4 Things That VR Training Can Transform In Manufacturing Industry

Manufacturing industry is “Labour Intensive”. It not only invests in labour but also invests big time in training the labourers. With the growing competition in the market, the conventional training method which is confined to a classroom lecture or presentation couldn’t yield desired results from the labourers in terms of production every year. The main reasons for production to eventually stunt could be,

1. The early turnover or absenteeism due to ineffective training that might have caused either worker incident or accident

2. Lack of skill transition due to shortage of skilled labour or lack of absorption of skilled labour due to Labour Market rigidity.

Fortunately, the technological advancements of today greatly help in curtailing such shortcomings. One of such finest advancements is Virtual Reality training which has the potential to transform the following aspects in the manufacturing industry leading to tremendous gain.

Zero down worker incident and accident rate

In a manufacturing industry where one has to watch out for occupational hazards all the time, especially while working in high risk environments, safety training is necessary. Traditional safety training methods may not help the workers to a great extent to stay alert or handle the hazard. But, VR training can expose the workers to the hazards virtually through an authentic immersive experience giving them a clarity and confidence to handle the hazard on the real industrial floor. The best part is even when they fail, they will fail safely. They get to experience the consequences of hazards in a zero risk environment through simulation. Thus, VR training can reduce the worker incident and accident rates and eventually make them zero.

Increase Productivity Skill transition is a major criterion that manufacturing industries have been missing out on due to lack of skilled labour or the lack of absorption of skilled labour due to Rigid labour market. The interactive visualization in VR training can bridge this gap by facilitating virtual skill training with a detailed demonstration of the procedures to be carried out while operating or fixing a machine. When in doubt, all that the workers need to do is, just wear the VR headset on and relearn it as many times as they want unlike the one-time learning in traditional training. VR training is more effective in helping the workers learn the subject matter easier and faster without the presence of the subject matter experts. So, obviously, when the workers are well trained, there will be better productivity.

Increase in retention rate As mentioned above, the interactive immersive visualization in VR training keeps the workers focus intact. There is no room for distractions they are usually prone to in a physical training or a classroom training. This leads to increase in retention rate which inturn leads to increase in productivity. Increase in ROI Manufacturing industry already spends a lot on hiring the workers, training the workers and on worker incidents and accidents if any. Above all, if the industry loses an employee due to turnouts or fatalities, it has to bear the loss of production downtime while training a newbie as it takes at least 12-18 months on an average to train a new hire. Adapting to VR training is the most effective way to overcome these shortcomings and double the ROI by cutting down the time and costs spent on training including the hidden training cost like transportation as VR training can be conducted from anywhere anytime.

2021 report states that India’s GDP from manufacturing has increased from 5867.75Billion in the 3rd quarter of 2021 to 5914.75Billion in the fourth quarter of 2021. The major reason for the increase in productivity is undeniably technological advancements in which VR training has made a significant contribution. As a team of XR developers, Meynikara is proud to be contributing to industrial growth delivering VR training modules to leading manufacturing companies in the APAC region.