Websoft Schenectady International Case Study

1. Company Overview
Schenectady International, Inc. (SII) is a global producer and marketer of alkylphenols, electronic
chemicals, and phenolic resins. After nearly 100 years in business, SII has 25 operations in 14
countries in every major market around the globe. The name Schenectady is synonymous with quality
chemical products, making the company the preferred choice by industries around the world.
Business Need: An Integrated, Global Training System
Working with chemical products is an extremely delicate, highly regulated task, and SII's training
requirements are fundamental to the safety of its operation. Employees must be fully trained in order
to ensure total compliance with guidelines from the Occupational Safety & Hazard Administration
(OSHA), Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA), Hazard Communications (HazCom) standards,
and more. In addition, the company offers training for numerous other corporate processes, from
human resources to Microsoft systems usage to recruiting and hiring.
Unhappy with SII's previous training solution, the company's IT group sought a replacement. The
team is continually charged with the task of reviewing internal software and its support of corporate-
wide business process, ensuring an optimal fit. According to Ken Rau, Global Manager of Enterprise
Solutions, there was a clear, value-added benefit seen in adopting a global, web-based training
system.
"As with any project we undertake, we wanted to reduce complexity and drive simplicity across global
processes," he explained. "Websoft offered a solution to enable this with a simple, web-based
architecture that could be seamlessly deployed to support all of our operations worldwide, with a
lower total cost of ownership overall."
Enterprise Solution: KnowledgeBridge
Websoft's KnowledgeBridge provides SII with a dynamic, scalable online learning solution for its
global, online training needs. KnowledgeBridge enables the effective transfer of knowledge via the
Internet, managing learning, performance, and competencies across the organization.
As a web-based system, KnowledgeBridge offers a more cost-effective, less bandwidth-intensive
option for SII, while simplifying the process of training SII employees in all 14 countries - who had
previously used a piecemeal of affiliate systems to address their training needs.
For Rau, one of KnowledgeBridge's key purchasing points was the level of
enterprise-class functionality it offered out-of-the-box, which added to the
solution's ROI value.
"KnowledgeBridge had the right look and feel, and was a fit for our global
needs - without customization," said Rau. "We were even able to
import our existing data directly into KnowledgeBridge, saving additional time
and money."
Websoft also provided SII with a strong, responsive partner for a long-term relationship - an important
factor that guides all of SII's purchasing decisions.
"We are very pleased with the relationship we have fostered with Websoft," said Rau. "They offer us
exceptional support both on the technical and project management side, and have provided us with
everything we're looking for in an IT supplier."
Case Study
Schenectady International Simplifies Global
Training with Websoft's KnowledgeBridgeAt-A-Glance
Company:
Schenectady International
Solution:
KnowledgeBridge
Application:
Online training for employees
to support:
- Compliance with regulatory
and safety standards
- Application of Microsoft
systems
- Internal business processes
such as hiring and recruiting
# of Users:
Currently: 600 in 3 locations
in the US
Planned: ~1500 in 25
locations in 14 countries
Results:
Lowered costs with single,
global online platform
Anticipated savings of more
$1.5 million over 10 years
Improved consistency, speed,
and quality of training for all
users worldwide
For information about
Websoft products and services,
please call toll free 866-879-5669
or visit www.websoft.com
Page 1 of 2
"The Websoft solution allowed us to reduce complexity and drive simplicity across the
training process - all while ensuring a low TCO."
- Ken Rau, Global Manager of Enterprise Solutions, Schenectady International, Inc.
Ken Rau, Global Manager
of Enterprise Solutions
®
®

2. Case Study
About Websoft
Websoft is a leading provider of
browser-based enterprise
software solutions. The
KnowledgeBridge Human
Enhancement Platform enables
organizations to leverage the
power and flexibility of a
web-browser to open new
windows of enterprise
knowledge enablement.
About Knowledgebridge
The KnowledgeBridge Human
Enhancement Platform
combines learning management
server functionality with
advanced content management
capabilities, coupled with an
easy to use web-based course
authoring environment. A
robust set of human capital
management and collaboration
tools, KnowledgeBridge enables
you to reduce costly travel
budgets while delivering
efficient, timely, cost effective
knowledge solutions to your
organization.
KnowledgeBridge provides
users with the ability to learn,
collaborate, share, create,
deliver, manage, track, and
comprehensively report
information from web-based
and instructor led-learning.
For more information about
Websoft products and services,
please call toll free 866-879-5669
or visit www.websoft.com
Page 2 of 2
KnowledgeBridge in Action
Leveraging KnowledgeBridge's installed solution model, Websoft deployed the system at SII's data
center in Schenectady, NY, where it will ultimately be accessed by all of the company's users around
the globe. The system is already in use by 600 employees at SII's New York and Texas locations, and
is currently being implemented at its Tennessee facility to complete the US rollout.
With KnowledgeBridge, training is simple. Users can log on and complete their training via a
user-friendly interface. The previous system in place at SII was extremely cumbersome - and without
a web-based platform, it was both difficult and time consuming to track the status of individual
training sessions. In many cases, managers had to continuously follow-up with their employees to
make sure training was completed. Now, it's easy to view progress - which, coupled with
KnowledgeBridge's user-friendly interface, has also encouraged employees to be more proactive in
completing their training in a timely fashion. The KnowledgeBridge platform also offers a
classroom management component to ensure compliance with HazCom and other critical industry
training requirements.
"We're seeing high satisfaction on the shop floor level, which is essential to the success of any
software implementation," said Rau. "There has already been a very positive response throughout
the organization."
The company plans to continue its rollout of KnowledgeBridge over the next few years. Once
the US installation is complete, other global locations will follow suit, including locations in the
UK, Europe, India, South Africa, South America and Australia.
Results
By implementing KnowledgeBridge, a single, web-based solution to cover the training needs of all of
its employees worldwide, SII has seen a dramatic cost savings. The cost of licensing, maintaining, and
using disparate systems has been eliminated. In addition, KnowledgeBridge's web architecture and
easy-to-manage installed solution model mean less overhead and minimal system maintenance.
According to Rau, the system is projected to have a cumulative economic value add of
approximately $1.5 million over the next 10 years.
Beyond the cost savings, KnowledgeBridge has made it easier for SII to ensure total compliance
with training regulations, upholding its highest level of safety standards.
Schenectady International New York Headquarters