ALcon Pharmaceuticals Selects Plateau to Deliver Training Around the Globe

January 8, 2002

ARLINGTON, VA, January 7, 2002 – Plateau Systems, a provider of enterprise-class

software that manages learning and knowledge processes for organizations, announced

today that Alcon has selected the Plateau Learning Management System (LMS) to

manage Web-based and classroom instruction for up to 12,000 employees at 14

manufacturing plants around the world.

The Plateau LMS will schedule, deliver and manage all of Alcon’s live and asynchronous

learning events, from Web-based distance learning to instructor-led laboratory

work. A $2.8 billion international pharmaceutical company with offices in 75

countries, Alcon also will use Plateau LMS to manage a variety of soft skills

training, career planning and succession planning, enabling administrators to

select the best person for a given job and allowing employees to reach their

professional goals.

Alcon’s manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, TX has used Plateau’s LMS since

the mid-1990s to manage training for its employees. Based in large part on the

success of that program, Alcon selected the Plateau LMS to validate its training

program across the enterprise with the Food and Drug Administration and other

international regulators. Alcon must comply with a variety of stringent guidelines

on the management of electronic records, including FDA 21 CFR Part 11, FDA Good

Management Practices, and international ISO 9000 quality standards.

Plateau is helping more than a dozen global pharmaceutical and health care

companies validate their training programs with these regulations, including

Bristol-Myers Squibb, ALZA, AstraZeneca, Genzyme and Zimmer. Plateau LMS tracks

changes in individual training histories as a series of unique, time-stamped

events, allowing organizations to create comprehensive audit trails. Plateau

LMS also guarantees the validity and security of training records by developing

frequently updated PIN-based electronic signatures for all users.

Plateau’s best-in-class configuration management features have produced significant

Returns on Investment (ROI) for pharmaceutical companies by automating one of

the most complex business requirements in the industry – version control of

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Each month, pharmaceutical companies update

hundreds of SOPs for manufacturing and quality control. Plateau LMS automatically

finds all employees affected by each of these revisions, alerting them by e-mail

that they must be retrained to keep their qualification for a given task.

Automating this process has saved companies millions of dollars in training

costs, reduced the learning cycle for employees, and allowed products to go

faster to market with stronger quality control.

"Plateau is the proven leader in developing learning and knowledge process

solutions that solve complex business problems for the pharmaceutical industry,"

said Paul Sparta, Plateau’s CEO and Chairman. "After several years of work

with one of Alcon’s manufacturing facilities, we are proud the company has selected

us to create a program for the entire enterprise that provides its employees

with anytime, anywhere education."

About Plateau

Plateau manages learning and knowledge processes for organizations, improving

their business operations by integrating and delivering the knowledge employees,

customers and partners require to excel. Plateau 4 Learning Management System

(LMS) is built on open, J2EE/EJB architecture, and is being used by clients

across the globe, including Motorola University, Federal Express, Bristol Myers-Squibb

and the U.S. Air Force. The company was founded in 1996, and is headquartered

in Arlington, Virginia. Plateau’s news releases, electronic press kits, media

and sales contacts and other important information are available at amyler@sheahedges.com

Ashley Myler

The SheaHedges Group

6845 Elm Street, Suite 700

McLean, VA 22101

amyler@sheahedges.com

PLEASE NOTE NEW PHONE NUMBERS:

Phone: 703.287.7823

Cell: 703.362.4204

Fax: 703. 287.7801

www.sheahedges.com