In today’s high-risk industries, the safety of employees and ensuring they feel confident to deal with emergencies, hazards and operations is crucial. Construction, manufacturing and logistics are some of the most dangerous industries, with the highest number of fatalities. Virtual Reality (VR) training offers a revolutionary solution for equipping workers with the skills and confidence needed to handle dangerous environments effectively.
In this blog, we’ll explore:
- The use cases for VR training in specific industries
- Benefits of VR training
- How you can get started with VR training
Use Cases of VR Training in Hazardous Environments
Industrial and Manufacturing VR Training
VR training has extensive applications in industries such as oil and gas, chemical processing, and manufacturing. Employees can be exposed to lifelike simulations of hazardous scenarios, allowing them to practice emergency protocols, identify risks, and develop crucial decision-making skills without exposing themselves to actual danger.
Firefighting and Rescue Operations in VR
Firefighters and rescue personnel often face life-or-death situations where fire safety training is critical. VR can simulate intense fires, collapsing structures, and high-risk rescue scenarios, providing a realistic training environment.
Trainees can practice coordination, situational awareness, and effective response strategies, fostering quick thinking and reducing response time during actual emergencies.
We worked with Premier Partnerships to create virtual reality fire safety training covering electrical, chemical and solid or flammable liquid training.
Military and Defence VR Training
Defence VR training plays a vital role in preparing military personnel for combat and dangerous missions. Soldiers can simulate combat scenarios, practice tactical decision-making, and develop teamwork skills in a safe and controlled environment.
It also enables medical personnel to train for trauma situations, reducing the risks associated with live training exercises.
Healthcare and Medical VR Training
VR medical training enables aspiring doctors, surgeons, and nurses to gain hands-on experience before treating actual patients.
Trainees can practice delicate procedures, diagnose complex cases, and navigate challenging medical scenarios, fostering confidence and improving patient outcomes.
Benefits of Using VR for Training
VR Training Enhances Workplace Safety
VR eliminates the risks associated with training in hazardous environments. Trainees can learn from mistakes without endangering themselves or others, reducing injuries and fatalities. The controlled nature of VR simulations allows for repetitive practice, refining skills until proficiency is achieved.
VR transports employees to Immersive, Risk Free Environments
VR technology creates highly realistic and immersive environments, replicating the sights, sounds, and even physical sensations of hazardous scenarios.
Trainees experience a sense of presence, enhancing their engagement, emotional responses, and knowledge retention. This immersive quality drives more effective learning outcomes compared to traditional training methods.
VR Training is Cost Effective
Traditional training methods often involve expensive equipment, site rentals, and dedicated personnel. VR training mitigates these costs by providing a virtual environment that can be accessed repeatedly, reducing the need for physical resources.
Companies can save on travel expenses, minimize equipment damage, and optimize training schedules, resulting in significant cost savings over time.
VR Training enables in-depth Performance Evaluation and Analytics
VR training platforms offer sophisticated data analytics that allow companies to track trainee progress, identify areas for improvement, and optimize training modules. Real-time performance evaluations, metrics on response times, and accuracy rates can be collected, enabling personalized feedback and targeted training interventions.
Recommended Reading: Discover more about the benefits of VR training.
How to Get Started with VR Training
Interested in implementing VR training but not sure where to start? Follow these key steps:
Identify your Training Needs
Assess the specific hazards and scenarios employees encounter. Determine which skills and knowledge require enhancement and prioritize training areas accordingly.
Pick the right VR training solution for your company
Research and select a VR training platform that aligns with your company’s training goals, offering the necessary features and customizability. Consider factors such as simulation quality, interactivity, and compatibility with existing learning management systems, multiuser support, reporting and analytics.
Here at Luminous, we provide an end-to-end solution for enterprise customers looking to create and deliver technical based training built on 3 core learning pillars that provide a rigorous and thorough training that ensures employees retain knowledge and help to build muscle memory. Plus, VR training is an engaging, exciting way of training that will get your employees enthused about learning and building skills.
Develop your VR Training Course Content
Once you have picked your VR training provider it’s time to develop your training content. When we partner with our customers collaboration and communication is key. We work closely with your subject matter experts to create compelling and realistic content which suits your specific training requirements and mirrors the environment in which the training would take place.
This typically involves videoing the current processes, site visits to scan your environment to recreate virtually and breaking down standard operating procedures in to all the individual steps the user must carry out – we essentially have to learn and understand your exact processes so we can recreate your training in VR. We create a user flow showing all the users interactions, UI panels and game responses.
Test your VR content
Once the training modules have been created it is very important to test it thoroughly to make sure it follows the correct procedures and works as expected, our testing and Q&A teams will go through your content with you until you are happy that content meets your requirements.
Run an Initial Pilot Project
We recommend running a pilot project with clearly identified goals that can be run in parallel to traditional training and used to benchmark the benefits and build the business case. We can you plan a roadmap from prep to pilot in our XR envisioning workshop.
VR is becoming an essential tool for improving training for hazardous and dangerous work procedures. It reduces risk to employees to zero, it provides a more engaging experience, and it drastically reduces time to competency while also cutting training costs.
Interested in trying out VR? You can browse our off-the-shelf content on our VR training marketplace or if you’re after something personalized and bespoke, check out our bespoke content page.