Ahead of the Curve

Interchange Planning, Operational Analyses and Geometric Design Course with Joel P. Leisch was a Great Success

Transoft Solutions was pleased to sponsor the 3-day professional development course, which was held on January 10-12. The training was designed for for transportation planners, traffic engineers and highway designers, and instructed by Joel P. Leisch, an internationally recognized expert.

The course was held at Transoft Solutions corporate headquarters with attendees from across Canada. Being instructed by Mr. Leisch was a big draw for attendees because of his extensive knowledge and expertise. He has had more than 40 years of experience as a consultant to 26 Departments of Transportation in the U.S., the USDOT, and transportation agencies in Israel, Japan, Canada, Greece and New Zealand. Mr. Leisch is also the author of the ITE, Freeway and Interchange Geometric Design Handbook.

 

 

Here is some of the general feedback we received from the attendees:

 "Excellent course material, delivered by knowledgeable instructor…very good value for money."

 "Awesome presenter…”

 "Good course overall with a lot of usable information..."

 Here is what some had to say when asked if they would recommend this course to others:

 “Yes. Take advantage of access to a leading mind in the transportation field…”

 “Yes, it was a very comprehensive course for anyone working on interchanges.”

 “Yes. Great topics, lots of case studies, expert instructor.”

Transoft would like to thank Joel P. Leisch, all of those who attended and our team here at Transoft that helped plan and organize this event.

 

Measuring Your Investment in Training

Sometimes the numbers just get in the way

Return on investment (ROI) is a measure of the monetary benefits obtained by an organization over a specified time period in return for a given investment. Put in the point of view of employee training, ROI is the extent to which the benefits (outputs) of training exceed the costs (inputs) of what the training involves. Seems easy enough to calculate what your ROI would be for the case of training, simply plug your numbers into the equation and analyze what pops out.

But how do you effectively measure something with intangible outcomes (at least in the short term)? It's easy to include all the costs that go into training (i.e. development of courses, equipment and material expenses, the training program itself) but sometimes the benefits or returns aren't as apparent. This is something many organizations all over the world struggle with. And unfortunately, training for many is seen as an expense and not so much as an investment. There are however, certain areas in which the benefits of employee training can be ascertained in a qualitative view without the need of strict formulas and numbers.

Labor Savings
Savings on labor savings occur where, as a result of the training, less effort is needed to achieve current levels of output. It must be understood that savings means there is a reduction in the amount of labor applied to a particular job, not by using some newly available time to accomplish further output on the same job. Labor savings will only happen if the labor applied to a job can really be reduced, whether this comes as a result of redundancies, transfers of staff to new positions or re-allocations of work. Some examples of labor savings include:

• Reduced duplication of work and effort
• Reduction of mistakes on the job
• Less time spent correcting those mistakes
• Quicker access to information and ways to effectively use the gathered information to produce

Productivity increases
When training enables people to achieve more than what they normally would have done without it then the advantages are readily transparent. The organization experiences the desired result of more output with the same amount of personnel. Examples of productivity increases include:

• Improved methodology reducing the effort required to produce the same amount of work
• Increased skill levels which will lead to faster work
• Greater levels of motivation which in turn can mean increased effort

Other cost savings
Cost savings can be achieved in a many number of ways, not just through savings in labor, but in other areas as well. Examples include:

• Fewer system crashes and/or breakdowns, resulting in lower maintenance costs
• Lower staff turnover resulting in lower recruitment and training costs

Transoft Solutions Expands its Training Programs with the Launch of Live Web-based Training

New Web-Based Training Allows New Transoft Solutions Users to Have All of the Benefits of Instructor Led Class Room Training at Their Workstations.

Read the full press release here.