With thousands of employees moving tons of product around expansive warehouses, there is little time to maintain a training environment tailored to both new hires and experienced employees.
The challenge was how to onboard and upskill employees in a safe and cost effective manner utilizing virtual reality technology.
Our expertise, as well as specs provided by the client, allowed us to reproduce the client’s warehouse in a matter of hours within a virtual environment. We then used that to build a full forklift training environment that matched the actual physical environment in which the employees would work.
Heavy Duty VR is a virtual reality simulator that provides a safe and immersive training experience for forklift operators. By utilizing virtual reality (VR), forklift trainees learn in a safe and controlled environment that is proven to increase knowledge retention far beyond other traditional methods of training – all while eliminating potential costly mistakes and liabilities. The Heavy Duty VR training platform is cost efficient, customizable, and most importantly, safe.
The VR experience shows both new and existing employees how products can be moved throughout the warehouse. Trainees can select available environments for training, progress through increased levels of difficulty, and review their scores and results. Training scenarios can include multiple forklift models, general operation, forklift and forklift parts identification, driving directives, and object manipulation such as moving crates and boxes.
Result
Each session was recorded in the Heavy Duty VR platform and scored automatically based on preset criteria to understand how trainees performed throughout a selected scenario.
Results from training relative to traditional training methods:
- 60-75% increase in knowledge retention.
- 40% increase in compliance and understanding safety regulations.
- 20-25% decrease in task duration.
The client concluded that using VR for forklift and safety training provides significant improvements.
Using the Heavy Duty VR Platform, clients have been able to identify and measure the key factors affecting their KPIs. Using this insight, they are able to help their people perform better, more safely and in a more memorable way. Overall, the employee onboarding, engagement & efficiency has improved.
