Honeywell Process Solutions (Houston, Texas, USA) recently announced the introduction of an advanced industrial training solution, which combines three-dimensional (3-D) immersive technology with an operator training simulation to improve learning for plant operators and field technicians.
According to company officials, Honeywell’s Immersive Field Simulator is a virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality-based training tool that incorporates a digital twin of the physical plant to provide targeted, on-demand, skill-based training for workers.
“Faced with increasingly complex technology and an experienced workforce nearing retirement, operators need robust technical training and development solutions that accurately depict real-world environments,” says Pramesh Maheshwari, vice president and general manager for the lifecycle solutions and services business. “Traditional training approaches often fail to meet the mark when it comes to helping panel and field operators and maintenance technicians in process plants become better at their jobs. The result can be reliability issues and increased operational incidents.”
Per Honeywell, the simulator offers a smooth, virtual walkthrough to familiarize workers with the plant, including avatars to represent virtual team members. The simulator’s cloud-hosted, device-agnostic platform, which incorporates flexible 3-D models, grows with the user as plant operations change. The simulator can be customized to meet specific instructional needs and project team members, while plant subject matter experts can create customized training modules.
According to the company, the simulator can transform training for the digital-native workforce, enabling employees to learn by doing while increasing knowledge retention, minimizing situations that can result in operational downtime, and improving competencies across a variety of areas.
“With our end-to-end solution, console and field operators can practice different operating and safety scenarios, including rare but critical situations, in a safe, simulated environment,” Maheshwari says. “This approach significantly improves upon current training tools and methods. VR-based training boosts confidence and retention while improving overall professional skills. Experience shows that students using VR can learn significantly faster than in the classroom.”
Honeywell’s own Competency Management program, which includes the simulator training, is built upon decades of workers’ experiences using integrated control and safety systems. The company says it has incorporated this experience into competency-based offerings that improve worker performance and safety, with further information available at Honeywell’s website.