Escape Rooms, Competitions Build Engagement in Portsmouth Site Training

PIKETON, Ohio — A radiation protection training supervisor has generated excitement in employee learning at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management’s Portsmouth Site with the help of life-size board games, interactive competitions, and escape rooms where employees solve puzzles that require calculations, procedures and job knowledge to solve.

Leslie Koehler draws from her unique training method to enhance the radiation control technician training experience.

“The reason these exercises are making a difference is simple: it’s engagement,” Koehler said. “It’s been my experience that lecture-based training is minimally effective. It doesn’t matter how much an instructor knows if they can’t find a way to keep the class engaged and focused.”

Due to a rigorous training and qualification program, the site has a separate training department for all radiation protection personnel qualified at the technician and supervisor levels.

Koehler, along with Radiation Protection Training Manager Lorrie Graham and training instructor Scott Henry, are revolutionizing that training.

“It’s great to see our employees not only looking for ways to enhance our safety onsite, but also taking ownership of their programs to make improvements for everyone,” Portsmouth Site Lead Jeremy Davis said. “The new radiation protection training activities are sparking a new interest in learning and helping teams focus on safety.”

Most of these training elements involve some friendly competition.

“Creating a level of competition adds a level of engagement by adding a time element or splitting them into teams,” Koehler said of the training participants. “Without engagement, the information presented is often lost before the class is even over. But with the new interactive training, the radiation protection technicians are more involved and retain more information.”

In addition to the interactive training, the training team has developed preparation sessions for those ready to advance their careers by taking the oral board exams needed for higher levels of radiation control technician, including junior to senior, lead and supervisor.

“The team recognized that while the candidates often know or understand the content, sometimes they struggle when it comes to how to best communicate the material,” said Koehler. “With the prep sessions, we work with them to discover the communication style that best suits their knowledge and personality.”

Since the introduction of the new oral board training, the success rate of radiation control technicians passing the test has jumped from 74% to 95.6%.

“The oral board prep process is working. The interactive activities that have been incorporated into our continuing training schedule are working,” said Graham. “We have received a proficiency rating from a recent DOE assessment, and that is an accomplishment.”

-Contributor: Cindi Remy