Even before the pandemic, enterprises were adopting immersive technologies to train employees. From saving travel costs to improving outcomes to maintaining worker safety, XR training offers many benefits. 

Maurizio Galardo, chief technologist, XR at AVEVA, wrote in Manufacturing Today about the five ways XR will transform industrial training in the next five years:

• Learning by doing

• Multi-person learning

• No plant downtime

• Slashed costs

• Wearables

XR offers hands-on training without the costs, travel, and risks of on-site training. Assets don’t need to be shut down, workers don’t need to be exposed to hazardous environments, and training can be done regardless of locale. Whether enterprises are trying to keep workers safe from COVID, hazardous industrial environments, or both, XR training is making it possible.

For example, by using digital twins for training, BP, Shell, Chevron, and more are seeing big returns on investment and expect to continue scaling these and other XR training methods. Immersive training like this can happen without bringing physical assets into play.

Galardo points out, “By leveraging XR, organizations can simultaneously run employee-training programs while the plant is being constructed. This way, the plant is up-and-running as soon as it’s opened, saving on valuable and costly downtime. Entire teams can be trained up during the construction process, while also learning to work together in a replicated virtual environment.”

Immersive tech also goes beyond initial training—it also helps companies build lasting knowledge about assets, processes, and workflows. XR knowledge management benefits subject matter experts, enterprises, and employees needing training. 

Companies running XR training programs are seeing the return. According to AVEVA data, “Depending on the company, the ITS [immersive training system] can cut costs by 30% to 40%, reduce recovery times from shutdowns by 15% to 20%, and trim maintenance budgets by 1% to 3%.”

Galardo finishes by looking toward the future, eying wearables as a critical next step. He said, “Most global XR adoption will take place in the next five to ten years. At the seminal moment when XR takes over the ‘last mile’ of data viewing through wearables – via combination of AI, VR and MR – the industry will progress exponentially, opening up the world of training to almost limitless possibilities.”

Immersive technology is showing its worth as it lets workers XR-cise their skills.