The Importance of 3D Digital Replication in Safety and Training

3D Digital Replication Brings Safety and Training to the Digital Age

With the help of state-of-the-art 3D digital replication, it is now possible to bring manufacturing safety and training into the digital age. In 2018, manufacturers can guide their new hires through a 3D digital replica of their factory floors to facilitate the safety and training process. As trainees move throughout the virtual version of their company's factory floor, they can interact with digital replicas of the machines, conveyor belts, robotic arms and other key features and equipment that populate their new work environment.

Drawing upon an embedded knowledge base, each piece of equipment in the virtual environment will display instructions on the correct safety procedures for operating it. To ensure understanding, trainees can be guided by a virtual tour of the factory floor that includes quizzes on safety procedures after each interaction with each machine.

3D digital replication is also helpful when acquainting new hires with especially hazardous environments, where hands-on safety training is particularly difficult or dangerous. Here, an interactive 3D virtual replica of the hazardous environment can give new hires an immersive experience with critical safety procedures without any exposure to the hazards of the environment itself.

A Virtual Factory Floor

In 2018, factory floors are filled with complex machines and components that require in-depth training to operate properly and safely. To reduce workplace injury, many companies prefer that employees learn the proper safety procedures before operating this equipment on the factory floor. Yet how do you effectively train new hires without giving them hands-on experience with the actual equipment? A solution that has been gaining popularity in recent years is to hire a digital mapping provider to create an immersive, 3D digital replication of your entire factory floor. It may seem hard to believe that there is software available for digitally duplicating the entire 3D experience of walking through your particular factory, but this technology has arrived, and it's entirely affordable!

A complete 3D treatment will digitally duplicate both fixed and mobile factor floor elements, such as conveyer belts, forklifts, robotic arms, safety equipment, emergency exits, and so on. Of course, you don't need to create a photorealistic replica of every extraneous detail of every machine down to the last bolt and screw. Rather, you only need the details necessary to give new hires the ability to recognize the important features of each key piece of equipment for safe, responsible operation. Once those details are in place, your 3D solution provider can layer on advanced, interactive features, such as virtual tours and training tests, to further enhance employee safety training.

Virtual Tours and Training Tests

An immersive virtual tour of a manufacturer's factory floor is an excellent way to introduce a new hire into their work environment. A trainee on the virtual tour will not only have a 3D view of each machine that they will operate, but will learn important training and safety information along the way. Drawing from an embedded knowledge base, the virtual tour will use interactive icons and windows to provide new hires with critical training and safety information corresponding to each stop along the virtual tour. Depending on the company's preferences, the tour can include quizzes to help new hires confirm and reinforce what they've learned.

Locating Key Safety Features and Documentation

To take a specific example, one of the key safety features found on many machines on today's factory floors is a shutoff switch. Knowing precisely where a machine's shutoff switch is, and how to quickly turn it off, is critical for every new hire to safely operate many modern machines. Another important consideration is knowing where official safety documentation is located, such as OSHA checklists and safety data sheets. A 3D digital replication of the factory floor can help trainees quickly spot shutoff switches and the locations of safety documentation in the most efficient, immersive fashion.

Contextual Safety and Training Information

Without the proper context, new hires can find it difficult to determine precisely when and where to apply a certain safety rule. For example, in order to protect factory employees from hearing loss, a manufactuer may require that they wear earplugs when operating several loud machines on the factory floor. On the other hand, there may be several other, quieter machines on the factory floor that specifically require that employees not wear earplugs because they will need to listen for important signals from the machine, the work environment, or other team members. These are the kinds of contextual details that an immersive virtual safety and training tour can provide by covering the unique safety requirements of every important piece of equipment.

Hazardous Environments

In addition to helping new hires with training and safety on the main factory floor, a 3D digital replication can help new hires with especially hazardous environments and zones. In such areas, hands-on safety training might be especially difficult or dangerous.

For example, if training in a hazardous environment could run the risk of exposing the trainee to potentially harmful chemicals, it's worthwhile to explore ways to perform the proper training without any exposure whatsoever. Yet just learning from manuals and diagrams may not give trainees the immersive learning experience they need to safely operate the machinery located in such areas. In these cases, a best-in-breed interactive 3D virtual replica of the hazardous environment could provide new hires with just the right solution.

Getting Started With a 3D Digital Replication as Your Safety and Training Solution

In 2018, it is now possible to bring factory floor safety and training into the digital age with state-of-the-art 3D rendering software. This solution allows manufacturers to acquaint new hires with the key features of each machine on the factory floor without endangering themselves and others. Drawing from an embedded knowledge base, interactive icons and windows can appear along a guided, virtual tour of the factory.

Such interactive features can inform and quiz new hires on key training and safety points, such as where to find the locations of shutoff switches for various machines. Virtual safety and training tours are also useful for communicating highly contextual safety information, such as precisely when and where to use safety earplugs. Finally, 3D digital replicas can help serve as a much-needed buffer between new hires and especially hazardous environments, where hands-on safety training might be especially difficult or dangerous.

If you would like to introduce a 3D digital replication to your business to make your safety training as efficient as possible, please contact concept3D today! We are the best in the business when it comes to utilizing state-of-the-art 3D software to create innovative solutions to business problems, and we're positive we can be the solution to your problems, too.