Interactive Game-based training for Manufacturing

Millennials (those born between 1981 – 1996) are expected to constitute 75% of the workforce by 2025. Manufacturing, specifically, is looking at a 35% millennial workforce right now! Game-based training for Manufacturing is the right way of training today’s workforce.

A workforce made up, majorly, of millennials and Gen Ys needs a new training methodology. The manufacturing jobs require extensive training and excellent on-the-job application of the concepts. The current graduation and schooling method continues to be traditional in nature, that is, in-class and paper manual programs. This form of training, that the parents went through, doesn’t work to engage and motivate the millennials and the generations following.

Does game-based training work for the digital natives?

Gamifying training has proven to be extremely beneficial to some manufacturing giants who have experimented with and moved to serious games as a methodology of training their employees. Two of the key benefits derived from game-based training, specifically in the manufacturing sector, are:

Higher adoption rates

Companies have recorded a huge increase in the adoption rates of training programs with the use of game-based training. The motivation levels to complete, and the collaboration among team members also saw a shift with the use of games in L&D.

Let’s look at some use cases to determine the effectiveness of game-based training for the manufacturing sector:

Use case 1: An experiment by an international pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca used a game-based training method to upskill 500 sales agents. The training focussed on transferring information about a new drug and was voluntary in nature. The learning objectives revolved around channeling the agents to market the new product, deploy an effective team-building platform, magnifying the buzz leading up to the launch of the drug and to track real-time training performance.

The customized game for training, called “Go to Jupiter,” came with lots of motivators built-in. Like team competitions, cooperation, rewards, leaders boards, progressive levels, and more.

The result? It worked wonders! Training program adoption rates were extremely high at 97%, and program completion rates were a staggering 95%. The data showed that most agents accessed the learning material outside of their working hours, showing the intrinsic motivation to consume content.

Use case 2: Another example of successful gamification for training is McDonald’s. McDonald implemented game-based training for its front liners in the UK in 2011. The module was designed to learn the use of the new cash registers. The game included progressive challenges in a 20-minute narrative about serving customers. The number of people who completed the gamified training module in the first few weeks of launching hit 50,000. The company saved nearly £1/2 million in direct training costs.

There are several other giants across the world using game-based training to engage, motivate employees and build collaborative teams.

Safety Training

With the introduction of games in enterprise training and cutting-edge interactive technology, it is now possible to simulate a real-life scenario digitally.

Manufacturing companies, often, have a risky work environment and need a specialized workforce and emergency training. Simulation-based training enables developing and empowering the workforce in a risk-free environment without endangering their lives or health.

An example of effective use of gamified training is Australia’s UNSW School of Mining Engineering. They used VR to create escape scenarios during an outburst in a mine. This is an excellent use case of risk-free game-based training in manufacturing.

Games for training in the manufacturing sector include rewards for speed and accuracy of decision making as the learner navigates through a life-threatening simulated scenario. The learners grasp the risks, are made aware of the health & safety issues associated with their jobs, and allow them to be ready for a real-life scenario.

Real-time performance tracking gives the trainers a good understanding of the areas where further knowledge transfer is required, and the importance of it.

The use cases highlighted in the above passages are proof enough of the importance of simulation-based training in the manufacturing sector. A lot of manufacturing giants across the world, from pharmaceutical to equipment manufacturers, are becoming aware of the benefits of game-based training and implementing them to their advantage.

At Indusgeeks, we create high quality and reliable learning/training simulations specific to your needs, and we will also work with you to ensure that the outcome of your program is higher. Our solutions are available on desktop, mobile, tablet and other browsers, therefore making it accessible anywhere and everywhere. #MakeanImpact