Basic studies also for external participants: By means of an Internet-based training concept, BEKO TECHNOLOGIES enables knowledge transfer to its staff worldwide. The programmes of the online academy are also accessible now as an e-Learning course to non-BEKO personnel: an interactive knowledge pool, for engineers, universities, students, and compressed-air users.

Monique Abeels-Koch, head of the BEKO Academy and managing partner of BEKO TECHNOLOGIES GmbH, explains the central idea of the concept: "The  purpose of the academy is to be able to learn independently anywhere in the world and at a time convenient to the learner."
Knowledge transfer for employees, customers and users

The compressed-air system provider is active worldwide with 15 branch of-fices where it employs nearly 300 staff members – with an upward trend. This vital development made increasingly greater demands on the "comprehensive" education and further education of the personnel and on the need for informa-tion for customers and their employees.

It was found that the training courses, initially planned as regular in-class lec-tures, did not guarantee the required learning efficiency. Different levels of knowledge, long journeys by the international participants and special re-quirements of their home markets complicated the learning program. Individ-ual training sessions, in turn, proved to be less efficient than group sessions, as the motivating aspect of joint learning was missing.

"After we had realised this", says Monique Abeels-Koch, "We have been work-ing full-speed on the development of a new training system." To begin with, the entire compressed-air technology and product knowledge to be imparted was compiled. This huge mountain was structured in the next step, divided into several degrees of difficulty and these assigned to the different degrees of knowledge of the "trainees".

In this manner the BEKO Education Centre (BEC) developed a  modular course of studies which, step by step, leads to new learning levels. Finally, this company knowledge and BEKO TECHNOLOGIES training activities were networked throughout the world via the World Wide Web.

This was the birth of the BEKO Academy as an online platform. The training program of the BEC was expanded to "Blended Learning" - a well-balanced mixture of online and real-life elements.

Freely-available standard work of compressed-air technology

Starting point of the web-based learning section is an introductory online course which is subdivided into 12 topic modules. This course imparts the es-sential basic knowledge of compressed-air technology and is the only one in this sector offering such complex knowledge.

It is obvious indeed that, from the first to the last scene of the interactive online introductory course, scores of experts in their field were involved, including lecturing specialists, film designers, image creators, text creators and the speaker. In this way, a compressed-air compendium was created that satisfies all criteria to become a standard work of compressed-air technology at inter-company level.

Online course is available to all prospective students

BEKO TECHNOLOGIES has already cleared the way: since the beginning of the year, the online course entitled "Basics of Compressed-Air Technology" is also available to interested candidates.

The course addresses, for example, engineering and planning offices, stu-dents of technology, apprentices of technical professions, managers and em-ployees in companies using compressed air, teachers, professional schools, etc. The public training program offered by the BEKO Education Centre pro-vides ideal access to the complex field of compressed-air processing and condensate management to all of them.

The learning targets of the interactive online course are:
•    To understand air and, above all, compressed air as a medium,
•    To get insight into the physical processes which are connected with the compression of air,
•    To understand why it is necessary to reduce the air humidity, particle and oil contaminants in the compressed air,
•    To understand the effects of efficient discharge and processing of compressed-air condensates, and
•    To learn how to implement this as efficiently as possible.

The comprehensive training course consists of 12 topic modules which are subdivided into up to 25 interactive individual screens. Each of them ad-dresses a separate learning step which is animated by numerous interactive action possibilities.

An interaction element can be an illustrated test question, a small "excursion" into a detail or an animation. Sometimes there are virtual objects or switches that need to be moved to initiate processes.

Simulation games in the virtual compressed-air station

The best example of the "game effect" of the program is the "Air Station Simu-lator", a virtual compressed-air station.

In this module, the course participant receives a concrete planning task: for the operation of compressed-air screwdrivers, a customer requires general shop air of 2.4.2. quality in accordance with the ISO 8573-1 standard. On the screen, the compressed-air processing components in a virtual plant need to be arranged in such a manner that the required quality is achieved. Besides the compressor, refrigeration dryer, a compressed-air reservoir, a fine filter, a universal filter and a water separator are available.

These individual components need to be dragged to the correct position within the compressed-air plant using the mouse. They can be placed, moved and exchanged arbitrarily. In addition, the compressed-air quality can be measured at all components of the composition by means of a virtual measuring device. Having decided in favour of one configuration, the learner clicks on "Done" and receives a detailed explanation regarding his correct or incorrect planning.

Final test and personalised certificate

At the beginning, the simulation game in the Air Station Simulator may be rather a matter of luck. After having worked through the entire course how-ever, it will no longer be a problem. This is possible due to the 12 modules of the course which are entitled as follows:

•    Compressed air: it drives almost everything
•    What air is all about
•    Inside of the compressor
•    Compressed-air treatment: filtration
•    Humidity. Never to be neglected
•    Compressed-air treatment: refrigeration drying
•    Compressed-air treatment: membrane drying
•    Compressed-air treatment: adsorption drying
•    The best dryer to meet the requirements
•    Avoiding energy loss
•    The most efficient way to drain condensate
•    Condensate treatment that never fails

The modules are interspersed with four interim tests to briefly recap in a light-hearted manner what has been learnt so far. By means of up to six animated yes-no statements with detailed feedback, it can be ascertained whether eve-rything has been understood correctly or whether individual topics should be repeated.

The crowning finale of the online course is an intensive know-how check with thirty quite tricky problems. They test the entire knowledge imparted in the course of studies in random order, providing three possible answers for each question.

Only those who pass this final test successfully will have access to another functional module, by means of which a personalised certificate can be gener-ated and printed out.

Demo version online available

Those who want to register for the course, "Basics of Compressed-Air Tech-nology" online course are requested to send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., the address of the BEKO Education Centre. Or use the contact on the BEKO-homepage at www.beko.de or bekotechnologies.com. Alternatively call us on 01527 575778 for pricing and more information. In addition, a very informative demo version of the course is online available at www.beko-academy.de.