FAQs
The following are frequently asked question about the scope of the e-Office Safety from a functional and technical standpoint.
If you are experiencing errors when using the system then check the trouble shooting section.
Features include:
Functional Queries
Is the System Accessible in line with the recent changes in the Disability Discrimination Act?
It is vital that all e-learning courseware is totally accessible to persons with disabilities; if not your company is open to prosecution under the Act from October 2004. With this in mind e-Office Safety has been designed with accessibility in mind. Where non-accessible units are used such as Flash, alternative content can be found on the page. The pages have also been structured so that persons without site or with motor difficulties can fully access the content. e-learning WMB are experts in this pragmatic approach to accessibility – more information can be found in our accessibility white paper.
Do users need to re-enter user names after logging on to the company intranet in order to access the e-learning?
Not necessarily, the Learning Management System (LMS) can be set up to either accept session variables or authenticate using Microsoft’s Active Directory.
Can users be made to complete the e-learning prior to accessing the assessment section?
Users can indeed be forced to do all the training prior to their initial assessment. This ensures that each user receives all the training.
Can I add additional e-Learning Content to the system?
e-LMS accepts any third-party e-learning content which conforms to the industry accepted SCORM v 1.2 e-learning standard.
Can I add e-start or e-Office Safety to another Learning Management System?
Yes. The e-Learning courses can be loaded into any other SCORM compliant Learning Management system such as PeopleSoft or SAP. To do this simply install as usual then merge the content found in the appropriate folder from the “e-courses” subfolder into the third-party LMS. The data will be tracked using the same API calls used in e-learning WMB courses.
In what way can the system be configured for my organisation?
There are 3 main ways the system can be configured for your organization:
1) Content Management – the system can be customized using the Content Management System (CMS). Images can be changed and text can be altered – see the Content Management Chapter for further details.
2) Data Management Queries – the system has been set up with a list of standard email and report queries. Using these you can automatically email people when they need an assessment etc. – see the Data Management Chapter for further details.
3) Questions added and removed – there are two types of question: “Exam” questions test the user; and “Task” questions identify tasks which need to be carried out (used for risk assessments). Subsequent versions of the software will enable you to add these questions using the CMS, in the mean time fill in the Question Structure form in the appendix and we will customize the program for you.
Technical Queries
Who will complete the installation on the server?
The software is packaged to make installation easy. We do require you to run the installation program from a CD. We do encourage you to call us when going through this process so we can guide you through the process and give you any necessary license codes.
Do you suggest a separate server or one already running other services?
While using a separate server is always the best choice in technical terms, we realise it is not always a feasible option. The e-learning has been configured to have low CPU and Memory requirements so can quite happily exist on a shared server. Therefore it is up to the client to decide what kind of workload it expects, what kind of hardware is available, and the performance required, and to choose between dedicated and shared hosting. As a general rule, it is advised that if the client envisages having over 50 concurrent users at any one time (likely in installations of over 5,000 people) then a dedicated server is advised.
What kind of database does the system use?
e-LMS uses MS Access as its default database – this can comfortably handle up to 100 concurrent users (likely only in the case of installations with over 10,000 people). If required the database can use SQL Server, contact e-learning WMB for details.
Has your software been tested on Windows server 2000 or 2003?
Yes, our systems are checked on all common server configurations.
What spec server would be needed to host the application?
The software requirement is Windows Workstation/Server with IIS 5.0/6.0, ASP, and MS Access 2003 DBA. The hardware requirements are minimal, please refer to the MS Windows XP Pro minimal hardware requirements for a specification.
Has your software been tested on Windows XP Pro SP2 and Office 2003 SP1?
Again various client configurations are tested, including the very latest versions of XP and Microsoft Office. It is important to note that the client requirements are not really important here since the only requirement is MSIE 5.5+ and Flash 5.
How will the e-LMS application link to Exchange/Lotus Notes for sending out emails to end users?
The Learning Management System uses CDO to send emails - the specific settings depend on whether the LMS will be running on the exchange PC or another where we will be using the default SMTP server – please feel free to call us for advice on how this should be done. In both cases the mail server should be configured to allow sending of emails from LMS. If your organization has a preferred method of sending emails then the system can be configured accordingly.
How will we allocate the necessary system access to those people who are likely to need to update the actual content of the training using the Content Management System (CMS)?
A development copy of the e-learning will need to be stored locally on a shared drive. Changes can be made to this copy, tested and then uploaded over the old content when ready. The application should be installed locally and this should be limited to the few authorised users.
What support will be provided at 3rd level e.g. it doesn't work properly but all our diagnosis shows everything to be working fine?
Telephone and email support is available from 9.00am to 5.00pm from Monday to Friday. If any malfunction is due to a coding error etc we can usually turn around diagnosed fixes by the start of business on the next day after it is reported. All our products undergo a complete QA process during development, a copy of the company’s Quality Plan can be made available on request.
More specific queries are dealt with in the e-Office Safety knowledgebase found in the e-Office Safety manual. Alternatively call 00 44 1344 382 577, fax 08700 46 24 51 or email info@e-officesafety.com with your query.
To try out the system or find out more information contact WMB today on 00 44 1344 382 577
