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20th January 2022

Successful integration of VR into Accredited Training

I am often asked “how do you integrate VR into traditional training programs, such as an Accredited course”? This is a great question and there are actually many options and ways to integrate VR into such courses. Here are 2 ways we’ve seen it done successfully:

Option 1 – Use VR to enrich and enhance the learning program.

Don’t replace anything, keep the course framework while adding in a VR component. Typically we’ve found that roughly 30 minutes of VR within a full day accredited course can add a lot of value. A lot of the time, a full day course will include half day theoretical and half day of practical. If you have a large class size, anytime over 4 participants really, there can be a lot of dead time for the trainer/assessor and participants that can be put to better use by rotating participants between the practical and VR experiences of relevance.

So the participants will be divided into smaller groups when doing the practical elements of the training. One group is keenly supervised completing the practical while the other group completes an engaging VR experience. Then they are rotated through. If they weren’t completing this approach, participants would ordinarily be standing around achieving very little. 

We’ve seen this used to great effect in critical safety courses like confined space, working at heights, fire extinguish, manual handling and numerous others where there are often large participant numbers, a single trainer/assessor and a blend of theory and practical. 
 
This type of approach allows the training program to hit its performance and evaluation requirements as set through Accredited standards, but to add extra value for participants. We’ve found that participants report a more enjoyable training experience, a feeling they learned more and reports that they feel like they participated in something innovative. 

Next World’s Confinded Spaces      Learning Experience

Option 2 – Map the course and issue micro credentials.
 
In this case, we’ve worked with companies who have been looking to gain maximum effect from their integration of VR. As such, they’ve taken the VR experience, mapped it to competency criteria, identified the elements that map into the accredited training package and then removed those elements from the subsequent class or practical delivery components. This has resulted in no additional time required to train participants and the trainer/assessor work burden being reduced. Essentially, the VR package, which may have say 5 of the 20 performance elements that are ordinarily a part of the training package are subsequently removed from the theory and practical and delivered through VR instead. 
 
Accredited training providers are always interested to add new value for their trainees. Whether that be through compressing knowledge pathways, reducing course duration without compromising qualit or trough adding innovation. We’ve found that these two options really easy ways to start a VR and innovation journey with Accredited training without any real risk to the business. 
14th July 2021

Next World VR Training

Next World offers intelligently designed and engineered virtual reality learning experiences on a subscription basis that not only materially improves outcomes, but also opens a rich data gateway to the individual and organisation.

Virtual reality experiences provide a fully immersive experience in a safe and secure environment allowing employees to be trained in manual handling, hazard identification, excavator safety, fire hazards, working at heights, confined space, chainsaw safety and our newest learning experience fire extinguisher.

Off the Shelf Learning Experiences

Manual Handling

Manual handling is the leading cause of injuries and workplace compensation claims. Next World’s manual handling experience teaches employees the best and safest manual handling practices that should be applied in the workplace. Participants can apply their understanding of tasks as they complete the experiences, showing detailed animations of both the impact of safe and unsafe manual handling practices. Next World’s manual handling learning experience:

VR Learning Manual Handling
  • Identity’s issues relating to manual handling
  • Practices that can be done to make a situation more efficient
  • Identifying which part of the body is most at risk with wrong lifting techniques.
  • Recognising where the solution lies on the hierarchy of control
  • Safe lifting techniques

Hazard Identification

Next World’s virtual reality training makes it easy to maintain competency in workplace safety, protecting against the risk of serious injury or fatality. Minimise the risk associated with on-site training methods, in an office and construction site, allowing your employees to be assessed on their understanding of what makes the task a hazard and how the hazard can be minimised through the hierarchy of control.

Undertake a series of risk management assessment, identifying level of risk, procedures and control to be put in place. The learning experience includes:

  • Detailed introduction
  • Plan and prepare risk control
  • Assess risks and identify unacceptable risk
  • Identify, assess and implement risk treatments
  • Complete record and reports
  • Hazard register
  • Hazard identification
  • Risk assessment
VR Learning Solution

Excavator Safety

Excavators intermix with below ground infrastructure, people at ground level and electrical infrastructure often above eye view. Our Excavator Safety Learning Experience assists participants in completing pre-start safety checks. Put yourself in the driver’s seat of an excavator and operate it with simulation-like precision and accuracy. Learn how to undertake and review pre-start and pre-operation processes and ensure they operate the equipment safely and with an awareness of hazards. In addition to making sure the user knows how to correctly operate an excavator, the experience also teaches the user how to safely ready an excavator for transportation on a trailer and the correct use of tie-down equipment.

Fire Hazards

Fire hazards are a major risk in any workplace. Next World’s fire hazards learning experience takes you through:

  • Characteristics of fire: Participants will learn why these hazards exist and why it is importance to recognise the characteristics of fire.
  • Types of fuel: Many fuel types can cause a fire. Learn about the six different classes of fuel and certain objects belonging to each class.
  • Equipment used to manage fire hazards: It is important to ensure fire equipment in the workplace is available and in working order. Learn how/why this equipment is essential if a fire incident occurs in your workplace.

Be assessed on identifying hazards relating to fire and fire safety in the workplace. The experience will also monitor the way the situation is assessed, the effectiveness throughout and how you answer the provided questions. 

VR Learning Solution

Working at Heights

Refresh your employees to safely work at height within 20 minutes with advanced virtual reality technology. The learning experience includes:
  • An in-depth hazard detection module. Allow the user to spot hazards that could pose serious injury or even death to both yourself or other workers in the experience, assess the risk and make sure that the correct control measures will be put in place.
  • PPE testing
  • An assessment on how to safely conduct work at a height, focusing on scissor lift height work, along with training in how to prepare for heights work.

Confined Space Entry

Undertaking Next World’s Confined Space Learning Experience, users will get to use and inspect a variety of tools and PPE equipment to ensure it is ready for use.
  • Assess your ability to perform a realistic confined space scenario
  • Understand how incorrect methods can cause injury
  • Respond to danger within a confined space.

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6th May 2021

VR Learning and Development in Organisations

Workplace training is becoming ineffective and costing organisations large amounts of time and money. In 2016, organisations spent $359 billion globally on workplace training, but was it all worth it?

  • 75% of 1,500 managers surveyed from across 50 organizations were dissatisfied with their company’s Learning & Development (L&D)
  • 70% of employees state they do not acquire skills needed to successfully do their jobs
  • Only 12% of employees apply new skills learned in L&D programs to their jobs

Harvard Business Review, 2019

But have you ever wondered why employees are not getting the most out of these Learning and Development programs?

1. Learning for the Wrong Reasons
Today employees are often required to learn unchanging topics, on a schedule and at a time when it tolerates little relevance to the role, resulting in poor learning results. These poor learning results and lack of knowledge are having a significant impact on injury and fatality rates in the workplace, particularly within the construction industry. However, new emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality learning are allowing organisations to see a substantial improvement in learning outcomes, decreasing injuries and fatalities in the workplace. 

Virtual Reality learning allows employees to learn when it best suits them, strengthening one’s focus and motivation to learn while being applied to real-world scenarios. Virtual Reality Learning also aligns better with training objectives, teaching employees’ specific skills and knowledge relevant to their job duties and responsibilities.

2. We forget what we’ve learned 
German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus established studies of memory in the late 19th Century, concluding with his discovery of “The Forgetting Curve.” He found that if new information isn’t applied, we’ll forget about 75% of it after just six days. However, Virtual Reality Learning is proven to increase employee engagement by up to 85% and improve knowledge acquisition through gamification of learning, achieving higher assessment scores of 93% compared to 73% with e-learning.

In addition, Virtual Reality Learning is proven to result in better retention rates – up to 80% one year after training, compared to 20% just one week after traditional training. This data demolishes the low statistics of workplace training and results in a better training outcome. Are your training methods allowing your employees to retain a high amount of information? 

3. Use it or lose it
In alignment with Ebbinghaus’ study our brains quickly forget what we don’t use. Incorporating new learnings into your workplace training is one way to retain knowledge with another being spaced repetition (material being reviewed in gradual increasing intervals of roughly one day, two days, four days, eight days etc..), which demonstrates a solid link between the exposure of information and knowledge retention. Studies show that by using spaced repetition, we can remember approximately 80% of what we learn after 60 days. Using this methodology alongside Virtual Reality Learning will significantly help review material as well as reducing costs for organisations.

4. The Changing World – Virtual Reality Learning                                                           
With today’s fast moving work landscape and emerging technologies, people must adapt rapidly to changing circumstances. Lean Learning is a method which includes the Learning & Development (L&D) process of getting the right learning, to the right audience, at the right time, in the right quantity to achieve a faultless work flow.

 Applying Lean Learning through Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality can massively assist with the Lean Leaning process through learning the core of what employees need, successfully applying it to real world situations and receiving immediate feedback to refresh and refine employees’ understanding.

Apply to real world situations
Virtual Reality applies a methodology internally, bringing real world situations to life and apply what’s learned in real-time to deliver successful business outcomes.For example, our Working at Heights Virtual Reality training package can safely induct and train employees to gain confidence to work at heights in a stress-free environment, with the freedom to make decisions without life-threatening consequences.

Personalize content
Next World’s Virtual Reality learning provides organisations the opportunity to personalise specific content. Our ‘Bespoke Experiences’ tailors’ content to every business need, learning style and delivery method to ensure training outcomes are improved.

Offer micro courses
Virtual Reality Learning Experiences are short bite-sized learning opportunities, providing refresher training on topics relevant to an employee’s immediate job duties and responsibilities.  Our VR Learning Experiences are made to deliver safe, accessible experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving employers peace of mind knowing their staff are getting refresher training done effectively with VR. 

12th April 2021

The Virtual Reality Advantage: The ROI of VR

For many organisations, offering hands-on learning and practical training can often be a challenge – and for some, it is impossible to do this in the workplace.

This is why Virtual Reality training has been extensively adopted across a diverse range of industries including construction, manufacturing, aviation and healthcare.  For example, our Working at Heights Virtual Reality training package can safely induct and train employees to gain confidence to work at heights in a stress-free environment, with the freedom to make decisions without life-threatening consequences.

With the virtual reality industry growing from $7.9 billion in 2018 to $44.7 billion by 2024 as well as the lowering costs of hardware and content development, virtual reality training is becoming easily accessible with a promising ROI.

ROI OF VR TRAINING
The real question stands…if organisations use Virtual Reality, do they see a return on their investment? The ROI of Virtual Reality training is significant for an increasing number of organisations as well as individuals. Virtual Reality has now developed enough that organisations shouldn’t be asking how much it would cost to implement VR, but how much it is costing you not using the technology.
 
Individual ROI
More confident to undertake work safely
Virtual Reality training provides the ability to learn in an immersive, low-stress environment, giving employees the ability to actually apply the learning on the job. A study from PwC stated that learners who were trained with VR were up to 275% more confident to act on what they learned after training – a 40% improvement from classroom learning and a 35% improvement over e-learning. Next World clients also felt 74% better prepared and more confident to undertake work after completing our Virtual Reality Learning Experiences.  
Emotionally connected
When emotions are involved, people generally connect, understand and remember things more profoundly. Employees training with virtual reality felt 3.75x more emotionally connected to the content than classroom learners and 2.3x more connected than e-learners. With employees being more emotionally connected, Next World’s Virtual Reality training found an 83% associated enjoyment via VR learning as well as an 84% enhancement in learning outcomes.
 
More focused
Today learners become quite distracted and overwhelmed while training in the workplace, with smartphones being the leading cause of distraction. However, virtual reality training allows for users to be significantly less distracted as they are fully immersed in the experience, with no interruptions resulting in improved focus. According to PwC’s recent study, virtual reality trained employees were four times more focused during their training compared to employees who conducted e-learning training. Similarly, Next World’s Virtual Reality Learning Experiences sees engagement levels increased by 92%, demonstrating the positive ROI virtual reality training provides.
 
Business ROI
Virtual Reality training does not only see an immense ROI for the individual, but also sees a ROI for the organisation.
 
Faster to train
Employees conducting Virtual Reality training courses can be trained up to four times faster than in the classroom. What would take 2 hours to learn in a classroom, can be learned in only 30 minutes using Virtual Reality training. This is a massive ROI, allowing for more information to be retained in a shorter amount of time. Although there may be extra time needed for first-time learners to review and be taught use of the headset, VR learners still complete training three times faster than classroom learners.
 
Workers Compensation
With increased learning outcomes through VR training, safety awareness is also increased. This results in a reduced number of accidents – creating significant savings and reducing harm. This results in a decrease in insurance premiums, reduce injuries and overall safer workplaces.
 
The innovation brands
Having a brand that is perceived as innovative attracts new clients. Being an innovative brand increases revenue by 11% compared to businesses that are not innovative. Customers are more likely to value innovation, therefore are more likely to buy on this value.
 
L&D efficiency and effect
Virtual Reality training is also a cost-effective training solution allowing learners to access training remotely, significantly reducing travel and accommodation costs. Through using Next World’s Virtual Reality training, Burke Shire Council found a great ROI including the reduced cost benefits, eliminating the need to fly employees to the nearest town to conduct training.
 
Virtual Reality has also proven successful in assisting to decrease re-work costs and create improvements in the productivity of employees. This leads to a 20% gain in productivity and 20% reduction in re-work costs.
 

VR is perfect for blended learning processes to boost employee’s knowledge retention and engagement. The success of VR to date makes it easy to imagine a day in the near future when all employees receive their own training headset on the first day on the job. We are already seeing this shift to VR training with every school in Queensland owning a VR headset. Now that is a truly new way of working.

Find out how your organisation can receive both learning and financial ROI with our VR training, through joining our FREE 14-day Discovery Program. 

16th March 2021

Virtual Reality training with Next World

Virtual reality construction training Is the future of education within the industry – both due to its cost benefits and ease of use, but also for how much safer it makes site inductions.

The software makes it effortless to train staff away from site, instead using a virtual reality setup to mimic and replicate real-life scenarios to teach valuable lessons.

VR
White new generation VR headset isolated on white background with blue sparkling futuristic lights. Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset Amsterdam, the Netherlands 2021.01.01

What is the use of VR technology in construction training?

Virtual reality can be used to make construction training and induction both safer and cheaper by replicating situations in a digital environment, negating the need for induction to happen on site.

Through VR, tasks can be simulated to mimic real life on-site scenarios. The graphics are high-quality and serve to make the simulation as realistic as possible to create the best learning experience.

These can come either ready-made, with a number of more commonplace tasks being available out of the box, or the company can create inductions specific to tasks related to your business.

Who are Next World Enterprises?

Based in Brisbane, Australia, Next World Enterprises are designers and creators of virtual reality construction training software and hardware.

CEO, Michael O’Reilly, has been in the construction industry for decades, overseeing projects across the globe in countries such as Indonesia, Algeria, and now, of course, back in his native Australia.

The rest of the diverse and highly qualified team have wealths of experience in their own aspects of the business, most of all their ace user experience and development members.

What are the benefits of virtual reality construction training?

From a safety perspective, VR construction training is groundbreaking. It allows you to train staff off-site without the need of real equipment that could cause serious injury.

This comes most in use when training new staff and apprentices. It can be daunting, frustrating, and terrifying the first time someone sets foot on site for the first time; now, thanks to virtual reality, those first steps will be accompanied by a wealth of knowledge thanks to virtual inductions prior to starting work.

In an environmental sense, there are also huge benefits to virtual reality training. It completely negates the need for vital resources to be used and wasted on inductions, whilst also reducing the amount of travel and overall carbon footprint of the business.

But, most importantly, it shows a dedication to your staff. Studies have shown that VR training construction software can increase engagement by up to an incredible 73%. If you’re trying to be competitive in the job market and recruit the best staff, virtual reality is the way forward.

Is there a future for virtual reality construction training?

Owing to both its safety and financial benefits, it’s fair to say that virtual reality is the future of construction training.

Only a few years ago, virtual reality was considered something just for gamers. Now, the game has changed and big businesses are using its power to vastly enhance their employees’ experiences.

Over the next few years, expect VR to become commonplace not just in the construction industry – but across all industries.