Commercial Restroom Reflections: The Importance of Hands-on Training

Hands-on training goes a long way in the plumbing industry. It is the most effective means to simulate real-world conditions, providing professionals with examples of what they’ll see on the job.

With that in mind, Sloan is proud to launch its Training Center at its Franklin Park, Ill., headquarters later this summer to provide industry professionals with in-person training, while still providing existing online opportunities as well.

We sat down with Andrew Warnes, Sloan Director of Technical Training, to discuss the importance of in-person training, and what Sloan’s new Training Center will provide.

In what ways has hands-on training shown to be more impactful than virtual training?

Both can be very impactful. Online training is available 24/7/365 to everyone anywhere in the world and is great for those who want to drill down very quickly to a specific issue or product. It helps professionals get exactly what they need to know in order to deal immediately with a particular situation. Unfortunately, most people don’t retain that information for very long and they don’t learn how to deal with a wide variety of potential situations. It’s superficial training in that regard. Hands-on training tends to be better for memory retention and most tradespersons and technical professional learn better by “doing” things by hand anyway. Hands-on training helps prepare professionals to do the right thing, the right way, at the right time, from memory.  There is also the benefit of interacting and learning with technical experts and peers in ways that online training just can’t compete with. Both modes of training are great – but when it comes to complex, nuanced issues with many variables, hands-on wins hands down every time.

Is hands-on training more important now than in years past due to the growing number of younger and inexperienced plumbers and installers?

Yes, it's more important for two reasons. First, you've got the two largest generations of facility maintenance professionals aging out—the Baby Boomers and Gen Xers. They're being replaced by younger generations with less experience.  Secondly, plumbing products are becoming more complex and interrelated. Specifiers typically don’t just select a faucet or a flush valve on their own, but they choose products that work together, like Sloan’s AER-DEC® Integrated Sink System that combines faucets, soap dispensers, and hand dryers. Many products are also enabled with Internet of Things (IoT) technology and connect to a network. Because of that complexity and connectivity, even if somebody has 30 or 40 years of experience, chances are they will have little to no experience with these types of newer devices. Thus, hands-on training serves two purposes: to bring newer professionals up to speed and introduce new and experienced professionals to products they may not be familiar with.

What type of feedback did you receive from the 2024 pilot program?

We asked people to provide a review of their experience with the pilot program on a scale of 1-10. When it came to the usefulness of the training, we got a 10 out of 10 across the board for every single person that we trained. We also asked if they were likely to use the training they had received when they got back into the field, and that received a response of “yes” from 100% of attendees. When we asked attendees if they would recommend this training to other people who are responsible for the service, maintenance, distribution, or the sale of Sloan products, that also got a response of 10 out of 10 across the board. Overall, our scores came back perfect, and that was unprompted.

After the leader of a facilities group attends Sloan’s Hands-On Training sessions, will they be equipped to train the rest of the team back home?

Yes, absolutely. It would be unrealistic to expect the 500,000 plumbers in the United States to all come to the Sloan Training Center in Franklin Park, Ill. So, we are taking a “train-the-trainer” approach. We're bringing in the key people, including plumbers, facility and property managers, distributors, rep agencies, and more. We’re providing them with the course materials, list of training supplies, and presentation slides of the training so that they can take those materials home and deliver the same training courses to the other plumbers, facility managers, etc. at their company and even beyond

As the most widely specified and installed plumbing product manufacturer in commercial restrooms around the world, Sloan knows that there are a lot of people who need information in a timely manner that’s accurate, updated, and delivered in ways that are convenient for them. Our “train-the-trainer” solution helps to achieve that goal.

Will any of the hands-on courses also be available online?

Everything, with the exception of the most complex technical operations, is going to be available online. There are several things that will be exclusive for in-person training, including elements involving regulatory, legal, or liability concerns, and potentially catastrophic conditions. We want people to have the brain muscle memory to deal with those so that they can walk into a situation and handle it in a way that is going to be safe, effective and compliant.

How does Sloan’s new Training Center reflect the company’s commitment to supporting its installer base?

People are more comfortable installing, servicing, recommending, and selling products that they are intimately familiar with. If you don't know what you're explaining or supporting, then you're less likely to promote it. So, we recognize that those concepts are related. If people are more familiar, then they're going to specify Sloan products and recommend them to others more often.

Sloan parts are already available at more than 10,000 locations throughout the United States, which is part of our commitment. Providing necessary training so that people can properly implement repairs, become more effective at what they do, and better earn their living is part of our commitment as well. Sloan is facilitating all of these aspects.

Are there any incentives in place for attendees of Sloan’s Hands-On Training Center to pursue additional certifications?

Yes, we have developed a certificate to recognize individuals who have completed training to become a Sloan Master Service Technician. Our tech department will begin recommending Sloan Certified Master Technicians for important work. We will have a regular rotation of training courses each week, but they won’t be made available for everyone. Level 100 through 300 are open to any skill-level, but level 400 courses will be reserved for Master Service Technicians.

What can guests expect to find at Sloan’s Hands-On Training Center?

The best way that we can train people is to immerse them in real world conditions. And what we've done is created a Training Center that is truly “wet”. There's dry training and there's wet training. Dry training is when you take something apart and put it back together. But wet training simulates any situation that participants might find in the field—flooding the floor, spraying the wall, covering the ceiling, getting wet from head to toe, and more. And to do that, in some instances we’re using parts that have been vandalized, improperly utilized, or damaged during training to simulate real world situations with real world consequences. There's really no better way to train.