Study Hall
Study Hall
2025 All rights reserved
This is where the learning begins. In my last ten years as a contract trainer, IEEE 1657, the Recommended Practice for all standby battery-related training, has been my go-to reference document. In part because the authors are among the most knowledgeable people in the industry that I know. The original course structure was based on a multi-year combination of classroom learning and on-the-job training with experienced supervision. Based on all that experience, the committee determined that there were three levels of knowledge and experience required to carry out all the possible battery-related tasks. Regretably, as with every other skill-based career, that level of workforce knowledge required for on-the-job training no longer exists. The objective of The Battery Campus is to create a cloud-based environment where both the education and our experience can create the knowledgeable technicians and supervisors we need to ensure the reliability of that power system of last resort.
As we know from our basic education from Kindergarten through Middle and High School, students learn best when they are together in a class and have a similar level of knowledge about the subject. To achieve this, the Battery Campus has created three separate training communities that support the outline curriculum for levels 1, 2, and 3. Within each community, the students will have access to a collection of micro-lessons called Battery Bytes. Each battery byte will be focused on a specific task that the student will be expected to work on. There are three specific parts to each micro lesson the first is "WHAT AM I GOING TO BE DOING" or " WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW,", the second is "WHY DO WE NEED TO DO THIS" or WHY AM I LEARNING THIS" and the third is "HOW DO WE USE WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED TO COMPLETE THE TASK". Using this approach rather than taking a 45-minute lesson of which only a part will be applicable, the student can spend no more than ten minutes and be up to speed before they work on the task. This ability to learn as you go is why membership of the community is for one year. Then order to In order to provide the knowledgeable human that is so important in the learning process, each week in each community, an instructor will conduct a ZOOM call in which all students will have the ability to ask questions about anything they have been working on. Finally, each community will have a group chat capability to foster the integration of the students
There is nothing worse than being asked to help with something with which you have no familiarity. The focus of the Level 1 course is to ensure that students are introduced to the fundamentals of Installation, Maintenance, and Operation of batteries within a standby power system. As a result, the Battery Bytes micro lessons will focus more on the What and Why, with a lesser focus on the How.
As the Level 1 students do not have the knowledge to undertake a task without supervision, the objective at Level 2 is to expand on the fundamentals in order to understand the changes that take place during a battery's life and the impact this can have both operationally and on employee safety. At Level 2, the Battery Bytes will have a greater focus on the Why and will be separated into two streams, one for installation and one for maintenance. When a student has demonstrated competence in one of the streams, they can progress to Level 3.
One of the reasons for the loss of on-site experienced personnel in specialist areas has been the use of a centralized subject matter expert rather than developing that on-site capability. This does not work when a key element of battery maintenance is a visual inspection. The objective at Level 3 is to create a generation of knowledgeable supervisors who can assume responsibility for day-to-day battery management.