Has your organization piqued an interest in virtual reality training? 35% of organizations have already planned to prioritize investment in virtual reality training this year, among other emerging extended reality technologies. Immersive learning removes employees from the monotony of traditional training and supercharges onboarding experiences with realistic job previews and interactive learning. The rapid adoption and versatility of VR demonstrate how immersive training programs are key to engaging learners, bridging skill gaps, and strengthening workforce productivity. Seeing is believing, so we’ve put together a comprehensive list of VR training use cases from the real world.
5 Real World Examples of VR Training
Virtual reality training programs achieve two overarching training goals: prevention and preparedness. VR provides a fully immersive experience where learners feel like they are physically present in simulated environments. Through experiential, tactile training, VR addresses some of the biggest challenges organizations face today: turnover, low engagement, and growing skill gaps.
In 2023, only 33% of employees were engaged, with disengaged employees costing organizations a cumulative $1.9 trillion in lost productivity. Luckily, there is no room for distractions or multi-tasking in VR. The immersive nature of virtual reality training helps trainees focus on the task at hand, driving better learning retention and accelerating skill acquisition.
For example, learners can practice hazard recognition in a virtual environment, improving their overall awareness and ability to minimize harm on the job. In VR training simulations, employees can encounter a variety of challenges, from electrical dangers to chemical spills. Let’s explore the wide range of use cases and applications for VR training.
1. HaptX VR Railway Training
As the industry’s safety leader, railway BNSF implemented immersive technology into its mechanical training programs to keep workers safe. Virtual reality enhanced BSNF’s safety strategies while improving role readiness across their workforce.
Built for in-depth exposure to step-by-step processes, the VR program provides experiential learning opportunities for mechanical employees to build their knowledge of the importance of personal protection equipment (PPE), sharpen risk awareness, and hone seamless lock-out tag-out procedures. One stand-out feature is the use of HaptX gloves. Utilizing HaptX Gloves in the VR training program, learners receive tactile feedback as they gain hands-on experience performing mechanical tasks in VR. Each time employees encounter safety hazards within the VR experience, warnings alert learners to pressurized systems and reinforce safe lifting practices.
2. Lincoln Financial Group’s Blended Learning
(VR Training for Soft Skills)
While virtual reality is the go-to corporate training tool for hands-on training, VR training isn’t just for tactile skill acquisition – it’s successfully replicating critical interpersonal scenarios that boost workforce soft skills. HTC VIVE’s “XR Applications in the Financial Industry,” a report on the financial service industry’s adoption of XR, reveals that 92% of professionals surveyed have seen a positive ROI from XR technology, only two years after implementation at their firm. The survey findings also reflect that 82 percent of financial businesses believe that their firm will adopt XR technology in the next 5 years.
Additional findings reveal that 92% of professionals surveyed have seen a positive ROI from XR technology, with 80% agreeing that XR has increased operational efficiencies. Whether organizations are using XR technology for data visualization to enhance comprehension, decision-making processes, or client interactions – 84% of professionals found that the introduction of XR to their training programs has positively impacted employee skill development.
Lincoln Financial Group realized they needed a fresh take on what makes an effective leader at their organization. They wanted a scalable, accessible, and interactive leadership training program to set a consistent standard for leaders at all levels. By leveraging the expertise of Lincoln’s internal team on leadership accountability behaviors, Roundtable infused its expertise in leadership and diversity training to make the content relatable and actionable.
Lincoln Financial Group redefined leadership with a dynamic, blended training program for leaders with varying levels of experience. This program included pre-work, virtual instructor-led training (VILT), 360° VR, and post-session activities. A standout feature of the program was the 360° VR activity, which plunged learners into realistic scenarios on crucial leadership topics like coaching, crucial conversations, and employee relations. Lincoln Financial Group’s innovative approach sets a new standard for leadership training with an 8-week VILT program delivering 90-minute weekly sessions, ensuring a seamless transition to remote learning. Participants who completed a mid-program survey reported impressive results, with 99% agreeing they’ll apply what they’ve learned to their job, 91% gaining new knowledge and skills, and 86% likely to recommend the training to other leaders!
3. Engaging Young Learners – Welding Experience For Middle Schoolers
Did you know that 60% of skilled manufacturing jobs go unfilled each year due to skill gaps? When a top manufacturing company wanted to spark an interest in the world of welding, they turned to virtual reality.
The Voyage™ Arc Virtual Reality Welding Career Exploration Tool is an interactive and immersive classroom platform that introduces welding fundamentals to middle-school students. Accompanied by a friendly avatar, the gamified experience simulates real-world welding lessons that engage learners. Can your welding skills earn you a seat on an immersive ride?
VR’s superpower is engagement. By immersing the young learners in an amusement park experience, students are introduced to basic welding techniques. Ten bite-sized learning lessons are guided by continuous narration and on-screen cues. By using the gamification of learning, Roundtable and Lincoln delivered a program to spark the engagement of their target demographic of users. The Voyage™ Arc Virtual Reality Welding Career Exploration Tool is an interactive and immersive classroom platform that simulates real-world scenarios in an engaging VR environment to jumpstart conversations about what welding is, how it impacts our lives, and why it is an exciting career option.
4. Reimagining Road Safety: VR Driving Simulation Training
Virtual reality training knows no bounds with the massive impact of driving simulation training. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 3,308 drivers were killed by distracted driving in 2022. By giving learners the opportunity to witness the consequences of risky behaviors, virtual reality training illustrates the importance of road safety and accident prevention.
Driving simulations using virtual reality have allowed organizations to enhance driver safety standards, practices, and preparedness. VR driving simulations go beyond traditional classroom or behind-the-wheel training. They offer a fully immersive experience, complete with a steering wheel, foot pedal, and lifelike VR environments. These simulations cover all aspects of responsible driving, from pre-trip safety inspections to mastering the art of safe merging and reversing. Drivers even encounter various hazards, including overhead obstructions, in a controlled and realistic setting.
VR Driving Simulations Can Measure Learner Proficiency In:
- Overhead Obstruction Awareness
- Staying In Lane
- Speed
- Exiting a Parallel Parking Space
- Merging Into Traffic
- Backing Into a Loading Dock
- Stopping for Red Lights
- Maintaining a Safe Driving Distance
- Distracted Driving
- Following GPS Directions
- Low visibility driving
Learning metrics captured in immersive programs can be leveraged to provide real-time feedback. With VR data collection, organizations are cultivating data-driven approaches to making their workforce safer on the road.
5. Warehouse VR Training
Warehouses face a common organizational challenge: maintaining a skilled workforce to manage product flow. In today’s thriving e-commerce world, warehouse employees grapple with unprecedented demand, adding pressure to an already demanding industry. It’s not uncommon for transportation, warehousing, and utility industries to lose 150,000 employees to turnover in a single month. With warehouse turnover rates a major barrier to workforce development, virtual reality training immerses learners in real work environments and provides realistic job previews.
Based on its versatility alone, VR training is the future of warehousing. From PPE training to walking learners through an entire fulfillment process, virtual reality training programs familiarize employees with the warehouse environment and help organizations develop a confident workforce for real-world job sites. With the e-commerce boom and the need for speedy product movement, efficient warehouses are key to keeping customers happy. Here are just a few of the current types of VR training
Heavy Machinery/ PIT Training
Organizations cut major costs associated with forklift training with VR while avoiding potential damage to equipment. VR’s technology replicates highly realistic environments where learners can practice dangerous tasks safely.
Pallet Stacking
Pallet stacking is a repetitious task that requires precision. This is an example of where productivity is imperative. VR training helps employees improve their attention to detail and perform the entire task from start to finish as many times as they need.
Truck Loading
Experience it for themselves. In virtual reality training, learners can walk through training activities for proper truck loading. This is an excellent example of the way top developers
incorporate non-verbal cues, like highlights around box corners where the learners should – to make learning intuitive.
Safe Lifting Practices
VR’s ability to track body ergonomics can help organizations determine if employees are practicing safe lifting techniques by monitoring their movements as they lift objects. Virtual reality training can identify if a user is lifting objects too far away from their body, which may strain their back, or if they are lifting too high, which often increases the risk of a shoulder injury. VR provides immediate feedback, helping employees recognize and correct improper lifting techniques.
6. Fire Safety Training
While fire safety training seems pretty routine – did you know that there are 16,500 office or store fires every year in the US? In 2020, office and store fires alone caused $932 million in direct property damage. A 2022 manufacturing fire in Carthage, Arkansas contributed to a dollar-loss peak at $25,000,000. These kinds of stories give training in the name of prevention a bit more credibility.
The U.S. Fire Administration advises teaching employees about exit locations, escape routes, and fire protection equipment. Enter VR training: the game-changer that lets employees practice using fire extinguishers without real-life risks.
With cutting-edge haptic feedback, XR fire safety training becomes an unforgettable sensory experience. Haptic feedback devices like WeArt simulate temperature cues, boosting situational awareness and making training stick. Virtual reality programs don’t just teach—VR training immerses learners in realistic environments where they can feel the heat just by touching a doorknob, emphasizing the vital importance of fire prevention with the relevant sensory cues.
While not a replacement for live drills, immersive learning is a powerhouse in blended training solutions. Recent reports conclude that while immersive learning is not a replacement for live training, immersive learning environments are recommended as an important part of blended learning solutions. Embrace the future of fire safety with a scalable, cost-effective solution that sets your team up for success!
Start Your VR Program Today
Inspired by these examples? Unlock limitless potential with VR training! Modern workforce challenges call for immersive learning to boost productivity and workforce confidence. Want to showcase your organization’s cutting-edge culture? Make your first impression count. VR training immerses learners in lifelike scenarios, where they can experience interpersonal scenarios to hands-on equipment training.
In VR, learning is rooted in experience. As XR training and technology continue to evolve, virtual reality will play an even greater role in safety training and tactile skill building in the future. Give your workforce the gift of learning by doing! With realistic and immersive experiences brought to your organization with VR training, individuals can learn practical skills and understand the importance of prevention. Close skill gaps with immersive learning today!
