4 Reasons Virtual Reality (VR) Should be Part of Your Training Plan
It wasn't that long ago that virtual reality (VR), was nothing more than Hollywood science fiction. Movies like Tron, The Matrix Trilogy, Total Recall, and Minority Report all feature VR technology as an essential plot device. Well, it turns out that Hollywood knew what it was doing, because VR is here!
VR is here, great, what does that have to do with training? Well, Industrial Training International (iti.com) launched a virtual reality mobile crane simulator in March 2017, at the United States' largest construction event, CONEXPO. Leveraging VR technology, the crane and rigging industry now has an innovative and fully immersive tool to assist in the advancement of in-house or 3rd party training programs. Here are four main reasons why VR could and should be part of YOUR organization's training plan.
1. Time Efficiency
VR training holds the distinct benefit of virtually zero setup time. Weather delays? Forget about it. Picking up or resetting a practice course will not slow your team down ever again! VR training actually does something that to date has been impossible, it actually creates MORE time! Hear me out, if a crane is being used on a job site while the sun is up, its probably not a good idea to have greenhorns and apprentices practicing on that same crane when its dark. When it comes to VR training, even when its dark outside, the sun is shining once you put on the headset! Which leads us to...
2. Equipment Availability 
As touched on in number one, companies own or rent crane and heavy equipment for one reason - to get the job done. Rarely, if ever, is a piece of equipment dedicated to training and skill development. A VR training simulator provides a dedicated training system for employees to gain seat time without tying up expensive assets that are needed in the field.
3. Mobility
Using either the desktop hardware, or the motion-base hardware, the portability of VR makes it a very cost effective option to send to job sites, recruiting offices, or trade and job fairs. The ITI VR Mobile Crane Simulator Desktop Hardware fits in two suitcase sized Pelican Cases and can be setup in less than 10 minutes. All while taking up as much space as a laptop on a desk or table.
4. Learning Scenario Access
It would be great to get some practical operating experience in certain potential dangerous scenarios wouldn't it? Weather related events, mechanical failures, and site specific complications all make safe and efficient crane operation an extreme challenge. At the same time, no one wants their operator's first experience with any of these potential hazards to come in the middle of the job...ENTER VR!
Skill building exercises, apprenticeship training, qualification style exams, and certification test prep scenarios are available in the ITI VR Mobile Crane Simulator Content Library. Variables in each individual scenario (like wind), can be tweaked to create a truly unique training experience every time the simulator is used.
Note: This is by no means an exhaustive list. The benefits of virtual reality when it comes to training are potentially endless! As the technology becomes more accessible, additional uses and advances will organically be revealed.
If you are interested in learning how ITI VR can help your organization, contact one of our Training Solutions Advisors at (360) 225-1100 or complete the Training Needs Analysis to find out the best fit for your team.
-Stay virtual my friends...
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