The focus on training has increased in recent years, and the security industry in particular has recognised that there must be an on-going commitment for significant investment in the education of installers at all levels.
Allied to this philosophy, installation companies know that there is an obligation to train staff but there must be a mechanism available through which they are able to react to new techniques in order to effectively deliver educational programmes.
Vocational training for security installers has existed for a number of years and NVQs have developed successfully through observations in the workplace, with distance learning qualifications. Nevertheless, there have always been calls for futuristic training to be more ‘alive’ and interactive, especially for installers.
After all, there must be an emphasis on practical working elements if it is to be a success and of benefit to those who must carry out the installations. We are being told that it is multi-media that can now make this possible, as we will be able to simulate security training in a classroom environment with this being accessed through CD-ROMs.
It is also said that customers are able to benefit from these measures because the whole training process using multimedia becomes more accessible to the candidate and it is easier to update new techniques. There will also be an ability to download course material from the Internet. SITO itself certainly promotes this new training concept and has taken the initiative to develop and pilot learning materials through its own established schemes, which link all sizes of training organisation.
However, the question remains as to how this can be carried through in practical training terms and in what ways can the installer benefit by making use of interactive materials with computer-simulated situations.
Computer-simulated installations
Using a PC screen and monitor we would be accessing animations, computer graphics, video images, drawings and related diagrams, together with audio to provide a realistic working environment. Through the keyboard and its normal controls and mouse, the idea of the package is to go through the course material in a way that enables us to perform functions very much as they are carried out in the real world.
We would be put in a position in which the visual elements of the screen and the audio interact with the PC user depending upon their answers to questions and the tasks placed before them. Perhaps we can cite an example from a training programme that could, for instance, apply to access control principles.
In the case of access control installations, the programme of events would start by showing how a system perimeter is made up of restraints such as barriers, doors or turnstiles that are bordered by structures such as walls and fences. By moving all of the options around, the candidate could establish the different levels of security ranging from low to high that would apply when the various restraints are used in relation to the different materials from which they are made.
The training programme could then move on to involve all of the electrical locking devices and invite the candidate to perform a number of wiring techniques to prove that they were familiar with the required cabling practices. The subject could be extremely broad and cover every established lock to include even the more diverse application of devices such as the electromagnet.
It may then expand its cover to detail all of the automation equipment employed in the opening and closing of moveable barriers and doors. By extending the subject to include the other system components – together with reading equipment and the access controllers and the ways that these are linked to a computer network – the training programme could involve a user with a multitude of installation practices and wiring techniques.
Practically easier
Unlike a traditional training programme, the interactive material would allow the student to carry out the practical elements of the installation more easily, including the wiring methods, and prompt the user via the visual and audio reactions of the screen.
This would be in response to correct or incorrect actions being input by the candidate. The user would be free to drag components around the screen, to answer prompts and respond to graphics on the board – such as barriers opening or doors closing – to illustrate that he or she had carried out tasks correctly.
In all cases, training programmes can be geared to making learning more fun, in the same way that computer games are intended and engineered. Therefore, in the portion of the programme that applies to reading equipment , the candidate could, for instance, be presented with a coded keypad and invited to find a PIN that enables a door to be unlocked.
The game could be made progressively harder by starting the exercise with, say, a one-digit PIN code and moving through to some ten digits. By introducing a reader with some keys that appear as dirty or worn, the candidate can use these observations to apply a little logic in aiding their efforts to find an authorised number.
The user could then illustrate the reasons for the maintenance of keys and what precautions should be taken to stop a potential intruder entering multiple numbers at random.
The subject could be concluded by asking how additional electronic security system components should be interconnected to the network to stop others benefiting from poorly maintained or inadequately installed support systems. The location of these parts and the interconnecting wiring should then be applied by detailing the cabling on to the security installation system environment as it appears on the screen.
Employing practices of this nature, the CD-ROM can prove of huge interest to installers because it brings in the operator functions of the different security systems and the problems that are associated with, and caused by, user error. The object is always to create interactivity in the training material, because it is this that helps the installer to remember features more easily.
In addition, instead of a candidate having to go at the same pace as the rest of the class, which could be either too slow or too fast, the individual is able to control the speed and timing of each computer-based training session. Therefore, installation engineers using the course can concentrate on key issues that best suit them on an individual basis. It has always been accepted that some installers cope more easily with installation techniques, whereas other engineers are more comfortable with fault-finding or introducing changes to system attributes and the programming of functions.
The interaction between the software package and the student involving the multi-media presentation and text can also track the installer’s feedback and progress. Weak spots can be identified and addressed by concentrating on certain aspects.
The installer has a further part to play because his comments and reaction to the programmes can very easily be input into the computer software. Therefore the training product can be quickly changed to reflect the ways in which the installers themselves want it progressively developed for the future.
These programmes can also embrace traditional training by invoking questions on subjects such as the calculation of electrical values and data, but by the installer inputting the information and figures onto the screen through the PC keyboard. When these calculations have been done, they can, in the practical sense, be verified by linking the cable runs to measuring instruments that appear as graphics alongside the drawings of the site simulations.
Therefore the values shown on the multimeter appearing on the TV screen can be compared with the theoretical figures that have been calculated. The installation site can come complete with the sizes of the protected areas being shown. If distances and areas appear on the screen it is easy to illustrate the working range of detection devices or the problems with equipment if cable runs are excessive.
Problem demos
It is equally possible to show malfunction of equipment caused by voltage drop or corruption of security system control equipment by using incorrect cable or overlooking certain necessary wiring practices. In addition, it is useful to prove that detectors can only perform efficiently within defined parameters.
This can then be amplified to show the candidate the ways in which installation problems can be solved, or to give instruction on a new approach to the whole subject. The interaction and feedback gives an immediate response so that the user is quickly instructed that a poor wiring practice has been put into effect.
Therefore, on the installation side, not only can we view problem areas and input theoretical data into the training course, but it becomes possible to obtain an immediate response from any simulated security system to confirm that the installation is satisfactory.
Allied to this, the candidate can look at the network from the viewpoint of the persons for whom the security system is actually being installed. This gives the installer the opportunity to pre-judge what reservations or worries a security system user may have.
A physical presence – almost
Through the setting up of a full network of a number of intruder, access control or CCTV environments, the candidate can computer-simulate every aspect associated with any of the applications. This extends through all of the equipment for control, monitoring or signalling, together with the power supplies and associated wiring.
It presents the installer with a range of networks and a chance to work with every part of the installation environment in a computer-simulated way. This includes an overview as to how the system works, shows the wiring technique and connection to each component and also demonstrates the problems that will occur if any incorrect practices are carried out.
Through this, the installer becomes familiar with the theory of systems and is given an instruction in a true, practical way. The interaction offered by multi-media certainly appears to be an ideal futuristic training package and a perfect starting point in the introduction of an installer to any of the three main security system disciplines.
We can surely conclude that computer-based training is as close as the installer can get to a real system without actually being there!
