When i failed to plan, i planned to fail
If you’ve delivered on-site training long enough, you’ve probably experienced one of these: “We have a big training space.” You arrive to find 16 people packed into a sea can, standing shoulder to shoulder. OR You arrive and your site contact isn’t there. You don’t have their cell number and the morning goes sideways. OR
You’re scheduled to teach on client-supplied aerial boom lift. You arrive and the engineer’s certificate is out of date. You legally can’t use the machine.
These are real stories, and I have a ton more. At Haland Learning, years ago, we built a Course Prep Form. Before private training is confirmed, the client completes the form. Depending on the course, the form dynamically asks for:
- Equipment details
- Photos of the training space
- Photos of the equipment (front, back, sides)
- Engineer certifications
- Primary and secondary contact numbers
- Access instructions
- Student roster confirmation
We also:
- Call or text the site contact the day before, and
- Text when we’re en route the morning of
It’s not about being rigid. It’s about removing friction. Operational failures are rarely about incompetence. They’re often about assumptions. When expectations are vague, friction shows up on-site — and by then it’s expensive. Readiness isn’t luck. It’s designed.