information.

Joshua requires all employees to score at least an 80% on the assessment. If an employee scores lower than an 80%, he or she will have to work through the training module again. Joshua feels that an 80% will show him whether or not the employee is competent enough to handle his or her job, safely and correctly.