Jack, Say Hello to John, Your Replacement

In launching the new driving courses, we decided to make an update to our main character, Jack. We have a brand new model, John, with many upgrades such as:

• More realistic looking skin
• Better facial expressions
• More eye and mouth detail
• Upgraded jeans and boots
• Hair (and optional beard) realistically rendered

We are working on setting up the facial morphs, the skeleton and rigging system, as well as the PPE (hard hat, safety glasses, hi-visibility vest, etc) and will begin using John on our next courses.

Without further adieu, we would like you to meet John:

See these renders of our old character, Jack:

Convergence Training Visits Southeast

Convergence Training will be meeting with prospective and current pulp and paper clients in a weeklong trip to the Southeast. We will be traveling through Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama.

If you would like to schedule a meeting with a Convergence representative in your area, please call Roman Battan at 1-888-634-7346 x241 or email us at support@thinkconverence.com.

We look forward to our trip and meeting with everyone!

Message from Randy Kohltfarber, Director of Product Development

To our valued customers and subscribers,

In December of 2008 Convergence Training entered the retail safety video and CBT (computer-based training) market with a single goal: to raise awareness of the quality, value, and contemporary graphic styling of our product line. Part of our approach to reach that goal involved taking our products directly to consumers via our e-commerce site. We felt that offering our products and excellent customer service for less than half the price of our nearest competitor was an excellent way to introduce ourselves and our products to the industry. The response has been overwhelming and we very much appreciate each and everyone who has purchased our products.

Due to the success of our product line and increasing requests from third parties to resell our courseware, we now feel the need to bring our product pricing more in-line with industry standards. Rest assured, our products will continue to have the highest quality, most contemporary feel, and lowest prices available on the market. Additionally, we feel this move will allow us to accelerate the growth of our content library and, as a result, you will start seeing many new Convergence Training titles available in our online store (and available through third party resellers) within the next few months.

Because we appreciate you as a customer and want to thank you for your interest in our products, we felt it was important to provide advance notice of our plans to increase our pricing structure. So, for the next couple of weeks, you will still be able to purchase our products at current prices. However, effective June 22nd we will post a new pricing structure to our online store located at http://shop.thinkconvergence.com.

It is our goal to revolutionize the traditional safety training video experience. We believe that high quality videos with state of the art graphics can be made available at affordable prices and we are looking forward to leading the way in that effort. If you have any concerns or would simply like to chat about our upcoming plans, please feel free to contact me directly at, 1.888.634.7346 x216.

Thank you again for your interest in and appreciation for our work. We look forward to continuing to serve you in the future!

Best regards,

Randy Kohltfarber
Director of Product Development
360.834.0991 x216
1.888.634.7346 x216 – Toll Free
sales@thinkconvergence.com
support@thinkconvergence.com

416 NE Dallas Street
Camas, WA 98607
United States

Printable Tests in PDF Format (from XPS)

Recently we’ve been getting more and more great feedback from our customers. We love to get feedback because it helps us develop better products and services for you, our customers.

Some customers have had trouble recently using our printable tests and answer guides. Currently, they are in XPS format which is an open and trustworthy format most useful for Microsoft Office 2007 users. Internet Explorer can view XPS documents, and there is even a free XPS Viewer software. Despite those viewing options, some of our customers don’t want to download additional software and are having trouble using the XPS files. To help those customers out, we have spent the time to upgrade our documents to PDF.

Now, all the tests, answer guides, and certificates for our EHS and MSHA DVD courses are available in PDF format. We have also added a name and date field for the tests. The new documents will be available online soon, but if you need them now, feel free to send us an email or give us a call and we can get them to you right away.

History of Convergence Training

Convergence Training is a division of Capstone Technology. Convergence and Capstone were established to provide pulp and paper mills with software solutions that increase efficiency and reduce operating costs. Our founders and subject matter experts began their careers in the pulp and paper industry, hold various degrees in pulp and paper and chemical engineering, and are uniquely suited to provide software solutions for the industry.

Convergence Training began operations as a department within Capstone Technology in 2002. Since then, Convergence has authored more than 80 courses composed of 350 web-based training modules for pulp and paper, construction, mining, and automobile manufacturers. Our courses cover a variety of topics including regulatory information for government agencies such as MSHA, OSHA and the EPA, site-specific modules on pulping and papermaking processes, lean manufacturing fundamentals, equipment training, and software simulations.

Although we’ve created training materials for many industries, Convergence Training has retained the company’s original focus, creating more than 70 percent of our site-specific modules for pulp and paper clients. Chart A below summarizes our production for those clients.

Chart A

In addition to site-specific training modules, Convergence offers a comprehensive library of training modules for standard business needs, including OSHA compliance (8 hours) and MSHA Part 46 training (8 hours). Convergence also offers solutions to deliver training materials, track employee’s training progress, create training reports, and archive training records: the web-based Convergence Training Server, our robust Learning Management System that can be scaled on an enterprise level; and the lightweight Convergence Training Viewer, for companies that want to deliver high-quality training with minimal tracking or reporting functionalities.

Convergence Training Releases Revolutionary Platform for Computer-Based Training Distribution and Viewing

Convergence Training, a division of Capstone Technology, announces the introduction of Convergence Training Viewer, a free, downloadable training access portal specifically designed to view interactive training media. Convergence Training Viewer provides virtually anyone, anywhere, at anytime access to a catalog of computer-based health and safety training modules developed in compliance with federal MSHA and OSHA standards for industrial, governmental, and higher education purposes.

Convergence Training Viewer represents a fundamental shift in the way that workplace education and training can be administered. Customers can go from download to training in a matter of minutes. Anyone can download the free application from the Convergence Training website and access the catalog, purchase modules, download content, train employees, and print certificates of completion all
within a single software application.

Convergence Training Viewer was developed to meet the needs of an evolving computer-based training market. While training managers have come to expect more dynamic and interactive training material, much of the industry has failed to keep up technologically.

For example, online training may satisfy some customers but bandwidth constrictions continue to plague users with low quality video and limited visual content resulting in a diminished training experience. And although some server-based learning management systems (LMSs) can sidestep bandwidth issues, their infrastructure and support costs can place them far out of reach for smaller to medium-sized organizations.

Convergence Training Viewer solves this core problem of limited access to quality, affordable training by giving users an easy-to-use platform to download purchased training modules and play them locally, eliminating bandwidth concerns. Users benefit from the stable delivery of effective, engaging content for a superior training experience at extremely reasonable prices.

“We’ve been looking forward to introducing a platform like this for quite some time.” says Randy Kohltfarber, Director of Product Development. “Our focus has always been on delivering the best, most effective training experience in the industry.

Convergence Training Viewer eliminates the technical limitations we’ve dealt with for years. Now we can make our training material available to anyone almost instantly without the slightest loss in quality. It’s really a best-case scenario for us and our customers.” This platform sets the stage for collaborating with other computer-based education and training producers to distribute SCORM-compliant material.

On the heels of Convergence Training Viewer, a networkable version will be available soon as an advanced learning management service provided by Convergence Training. Customers will be able to administer computer-based training to multiple workstations at different locations without the bandwidth limitations of conventional online training and without the capital expense of a server-based
system.

Convergence Training Receives First Place at MSHA’s 2008 TRAM Conference

Convergence Training, a division of Capstone Technology, achieves First Place honors for Surface Miner Training software at MSHA’s Training Resources Applied to Mining (TRAM) Conference hosted by the National Mine Health and Safety Academy in Beaver, West Virginia.

The TRAM contest is part of an annual conference spotlighting the importance and effectiveness of safety training for our nation’s miners. It provides an opportunity for mine safety trainers and others responsible for administering safety programs to gain valuable exposure to the latest training materials and  technologies. With support from the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association and the State Grants Training Program, both public and private organizations come together to exchange ideas, present safety training material, and exhibit products and services.

Convergence Training’s Surface Miner Training software has attracted industry attention since its recent release this summer. Unlike other existing MSHA-related training, this product couples advanced, computer-modeled content with functional, intuitive administrative tools for MSHA’s Part 46 compliance.

“Our goal with Surface Miner Training is to improve mine safety by setting new industry standards for training quality and compliancy tools,” said Randy Kohltfarber, Director of Product Development for Convergence Training. “We feel that being recognized with this award is an early step toward that goal.”

In addition to Surface Miner Training, Convergence Training has just released Convergence Training Viewer, a free software platform for accessing and viewing a library of digital health and safety training media in compliance with OSHA and MSHA regulations.

Introduction to Convergence

Convergence is a team of dedicated professionals using their skills to meet the growing demand for engaging and integrated web-based learning solutions. Our products include Convergence Training Server, a robust and flexible Learning Management System that makes it easy to administer, track, report, and archive employee training; a large Course Library that includes compelling and engaging training materials on standard topics many businesses require; and an in-house production facility that can create Custom Training Solutions specifically to fit your company’s training needs.

Convergence is a division of Capstone Technology Corporation, a software development and engineering services company with multiple office locations in the U.S. and headquartered in Camas, Washington.