Reference: KUKA – success story with cimoio
KUKA is a global automation corporation with approximately 15,000 employees worldwide. At the same time, the company is headquartered in Augsburg, Germany, and operates internationally.
As one of the world’s leading suppliers of intelligent automation solutions, KUKA offers everything from a single source. Therefore, the portfolio includes robots, cells, fully automated systems, as well as comprehensive training programs.
These trainings cover operation and programming, as well as electrical and mechanical servicing. While KUKA plans all trainings centrally, they are organized locally at different locations. Since the end of 2015, this process has been managed with the cimoiobasis module, combined with selected extensions.
This project was honoured by the eLearning Journal with the Award 2024 in the “Project Management” category. The jury’s judgement:
In the longstanding collaboration between KUKA and STL GmbH, a digital learning platform was developed that is accessible online around the clock and was integrated worldwide in a systematically planned process. The integration with the internal IT systems of all KUKA colleges worldwide simplifies the administrative process and makes it significantly more time-efficient. The new system turns the global KUKA Colleges into modern learning institutions that are in a constant process of growth and change. Despite the changes in both the IT system world and the growing demands of learners in a constantly evolving working world, continuous optimisation and improvement remain a central focus and constant companion in the further course of the project. However, the introduction of the new system and the seamless interfaces provide a solid foundation on which future changes can be built. Due to the successful implementation of the previous ideas and the continuous improvements, the jury presents the eLearning AWARD 2024 in the “Project Management” category.
Testimonial
Thanks to the KUKA LMS – based on cimoio – our customers now have the possibility to book trainings worldwide at any day and any time convenient for them. Thus a larger part of the booking business has been automated and we have more time for internal optimization of our resource usage.
Challenge
In 2014, KUKA decided to replace its existing LMS for KUKA Colleges and Personnel Development in the DACH region. At that time, product-related training already relied on centralized training products and standardized processes. However, these processes were still distributed across several different systems.
Therefore, the new LMS was intended to be rolled out as a global standard. It was planned for use in more than 20 KUKA Colleges worldwide, as well as for Personnel Development. At the same time, procedural links between training processes and the existing IT landscape had to be considered.
Furthermore, KUKA wanted to ensure flexible adaptation during the rollout phase. Thus, standard processes needed adjustment to country-specific requirements. In addition, internationalization had to support national languages and local character sets.
Regarding data storage, training information for Personnel Development needed clear separation. Meanwhile, KUKA Colleges train customers and employees in mixed groups. As a result, each group only accesses information relevant to its role.
Solution
In 2015, the requirements for Personnel Development and the KUKA Colleges were implemented successfully. By the end of 2015, the system and the online catalog went live.
Over the following four years, Personnel Development and KUKA Colleges in 24 countries were integrated into the system and catalog. For each college, a gap analysis identified deviations from standard processes and IT systems. Based on this, country-specific solutions were developed to address individual requirements.
In addition, a client system was implemented to separate customer training data from Personnel Development data. Moreover, STL GmbH adapted the online catalog to the KUKA corporate design, ensuring consistency with kuka.com. Before go-live, legacy data was migrated from the previous system.
Furthermore, the KUKA LMS was connected to ERP systems and other IT solutions through interfaces. Finally, the LearnerPortal was introduced for learners. It provides access to digital learning materials, such as PDFs, videos, and eLearnings. Additionally, the portal supports eTests and eFeedback.
Result
The KUKA LMS has significantly changed the daily work of training organizers. Previously, much time was spent on customer communication at the KUKA Colleges. Now, this time is used to optimize resources such as trainers, rooms, and machines.
At the same time, organizational effort in Personnel Development has been reduced significantly. In addition, the training portfolio is now available online in a clear and transparent way. Moreover, the purchase process has been fully digitized through standardized registration and booking workflows.