Fairbanks Scales' Story

Kansas City, Mo. headquartered Fairbanks Scales Inc. provides industrial weighing equipment and service through a network of Fairbanks sales representatives and distributors. As the oldest scale company in the U.S., Fairbanks continues to break new ground in scale design, setting standards in weighing equipment and systems engineering. 

Challenge

Fairbanks was losing customers because its safety record had slipped. Although Fairbanks had people who oversaw training for the company, it never had a safety manager for its 500-employee workforce.

The learning management system in place at Fairbanks had become outdated. “With a clunky UI,” according to one Fairbanks manager, “employees had trouble finding their required training.”

Fairbanks used SharePoint as a repository for its sales information. So the Fairbanks training team wanted an LMS that could integrate with the Microsoft SharePoint document management platform. 

Results

Since implementing the Accord LMS, Fairbanks Scales has moved from 45 percent of its workforce completing required safety training to 90 percent. The Accord LMS has played a big part in that uptick in completions because of the modern UI and how easy it is use. At the same time, Fairbanks also began using gamification, bonuses and advancement to successfully incentivize the training.

Because of increased safety training, Fairbanks has reduced its annual spend on workforce injuries by 60 percent. The company has also seen its safety index restored to the level desired, along with a quarter over quarter drop in safety issues during the last three years.

“Clients that wouldn’t allow us on their sites because of safety infractions, have welcomed us back," adds McGuinty. "People want their scales to be accurate and safety is important. And Accord is definitely one of the things that has helped improve our safety rating.”