What was the main challenge you were facing in your training process?

Just like many other industrial plants around the globe, we were struggling to provide our workers with the right practical hands-on training to operate machinery, follow specific procedures, or respond to incidents. Shadowing experienced operators became an ineffective way to train our staff on a large scale, and new recruits lacked the right confidence to work safely and efficiently on their own.

What did you need at the time? (when you decided to try VR training)

We wanted to apply new ways to achieve the highest safety standards in our plants and to create an exciting training program for new employees while also eliminating knowledge gaps within our workforce.

What was LVA s role in solving your problem?

The Linde Virtual Academy (LVA) is a platform that allows us to train new staff for complex operational scenarios quickly and efficiently using VR technology. Its introduction allowed us to enhance theoretical classroom training and test new recruits on life-like simulations of difficult operation scenarios that can’t be reproduced for training in the real plant. What is great about the training is its comprehensive and diverse simulations that apply to all our plants.

Where do you see a change in your operations since the introduction of LVA?

Let’s look at the safety stand-downs. Typically, there is a colleague verbally reporting to others about safety-critical topics. This absolutely makes sense, but it is only as effective as the attention people pay to it. Now have all these colleagues run through a VR training on such a safety-critical topic themselves. It will be a completely different experience and will definitely have more training effect than the classic stand-downs.

How do you see Virtual Reality impacting the future of plant operation training?

Just like we are seeing in a variety of industries, from construction to aviation, I believe VR is at the forefront for innovation in high-risk industries, and it will have increasingly high importance in training. We have seen how LVA is having a strong and positive impact on our business, and how it provides higher reliability and efficiency than outdated training methods. So, we are proud to be a pioneer in plant operations safety training.

What was the main challenge you were facing in your training process?

In ORLEN Unipetrol, we needed to provide our workers with an innovative training program to respond to incidents in our plants. Previously, raw recruits learned about safety measures from senior operators, but, of course, this method did not allow our staff to experience real-life incidents. In other words, theoretical knowledge alone became an ineffective tool to prepare our workers to respond to unforeseen situations effectively.

What did you need at the time? (when you decided to try VR training)

We wanted to apply new ways to achieve the highest safety standards in ORLEN Unipetrol plants and create a bullet-proof safety training program that equips plant operators with the best safety skills.

What was LVA’s role in solving your problem?

The Linde Virtual Academy (LVA) enabled ORLEN Unipetrol to train staff innovatively and effectively. By immersing new plant operators in a life-like, 1:1 virtual world where they can physically experience complex safety scenarios, our operators’ safety expertise increased dramatically. That’s because these trainees can relive the virtual episodes multiple times – and real-life practice makes perfect.

Where do you see a change in your operations since the introduction of LVA?

The training program in ORLEN Unipetrol has become more efficient, and colleagues are able to train on their own. Older learning methods were reliant on raw recruits paying attention to their instructors. But, now that employees can run through life-like, immersive VR training sessions at their own pace, they can retain information much better and apply it more effectively.

How do you see Virtual Reality impacting the future of plant operation training?

In ORLEN Unipetrol we want to bring innovative solutions in all fields of activity, including training. Virtual Reality allows us to attract our staff and even engage the younger generation, which better understands and accepts information in digital form. Virtual Reality will be expanded to other training activities focused on individual units, their specific environment, and unique equipment. It will speed up the orientation of new operators in technology.