Did you know that the demand for skilled industrial workers is at its highest of all times in the USA? Did you know that India, the United Kingdom, and Australia run some of the most well-known industrial training polytechnic colleges globally with a highly competitive training curriculum? When one looks at the two facts above, one realizes the high demand for skilled workers. Traditionally, the ‘trades’ as they were known earlier are skills that are slowly going out of fashion. With the ever-increasing craze for computer science engineers, one tends to forget the simple skills that keep our cities running, the plumbers, carpenters, electrical and electronic technicians, the AC mechanic, the car mechanic, the baker and the cook; yes this long list of trades-folks are slowly fading away in large cities.
The scenario is no different in manufacturing plants of large companies involved in power generation, automobile assembly, or construction sites. Skilled and well-trained laborers are extremely difficult to find. Traditionally, companies have gone scouting for talent in high schools and in polytechnic institutes to find freshers, train them properly for the job, and then let them work in the factory. What worked as an ideal training scenario a decade ago does not cater to the new generation of youngsters who are graduating and looking for jobs. One of the biggest challenges that L&D teams face with Gen Z is the diminishing attention span. A normal classroom-based training session or a self-learning set of printed material is not going to work effectively for industrial training.
Using Mixed Reality to Design Industrial Training Content
Mixed Reality’ is a collective term used to define both Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality solutions. Traditionally, mixed reality has been used more as a novelty in academic learning and is used in very few areas of corporate training like aircraft maintenance engineering, training for locomotive pilots, etc. In the last few years the accessibility to tech and the development of VR and AR headsets by tech-companies has significantly brought down the cost of the tools needed to experience mixed reality content. Despite this the cost of creating high-quality and visually appealing VR or AR content still continues to be on the higher side. Additionally, the implementation of graphics and the simulated experience that is created is heavily dependent on the skills of the team involved in developing it. Quite often the final output of the mixed reality content is not up to the mark.
Industrial Training as a subject area is vast. The opportunities for using mixed reality to develop industrial training content is huge. Some areas where mixed reality can work wonders are listed below:
Employee induction and walk-through of the factory premises
Scenario-based learning for repairs of factory equipment
Production-line activity training
Fire, health, and safety training
Incident management and emergency evacuation
Induction and Walk-through of the Factory
Traditionally, employee-induction programs are divided into the HR-round where all documentation is completed and then department-based introductions are provided. This is followed by a quick tour of the factory or office-premises and new joinees are given instructions on whom to contact for different tasks. A simulated learning experience that showcases the factory premises can be created and shown to the new joinees on the day of the induction. This can actually complement the regular induction program and give the new joinees a better view of the factory.
Scenario-based Learning for Repairs
Every factory or manufacturing unit is made up of several complex machines that perform different tasks. Only when all the equipment is functioning properly can the manufacturing plant or factory deliver an optimal performance. Technical and non-technical staff are assigned for the maintenance and upkeep of all machines. Using mixed reality training technology to create sample videos that show how to repair machines can be very helpful for the staff.
Production Line Training
The production line is the heart and soul of any manufacturing unit. Thousands of employees work in large manufacturing plants. Their tasks are done in synchrony for the factory to achieve peak performance. Even one person not working in collaboration with others can impact the production on a given day. By using mixed reality solutions for creating production line training videos, organizations can benefit a lot and ensure that all employees are aware of what they need to do.
Safety and Emergency Evacuation Training
Fire and safety and compliance training are integral parts of all organizations. Be it a small office or a large factory, the chance of a natural disaster, or a man-made incident leading to an electrical fire cannot be discounted. By creating mixed reality-based eLearning solutions that replicate emergency scenarios, employees can be taught how not to panic and evacuate the buildings in a safe and orderly manner.
Mixed Reality Tech - Benefits of Using It
Organizations tend to frown at the high cost of developing mixed reality-based eLearning content for their employees. If the decision-makers were to think in a clear manner and look at the long-term benefits of developing a proper mixed reality-based eLearning solution, they would know how the cost of design and deployment can be recovered over a period of time. Internal resistance to opting for modern tech-based learning solutions needs to be overcome. Only then can organizations benefit from the vast resources available to facilitate better learning experiences. Ultimately, an organization that focuses on the personal development of its employees, is the one that is likely to retain employees, and have happy employees who contribute to the growth of the organization.
The key benefits of using mixed reality to design industrial training content are listed below:
Better learner engagement
Longer shelf-life of learning content
Ability to be redesigned when needed
Long-term benefits on initial investment
Better application of concepts taught
Please get in touch with us at sales@s4carlisle.com to learn how we can design an industrial training program for your organization using mixed reality.