Key Takeaways
- Inherent challenges of wind turbine training
- How virtual reality solves the problems of wind turbine training
- Considerations before deciding to use VR
The UK is the world leader in offshore wind, with more installed capacity than any other country. However, with a growing demand for more turbines, industry leaders have had to rethink how to train more engineers and operators safely and successfully.
Thanks to innovation and immersive technology, preparing employees to work in high-risk environments, such as a wind farm, is now easier than ever.
Because not only can engineers and operators experience the risks that come with turbines, they can also respond to real-life scenarios, such as mechanical and electrical faults – all within a safe environment.
This means workers in the sustainable energy industry feel more confident in their roles and are more prepared to deal with potentially life-threatening events as and when they occur.
Inherent challenges of wind turbine training
Unlike some roles where training can be delivered in situ with little risk or harm, wind turbines are inherently a high-risk environment where accidents could lead to loss of life.
In the UK alone, over 500 turbine safety incidents were reported in 2020, 86% of which occurred on an operational wind farm and the remainder on a site under construction or development.
An inaugural safety report released by SafetyOn found that most incidents were caused during routine maintenance to the turbines, namely by access/egress and while working with electrical systems.
To lower the number of incidents reported on turbines, further improvements have been necessary in the wind turbine industry, resulting in immersive training technology, such as virtual reality (VR).
How virtual reality solves the problems of wind turbine training
By virtually experiencing a wind farm in three dimensions, operatives and engineers can become familiar with the risks of their working environment long before they are physically assigned to a real-life turbine.
By replicating tasks, procedures and scenarios, workers can practise and respond to relevant roles and responsibilities within an immersive environment to help them feel confident and prepared, even in high-stress situations.
What’s more, by removing the risk factor from learning, participants immerse in a deeper learning experience where they can repeat tasks and modules as many times as they wish – all without the fear of making costly mistakes to your organisation.
It means that employers are likely to see an accelerated speed of proficiency where, according to PwC, training time can be cut by up to 40% and employee performance can be improved by up to 70%.
But aside from the appeal of shorter training times and increased performance, perhaps the biggest appeal to integrate VR training is its ability to be accessed from anywhere.
By slipping on a headset, learners save time commuting to a dedicated training centre and instead spend more time instantly developing their knowledge. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Considerations before deciding to use VR Accessibility
Because VR is a total departure from more traditional forms of wind turbine training, some operators and workers may find the switch to immersive technology a little challenging.
For this reason, we advise you offer an induction session to employees where they can become more accustomed to the world of VR before they take part in any accredited training modules, which may include:
- equipment training
- safety training
- emergency training
- HR training
- gamified training
To further assist employee migration from traditional training to immersive technology, you can also integrate both types of training as part of your delivery programme. If you need advice setting things up, just let us know.
Costs
How much VR costs depends on your training programme’s size and scalability.
Where a small VR scenario for a pilot programme usually costs £15,000 to £30,000, a larger, interactive and more measurable VR programme often exceeds £100,000.
Compared to training costs, these figures may seem on the heavy side, but – as data from the PwC report suggests – investments made into VR can be quickly balanced by the accelerated learning, experience and performance of employees.
Performance goals
To further justify the cost of VR training, it’s important any performance goals you set exceed what can’t be achieved in a traditional classroom setting.
When it comes to high-risk working environments, such as wind farms, VR has the distinct advantage of replicating lifelike tasks, situations and scenarios within the realms of a safe, immersive environment.
Of course, traditional training is unable to offer the same type of experience, which means employees are less likely to feel confidently prepared to perform in their role once they’re assigned to a high-risk environment.
Although some traditional training events might offer role-play exercises to help prepare for high-risk scenarios, experiencing how to respond in a real-life situation can only be accurately replicated using VR technology.
As such, employers are able to set higher performance goals for their employees, knowing the training they’ve received to prepare for various responsibilities has already been experienced by simply slipping on a headset.
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