Rick Smith
Senior Director of Product Training
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JLG Industries
The pandemic has made so many more people comfortable with “virtual” communication. And, this has made the use of virtual reality (VR) simulators in training more popular — a trend we believe will continue to gain in popularity as the world emerges from the pandemic.
In talking with our customers about this type of training, they mention how realistic simulations, performance monitoring capabilities and the ability to customize training scenarios have made using VR an effective tool for building confidence in machine operation, while decreasing the time to proficiency for users.
Can you explain in which ways JLG’s VR training simulator can be tailored to meet the individuals training requirement – ability, experience, scenarios and so on?
The JLG AccessReady Fusion XR™ Training Simulator platform offers an immersive, training experience for users of all skill levels, including everything from controls familiarization to advanced machine operation. The Scenario Manager feature in the platform allows a trainer or user to create custom scenarios, each of which includes a single training exercise with predefined targets. They can then decide what metrics to track, as well as select the machine, environment and job site to operate in. The scenarios can be saved and shared to let others train in a specific custom-built exercise. Several scenarios can be grouped into a “playlist” to develop the learner’s skills from Basic to Advanced.
Is it possible for a live but remote trainer to work with trainees while they use the simulator? And what are the benefits of this in improving a trainee’s skills?
Simulators can be networked together for an efficient multi-user experience. For example, VoIP support provides real-time voice communication between people who may not be in the same room, state or even country. With internet access, users have the option of training with other people who also have online simulators, in a Group Session. This creates a realistic experience where operators are practicing with other workers and machines on the worksite.
Also, remote trainers can observe and provide one-on-one instruction. This networked capability allows the trainer to join the trainee in the platform and coach them. Trainees can also join more experienced operators or trainees in their platforms to observe their skills.
Some industries are linking equipment users’ skills “tickets” to a central database, recording their experience and competencies – can JLG’s VR simulator be part of these initiatives and how?
VR definitely has a role in these initiatives. For example, JLG’s AccessReady Fusion XR software will monitor a user’s performance while training in the simulator, providing instant feedback on performance through audio and visual cues to track achievements. The trainer and the users can control which metrics are tracked and a performance report is generated after exiting the simulator. These reports can be copied and stored with training records.
VR simulators can provide a record of “stick time” for a trainee, which can be a measure of experience. The trainee’s performance score typically improves after practice in a given scenario and these improved scores can indicate increasing competency.
To learn more about how JLG customers are using VR simulators to enhance operator training, please visit this page here. Seven of them are published immediately after the “Watch a Sneak Peek” section of the webpage. Please click on each dot to see what our customers are saying!
To see how the JLG AccessReady Fusion XR training simulator works, click here.
To learn more about JLG’s virtual reality training platform, click here.
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