Utilities- Enhancing Knowledge Transfer through VR
Over the next decade, companies will lose approximately 50% of their workforce due to retirement. This retirement wave poses an existential risk to many utility enterprises. Indeed, how is it feasible to retain the knowledge gained over many decades by such experienced personnel?
To help overcome the challenges of this retirement wave and the ensuing brain drain, companies have turned to novel digital transformation technologies such as digital twins, remote experts, virtual reality, and augmented reality.
The loss of experienced personnel poses potential safety and financial risks and can jeopardize the competitive position of the company. We see this most clearly in the following activities:
1. Operational Excellence
The efficiency of newcomers versus more experienced personnel can be large. Indeed, if newcomers are trained incorrectly, they most often have lower efficiency, and the effectiveness of their activities is reduced.
2. Operational Safety
Experienced personnel can “smell” danger. Often, this skill is acquired over many years in the field. New personnel has to learn to look for and identify risk factors. Often, only experienced personnel can transfer this knowledge efficiently.
3. Personnel Safety
When critical organizational knowledge is lost, it makes room for errors, which, in the O&G sector can lead to life-threatening or fatal accidents. It, therefore, is critical that organizations create a knowledge network that allows personnel to find the right data, people, and content they need to perform their job safely.
4. Uncertainty
Newcomers often still have to learn the basics and tend to be less certain of their actions, requiring additional support from more experienced personnel. If this personnel is not directly available, this can impact the production schedule or lead to undesirable situations.
The Solution
The use of the OneBonsai Extended Reality training (Virtual Instructor Platform, VIP) modules allows electric & gas utility companies to improve the knowledge transfer and retention of their personnel. Our step-by-step training modules provide immersive training capabilities which have proven to:
- Reduce time to fully train personnel
- Increase knowledge retention versus traditional training methods such as e-learning and classroom training
- Improve personnel and process safety by safely training emergency or uncommon situations
- Scale effectively across geographies, languages, and departments
OneBonsai can provide directly available modules that contain industry-wide training sessions such as fire drills, workplace hazard recognition, and others. Alternatively, we can also build custom solutions that are tailor-made to match your specific needs.
The Gains
Our utility clients commonly use the OneBonsai Virtual Instructor Platform to:
- Reduce overall O&M spending
- Increase operational safety by training uncommon and potentially hazardous scenarios
- Improve knowledge transfer and retention through novel immersive training techniques
- Increase training capacity by training more personnel at the same time
- Train and onboard new workers and provide a good intro into the company processes
- Track and analyze training performance in real-time and across departments
Using our Virtual Instructor Platform, our clients have demonstrated they can lower costs and increase training efficiency, while also providing more value to their employees.
If you’re exploring available technologies for your organization, have a look at our Case Study whitepaper which outlines a number of the cases we have worked on.
Our delivered projects
We have implemented many successful projects for clients across multiple industries.
- All
- Safety
- Healthcare
- Industrial
- Military
- Marketing
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FAQ
What is VR training?
Virtual Reality (VR) training is using immersive technology such as VR headsets to practice certain skills or procedures. With VR training the emphasis is on the practical experience that the users experience. They can redo dangerous or difficult procedures as much as they like without any risk.
What are the benefits of VR for learning?
Studies have shown the benefits of using VR for cognitive stimulation. Due to a higher immersion in the training, the retention of the educational content is increased. Safer training: eliminating the risk of employees getting hurt or damaging equipment. It is also more cost-effective, allowing you to train multiple people for the same training at once.
VR for blended learning?
Virtual Reality (VR) is a useful tool for blended learning because it allows learners to experience immersive and interactive simulations, which supplement traditional classroom or online learning. VR can enhance engagement and retention of information, provide a more memorable learning experience, and offer access to resources and experiences that may not be available through traditional learning methods.
Mobile VR vs PC VR, What is the difference?
We consider every VR headset that does not require a PC as Mobile VR. The best examples of Mobile VR are; Oculus Quest 1 or 2, Pico Neo 3 or 4, etc… PC VR requires an external PC to run the VR software in the VR headset. With this extra computing power it allows to have more realistic graphics or physics simulations (such as smoke development).
What is XR? (Extended Reality)
XR is a term that refers to extended reality, which is an umbrella term for immersive technologies that enhance, blend, or replace reality with computer-generated content. XR includes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) technologies.
What is standalone VR
Standalone VR refers to virtual reality headsets that don’t require a connection to a computer or a gaming console to function. These headsets have all the necessary hardware, including the processor, the display, the sensors, and the battery, built into the device itself.
How long should a training session be in VR?
We recommend short sessions varying from 10 to 20 minutes tops. But complete courses can go up to multiple hours, divided into shorter training sessions.
Are there disadvantages to using Virtual Reality?
Virtual Reality (VR) can cause motion sickness or simulator sickness in some people. The symptoms of motion sickness in VR can include nausea, dizziness, sweating, and fatigue. This is because the VR experience can be so immersive that it can confuse the brain’s perception of balance and movement, causing a mismatch between what the eyes see and what the body feels.
Can VR be used for recruitment?
VR can be a useful tool for recruitment as it provides a more immersive and engaging experience for potential candidates. VR can simulate real-world scenarios and environments, allowing candidates to experience what it would be like to work in a particular role or industry before applying or accepting a job offer. VR can also be used to test candidates’ skills and abilities in a simulated environment, providing a more objective and standardized assessment. For example, a company could create a VR simulation of a factory floor or a customer service scenario, and assess candidates’ performance in that environment.
