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Plant training comes of age

Emerson’s Interactive Plant Environment combines classroom instruction with real-life plant equipment so students can learn by doing, promoting better retention of new skills.

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As manufacturers turn their attention to preparing the digital workforce of the future, training is key. Toward that end, Emerson this week opened its Interactive Plant Environment (IPE) within its Rosemount manufacturing facility in Shakopee, Minn. Emerson executives led tours of the IPE as part of this week’s Emerson Global Users Exchange in Minneapolis, and the first classes were open to attendees.

Occupying just a small piece of the Shakopee plant’s 500,000 square feet, the IPE has space for modern classroom training right next to a two-floor plant environment featuring tanks, controllers, actuators, motors, valves, mixers, lighting, software and more. Students can get up from their classroom seats, don personal protective equipment (hard hat, goggles and steel shoe caps) and go see how what they just learned works in a real plant.

The hands-on, immersive approach radically increases the students’ retention of the material, according to Steve Tooley, global education manager, Rosemount measurement educational services. “When you learn by doing, you have muscle memory of how to do something,” he said. “Skills don’t fade as quickly as with a regular class.” Instructors are certified to train on Emerson solutions.

Immersion drives better learning outcomes

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