How Pinnacle Series supports project managers by ensuring projects stay on time and on budget.
Project managers across the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Manufacturing industries (AEC & Manufacturing) face a similar conundrum. Tight deadlines and the need to keep hours billable limits the time available for ongoing employee training. But without training, employees make more errors or spend more time searching for reliable information on their own.
Beyond this, there is a growing demand for deeper insight into employee skills. In an era of big data, too many project managers still find themselves missing key information that could help them assign projects and put teams together. The skills data they’re looking for may be within reach—provided they’ve chosen the right learning platform.
Pinnacle Series has long been the solution of choice for BIM and CAD managers seeking to upskill their teams. But there are ample reasons for project managers to take note as well. Here are our top four.
1. Standardized training = Reducing project errors and rework.
Companies develop internal processes for a reason. On a typical project, numerous team members need to collaborate on files, regulatory standards must be met, and quality assurance protocols must be followed. New hires who do not understand the reason behind following certain steps or processes may be tempted to skip a step, with consequences that may not be noticed until far down the line when correcting the mistake is far more costly.
Pinnacle Series offers customizable workflows for software packages so that a user handling a project in one of the leading design programs, such as Revit or SolidWorks, can follow each step. Project managers can have greater confidence that their work is on track because the risk of rework has been lowered.
2. Trusted source for troubleshooting = Improving work quality and efficiency.
When software questions arise, many workers in the AEC & Manufacturing industries end up looking up videos on YouTube or asking a forum on Reddit for help. The answers they find may be out of date, may be specific to the standards of another country, or may not follow industry best practice—and that’s before you account for the time they lose hunting for the right search queries in the first place.
Pinnacle Series puts libraries of reliable, up-to-date content at your users’ fingertips. Employees will spend less time scouring the Internet and more time focused on their tasks. With user-friendly search filters, workers can find the tutorial they need quickly, and even bookmark and save relevant training for future reference.
3. Skills assessment = Assigning the right people to the right projects.
One of the trickier roles of a project manager is knowing which employees to place on what projects. On the one hand, they have James, a relatively young employee with fewer overall years of experience but who started with the firm directly out of college and has learned the company way from day one. On the other hand, they have Edith, a relatively new hire with significantly more industry experience, but who is new to internal processes. How do their skill sets align, and which will be more appropriate for this particular project? If they work together, will their strengths balance each other? Or will they have overlapping knowledge gaps that could lead to problems down the road?
The beauty of skill assessments is that they take the guesswork out of questions like these. KnowledgeSmart, the skill assessment tool built into Pinnacle Series, not only collects skills data, but leverages that data to set users onto a learning path designed to close any gaps in their knowledge. Over time, project managers can see not only what skills employees have, but how much training they’ve put toward closing those gaps and building their competencies.
4. Microlearning and custom paths = Optimizing time for skills development.
Many AEC & Manufacturing companies have minimal time allotted for official employee training, and expect workers to learn on the job. But an architect trying to learn how to use a feature in SketchUp or a construction worker struggling to set up a project in Procore still needs time to solve their problem. And, while dedicated time in a training course may offer an intense burst of information, applying that learning in the moment often relies on smaller, hyper-relevant training accessible in their moment of need.
This is microlearning in a nutshell, and it’s exactly what Pinnacle Series enables. While KnowledgeSmart can place learners on a path that pinpoints their training needs, Pinnacle Series makes it easy for learners to consume that learning as a natural part of their workflow. As a project manager, you’ll watch your team grow more qualified and assured without jeopardizing the timeline of your project.
Pinnacle Series turns a lose–lose into a win–win for project managers and employees alike.
Without Pinnacle Series, employees miss out on essential skills development, while much of the time they do spend searching for answers is consumed by sifting through low-quality materials that may not be offering the solutions they need. Meanwhile, project managers are faced with costs and delays that emerge unpredictably, with limited opportunities to preempt problems before they become major concerns.
Pinnacle Series changes the game for both parties. Employees are able to lean on a trusted resource whenever they need to resolve a problem. Microlearning enables them to train on the job, improving the quality of their work and providing a record of their growth. Meanwhile, project managers can identify gaps in training early, allowing them to better assign projects while also ensuring employees have time to learn and improve from trusted resources.
Finally, the data gathered by Pinnacle Series only grows richer over time, helping project managers review the history of their team’s skill assessments and training progress. Layered with data from other sources, such as project health or years with the company, it can deliver detailed insight into their team strengths.
If you would like to learn more about how Pinnacle Series can lighten your project management load, contact us today. We would be happy to set up a demo of our project and show how it can become your complete elearning solution.
