Houston, we have a problem...™ | Collaboration Training Activity

• The opportunity to show and develop a range of team skills
• Appreciating the implications of executing a task poorly
• The need for communicating a situation clearly
• The need for clear written and face-to-face communications
• Addressing the issues of working under pressure
• The importance of cooperation between groups, or departments, at work

Teams of lunar astronauts address the logistics of collecting rock samples, erecting a laser beacon and planting a flag. With limited amounts of oxygen and water between teams, cooperation is the only viable solution and the sooner teams realise, and everyone gets ‘on-board’, the better! Just when it looks like they’re on top of it all they’ll need to re-group to deal with an emergency communication from Mission Control in Houston. A malfunction in the life-dependent filter needs a quick fix. With the materials available can they do it? Will it work? Will they get back to Earth?

A great way to hammer home the importance of good relations and effective working strategies within teams – and also the difficult but crucially important factor of good relations between teams.

1. Introduce the activity (optional PowerPoint included).
2. Issue Team Briefs.
3. After 30 minutes, issue MESSAGE FROM HOUSTON and observe the effect on team performance.
4. After a total of 70 minutes (from the start of the exercise) bring the filter parts together for testing (each team makes 25% of the filter).
5. Lead a Debrief to discuss the learning outcomes and key lessons (optional PowerPoint included).
6. Relate the lessons to the workplace.

Full guidance supplied in the Trainer’s Notes.

• Trainer's Notes
• Trainer's PowerPoint
• Trainer's Ref - Houston Filton Diagram
• Team Briefs
• Messages from Houston
• Optional Handout: Teamwork Self-Assessment
• Optional Handout: Effective Teams Key Points
• Optional Handout: Teamwork Short Term Action Plan
• Optional Handout: Communication Long Term Action Plan
• Messaging pads
• Construction card
• Scissors, Rulers, Tape and Sticky Tape
• Ball

This activity is for face-to-face training. It is supplied as a hard copy pack and the digital files are supplied via the Northgate Trainerhub.

This Northgate Training activity comes with a five-year licence for repeat use with up to 24 participants at a time, for use by Trainers based at one licence-holding site.

All Trainers physically based at the same office location can access the Northgate resources during the five-year term, including the digital resources supplied on the Trainerhub via your own site-specific Trainer Dashboard. If you have Trainers based at other locations, and/or remote workers, who would like to access and use the Northgate resources, we can advise further depending on your requirements.

For further information on our licence terms please view the Northgate Licence Agreement.