Head of the Class
New FM Global Learning Center built to spark creativity and collaboration
Welcome to the FM Global Learning Center
This video offers a look inside FM Global's new Learning Center. This state-of-the-art training facility is designed to spark creativity and foster collaboration.
FM Global ushered in a new era of training in May with the official opening of its new state-of-the-art Learning Center. The two-story, eco-friendly, 40,000-square-foot (3,700-square-meter) building in Norwood, Massachusetts, USA, delivers on its design promise to be a catalyst for new methods of learning and idea generation for both employees and clients.
From its sleek contemporary design to the purposeful selection of its furniture, lighting and technology, every aspect of the roughly US$15 million building is meant to facilitate innovation and collaboration.
The Learning Center showcases FM Global’s signature learning models and incorporates the modern technology needed to keep pace with today’s ever-evolving risk landscape. The Learning Center’s most prominent features include three active learning classrooms, six breakout rooms, an expansive collaborative space and FM Global’s experiential SimZone learning labs.
Next-generation learning
Upon entering the Learning Center, students have a chance to either relax before their training session or meet with their peers in the expansive, collaborative space. This inviting area is built with teamwork in mind and features comfortable, modern seating. The reclaimed and charred wood walls that border the area serve as reminders of how FM Global’s risk improvement solutions help keep clients resilient.
The cornerstone of the Learning Center is its three state-of-the-art active learning classrooms. Active learning is a teaching method that more directly involves students in the learning process. To that end, clients and employees can receive instruction using the latest technology (such as holding videoconferences) or by way of smartboards and other options that foster collaboration, creativity and critical thinking.
Central to the success of this learning model are two key objectives: technology access and learner-centered architecture. To provide greater access to technology, each classroom is equipped with a Microsoft Surface Hub, cameras, media spaces and a smartboard. Students can create and control media space workstations, use video cameras and screens to present to a group or to others at distant locations, or use an individual whiteboard for learner-to-learner instruction.
A main projection screen on one wall and a Surface Hub on another allow instructors and students to share information from their tablets with the press of a button. Students work in groups to present projects and other interesting activities that help them discover new skills. Teachers in this environment serve more as facilitators of learning than lecturers. They guide students to think critically and to learn by discovering new methods and concepts that can be applied to their respective jobs.
All clients who train at the Learning Center are taught by the same professionals who teach FM Global employees. The training sessions provide a great opportunity for clients to network and learn along with their peers.
According to Karen Freedman, vice president and manager of enterprise learning, FM Global is the only property insurance company in the world with this level of property loss prevention training, and its commitment to bringing learning to clients is invaluable.
"We believe that when our clients have the skills and knowledge to identify risks at their facilities, along with the know-how to properly implement risk solutions, they can help prevent a property loss from ever happening or mitigate it if it does. The Learning Center empowers clients to better protect their facilities and their businesses overall."
Karen Freedman, Vice President, Manager of Enterprise Learning, FM Global
Breaking down classroom walls
Featuring instructor-led training by some of the most talented and respected subject matter experts in the world, the Learning Center’s nine classrooms virtually link students to FM Global’s various locations to take advantage of real-world, real-time learning opportunities.
The Learning Center also houses the SimZone. Originally opened in 2011, the SimZone features 12 different learning areas devoted to educating FM Global field engineers and clients about common risks such as fire, ignitable liquid, natural hazards, equipment malfunction and electrical breakdown. The SimZone now includes four new learning labs—Natural Hazards and Dust, Data Center with Battery Lab, Multipurpose and Warehouse.
In the SimZone, thousands of possible property risk simulations can be created. These simulations provide hands-on opportunities for FM Global’s engineers and clients to apply their knowledge to better protect business property from disasters.
Response from visitors to the expanded SimZone has been overwhelmingly positive, says Jay Cannon, assistant vice president and manager of the SimZone.
"Everybody loves it!" proclaims Cannon, a 35-year FM Global employee. "Clients familiar with the SimZone’s previous layout say this is even better. The expansion is a great example of how FM Global is providing value for its clients in support of their efforts to become more resilient organizations."
Building blocks
Through these investments at the Learning Center, FM Global is breaking new ground and delivering enhanced training to its clients and employees in a more efficient manner. In turn, both will be better informed of what it takes to protect properties from the unexpected.
"With the opening of the Learning Center, we’ve taken our capabilities far beyond where we’ve been by creating a way for our clients and employees to gain knowledge and firsthand experience in a facility built specifically to accommodate that," says Freedman.