Pantex Nuclear Weapons Plant Selects Plateau to Manage Mission-Critical Training

Department of Energy's Pantex Plant uses Plateau 4 LMS to Consolidate Training on One Platform, Comply with the Most Stringent Regulations and Quality Controls

ARLINGTON, VA September 23, 2002 BWXT Pantex, contractor at the Department of Energy's Pantex Plant, has selected the Plateau 4 Learning Management System (LMS) to manage and deliver all of its mission-critical learning and improve quality control by automating training procedures for its 3,200 employees.

Managed and operated by BWXT Pantex for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, Pantex Plant is responsible for safely and securely maintaining the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and developing, testing and fabricating high explosives.

There is no other industry or business that focuses more on training, safety and quality control, said Ed Cohen, Plateau's Chief Technology Officer. Everyone selected to work on nuclear explosives at Pantex Plant is screened, trained, tested, and certified for a specific task. Each employee must receive approximately 1,000 hours of training before being certified to work on nuclear explosives.

By using Plateau 4 Learning Management System (LMS) to manage all of its classroom and Web-based training, BWXT Pantex will ensure that its employees are up to date on their training, including training and operating procedures that have been revised. Every training event BWXT Pantex conducts will be fully tracked by Plateau 4 LMS with secure, time-stamped audit trails. These audit trails can be retrieved instantly, allowing Pantex training administrators to give regulators a comprehensive view of the plant's training regimen.

Plateau 4 LMS is replacing a legacy system that was difficult to audit and incapable of delivering training to employees. Pantex Plant training administrators will use Plateau 4 LMS to deliver safety related refresher training through more than 40 e-Learning courses. Plateau 4 LMS also will manage all classroom, laboratory and on-the-job training, creating a single platform for every learning activity in the facility. When a training procedure changes, Plateau 4 LMS automatically finds all workers affected and alerts them by email, ensuring all certified workers are up to date on requirements. The system gives employees a grace period decided on by administrators to complete the revised task. Pantex Plant is integrating Plateau 4 LMS with its PeopleSoft human resources system so that employees will be automatically given Web-based training development plans based on their job title and required tasks.

Pantex Plant is the second Department of Energy weapons facility to select Plateau 4 LMS. Kansas City Plant, a defense systems manufacturing plant operated by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and & Technologies for the DOE, has successfully implemented Plateau 4 to automate its manufacturing training processes and enhance quality control.

We are very proud to be working with BWXT Pantex, which has to meet the strictest levels of quality control as it works to safeguard our nation, said Paul Sparta, Plateau's CEO and Chairman. Plateau Systems has proven its ability to manage mission-critical learning in the most rigorous training environments in the world. Whether learning is critical for safety, quality control or pure business performance, Plateau 4 LMS provides a flexible, scalable platform to align learning to that unique business need.

About Plateau: Plateau's enterprise-class software manages all of an organization's learning and knowledge on one scalable platform. Plateau 4 Learning Management System (LMS) is built on Web-based J2EE/EJB architecture, and is the engine behind the largest e-Learning initiatives in the corporate, non-profit and government markets. Plateau 4 LMS automates the management and delivery of online and classroom learning, organizational knowledge and competencies for clients including the American Red Cross, Motorola, Union Pacific and the U.S. Air Force. Plateau is listed as a leader in LMS evaluations from Gartner Inc. and META Group. The company is headquartered in Arlington, VA.

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