FM Global, a Johnston, RI-based provider of commercial property insurance, has officially opened the FM Global Learning Center in Norwood, MA. This new facility provides employees and clients the opportunity to explore property loss prevention and insurance related training through specially designed classrooms. The 27,000 square foot, $15 million structure more than doubles the size of the FM Global’s Norwood training facilities to a total of 40,000 square feet. The entire facility now incorporates active learning classrooms, technology-equipped breakout rooms, an expansive collaborative space, interactive whiteboards, surface computing, and 12 experiential SimZone Labs, including a warehouse and data center designed to replicate clients’ properties.
Thousands of possible property risk simulations can be created on-site. Students will learn about common risks such as fire, ignitable liquid, natural hazards, equipment malfunction, and electrical breakdown. There are also labs dealing with roof and wall construction as well as hazards associated with combustible dust and flammable gases.
“This investment in next-generation collaborative learning is going to pay huge dividends through the education of our employees and clients who either walk through or virtually connect to these classrooms,” said Thomas A. Lawson, FM Global’s president and chief executive officer, at the June 22, 2017 dedication. “Learners will receive world-leading training on what it takes to protect properties from ever-evolving hazards.”
The FM Global Learning Center employs full-time professional educators applying the latest learning principles from technical university programs around the country. For example, the no-lecture “flipped classroom” approach asks students to learn new material on their own time and use classroom time to apply their new knowledge. Clients, students, and subject matter experts are able to videoconference with the FM Global Learning Center from anywhere in the world and share real-life lessons.
“Our commitment to learning is one of the things that clearly distinguishes us from our competitors,” said Karen Freedman, FM Global vice president and manager of enterprise learning. “To meet the constant challenges of an ever-changing world, our engineers, underwriters, managers, and clients dedicate themselves to learning about emerging business risks.”
Prior to the Learning Center expansion, the SimZone was recognized in 2014 by Business Insurance magazine with an Innovation Award, which acknowledges the most innovative new products and services for risk managers.
Take a virtual tour of the FM Global Learning Center in Norwood, MA.