IADC’s Facilitator Certification course has been updated to include the “human factors” (i.e., crew resource management) content for instructors seeking approval to teach the new WellSharp® Plus course, which integrates the human factors content into the technical well control scenarios.
The full 5-day course comprises 3 days of training on how to facilitate adult learning and 2 days of training on strategies for delivering and assessing content specific to the WellSharp Plus course. Attendees can take all or part of the course to satisfy the following requirements:
- The full course satisfies the basic “train-the-trainer” requirements for WellSharp and WellSharp Plus instructors.
- The 3-day portion of the course satisfies the train-the-trainer requirement for WellSharp instructors only. However, IADC encourages all WellSharp instructors to take the full course in order to have the option to teach WellSharp Plus in the future.
- The 2-day portion of the course can be taken only by instructors who have previously obtained their IADC Facilitator Certification and are seeking approval to teach the new WellSharp Plus course.
Although the course was originally designed for well control instructors, any instructor in the upstream oil and gas industry is eligible to register for the course. Technical well control knowledge is not a prerequisite for the course.
The 3-day Facilitator course—which includes adult learning principles, the experiential learning cycle, how to guide debriefing discussions, and how to assess team-based learning—can benefit all instructors seeking strategies to help their learners to grasp, retain, and apply what they are learning. The 2-day Human Factors part of the course—comprising content related to situation awareness, communication, decision-making, teamwork, leadership, and performance-shaping factors—is intended for any instructor aiming to integrate, deliver, and assess human factors content, particularly in the context of technical well control training.
To register for the course, email Facilitator@iadc.org for a registration form. The course will be offered in Houston on the following dates in 2020:
- February 10–14
- May 11–15
- July 13–17
At least one course—in the spring or fall of 2020—will be offered in Latin America. Another course will be delivered in Dubai. Those dates will be announced in January. Additional course dates and locations will be offered, as needed. Email Facilitator@iadc.org to request additional dates.
Facilitated learning methods have been proven to maximize learning by capitalizing on the human brain’s natural process of learning through experiences, which involves the learner interacting with the subject and then “debriefing”—reflecting on and drawing conclusions about the subject through a guided discussion. During this process, the instructor is the “guide” rather than the “lecturer.” Studies show that traditional lecture is, in general, the least effective way to learn. Therefore, this course provides attendees with a multitude of strategies that promote learner engagement.
For the Human Factors course, IADC solicited the help of human factors experts from multiple industries to create an expedited approach to instructor development. Although some of the content is in the context of well control (WellSharp Plus), any instructor integrating human factors and technical content in the upstream O&G can benefit from this 2-day course. The 3-day IADC Facilitator course is a prerequisite.
The new WellSharp Plus course is characterized as follows:
- An alternative to WellSharp® for experienced personnel upon renewing their credentials.
- A team-based well control course that emphasizes complex well control scenarios and the human factors that contribute to solutions.
- A method for learning through problem-solving in the context of real-world case studies.
WellSharp Plus is different from WellSharp in the following ways:
- Rig crews may take the course together.
- Participants must qualify to gain entrance.
- Content is delivered through facilitated experiential learning.
- Participants learn from each other while working through real case studies.
Training providers are currently building WellSharp Plus programs as the industry embraces research-based best practices in regard to initial learning and knowledge retention, as well as the role of human factors in operational safety.
