Discussions from AWE 2023 – Part 2 – How XR will Transform Workforce Training for Industry 4.0

In this two part blog series, we will be detailing key takeaways from AWE 2023. iQ3Connect attended AWE 2023 in Santa Clara, California where we were invited by Jin An of LG NOVA to participate in a main stage presentation on how XR and AI will transform workforce training for Industry 4.0. This is Part 2 of our blog series which will cover this presentation and topic in greater detail. You can read Part 1 here.

With the U.S. Manufacturing Industry undergoing the 4th industrial revolution, facing millions of unfilled jobs and a nearly 40% turnover rate, efficient workforce training is becoming critical to ensuring organizations maintain competitiveness and prevent worker injuries. iQ3Connect is transforming the way manufacturing companies approach these challenges, by providing a web-browser based training platform that enables anyone to create and deploy virtual training modules on a global scale. LG NOVA has partnered with forward thinking and innovative companies, such as iQ3Connect, to bring powerful and agile solutions to market.

Skills Shortage in Manufacturing:

The manufacturing industry faces a significant shortage of skilled workers (estimated to be 2.1 million by 2030), driven by factors such as a retiring workforce and evolving job requirements. iQ3Connect’s web-browser based training platform offers a practical solution to bridge this skills gap. By leveraging virtual training modules, manufacturing companies can easily create immersive learning experiences tailored to specific job roles and skills. Employees can access these modules globally, on any device, without the need to download apps or software, enabling effective training regardless of geographical location or hardware availability. This technology-driven approach not only enhances the speed and efficiency of skill development but also provides a cost-effective solution for companies to train their workforce at scale.

High Workforce Turnover Rates:

High turnover rates are a constant challenge for the manufacturing industry (40% for the manufacturing industry, compared to 26.3% in the workforce at-large), leading to increased costs associated with recruitment and training. iQ3Connect’s virtual training platform offers a sustainable solution by enabling companies to create standardized training modules that can be deployed globally. This consistency in training ensures that all employees, regardless of their location, receive the same level of knowledge and skills, whether for safety, hazard mitigation, operations, maintenance, etc. By streamlining the onboarding process and reducing the learning curve, iQ3Connect empowers manufacturing companies to cost-effectively train skilled employees and minimize turnover rates.

Benefits of iQ3Connect’s Web-Browser Based Training Platform:

iQ3Connect’s web-browser based training platform provides several key benefits for manufacturing companies. Firstly, it offers flexibility and convenience by eliminating the need for physical training spaces and allowing employees to access training modules from any location with an internet connection. Secondly, the platform fosters a highly engaging and immersive learning environment through its virtual capabilities, making training more interactive and memorable. Thirdly, the platform enables real-time feedback and performance tracking, empowering companies to assess the effectiveness of training programs and identify areas for improvement. Finally, iQ3Connect enables organizations to leverage their existing digital assets and provides no-code authoring tools to easily create XR training that integrates seamlessly into their existing processes, significantly reducing the cost of time of virtual training creation.

Conclusion

In the face of skills shortage and high workforce turnover rates, manufacturing companies must embrace innovative solutions to stay competitive. iQ3Connect’s web-browser based training platform offers a game-changing approach to address these challenges head-on. By providing a scalable, immersive, and globally accessible training solution, iQ3Connect empowers manufacturing companies to bridge the skills gap, reduce turnover rates, and cultivate a highly skilled workforce. The combination of virtual training modules and global deployment capabilities positions iQ3Connect as a valuable tool for the manufacturing industry, enabling companies to thrive in an evolving landscape and drive success in a sustainable and cost-effective manner.

To watch the YouTube video of Jin An’s (LG NOVA) and Ali Merchant’s (iQ3Connect) presentation, click here

Discussions from AWE 2023 – Part 1 – Challenges with Industrial XR Deployment

In this two part blog series, we will be detailing key takeaways from AWE 2023. iQ3Connect attended AWE 2023 in Santa Clara, California where we were invited by Jin An of LG NOVA to participate in a main stage presentation on how XR and AI will transform workforce training for industry 4.0. Part 2 of our blog series will cover this presentation and topic in greater detail. At our exhibit space, we had the opportunity to meet with XR leaders from various industries ranging from aerospace to medical devices to higher education. Most faced similar challenges in trying to scale XR to support everyday work processes within their organizations. These challenges fell into 3 main categories, which we have summarized below as Part 1 of our blog series on AWE 2023:

The limitations of XR experience creation using game engines: most of the companies we met had actively developed XR experiences built on game engines using in-house developers or through outside service providers. Regardless of the approach, the cost and time needed to create such experiences prevented further adoption of XR, with many of the XR experiences taking 6+ months to create and costing over $100,000. These companies were searching for a way to more quickly and cost-effectively build and maintain XR content in-house. The speed of the CAD-to-XR pipeline was fundamental to ensuring that XR product training would be available as soon as the product went to market and for providing up-to-date XR design reviews with internal teams, customers, and partners.

Empowering subject matter experts (SMEs) to build XR training: another common thread was the search for tools that would enable SMEs to build XR training. Their current process of PowerPoint training over web conferences wasn’t providing the level of engagement or knowledge retention that was required for trainee success. Existing XR authoring solutions were too complex and time intensive, SMEs needed to create XR training almost as quickly as they could create a slide deck.

Removing barriers to XR deployment and end-user accessibility: the final theme in our discussions focused on the barriers faced by these organizations when trying to scale existing XR experiences. Initial XR PoCs were able to operate outside the production environment and its corresponding IT restrictions and requirements. Once past the PoC phase though, IT and security hurdles severely inhibited deployment of these experiences to the intended audience. Moreover, as the wider audience generally had a more diverse set of XR devices (or in many instances only had PCs or tablets) compared to the PoC users, device incompatibility plagued large scale rollouts, often resulting in complete abandonment of the project.

The organizations we met came to AWE 2023 to find XR solutions that could address these challenges. They were drawn to iQ3Connect’s booth by our web-based platform focused on industrial XR. Our subsequent discussions focused on how iQ3Connect could address such challenges, a brief summary of which is provided below.

iQ3Connect’s web-based XR Training and Collaboration Platform enables teams to collaborate with CAD models in an XR environment (the CAD-to-XR pipeline) in a matter of minutes, while our Training and Experience Creator enables no-code creation of XR training modules so that SMEs can build XR training as easily as they can create a slide deck. Lastly, we remove deployment and accessibility barriers by enabling organizations to deliver XR experiences in a web browser and integrate into existing business tools such as SSO, PLM, or LMS. Users can access these XR experiences on any VR, AR, PC, or mobile device.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our AWE 2023 blog series where we will be discussing our partnership with LG NOVA and our joint presentation on how XR will transform workforce training for Industry 4.0.

Jin An of LG NOVA and the iQ3Connect team at AWE2023

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