Services company Danos said it is tapping virtual reality (VR) technology to assess and train its employees, in an effort to drive down costs for customers while increasing safety and minimizing exposure.
“It’s critical that employees be assessed for competency, and the costs and risks of doing this on site are tremendous,” said the company's owner Eric Danos. “By eliminating the need to send employees offshore or to a remote job site, we can provide savings to our customers in time, cost and unnecessary risk.”
Using VR software and headsets, employees can see a job site and virtually perform tasks at a Danos or customer office rather than involving travel offshore or to a job site.
Employees undergoing assessment are able to demonstrate that he or she can perform a task rather than simply explaining the steps involved. At the same time, the technology creates an accelerated learning process by allowing employees to see the internal workings of equipment in the program’s animated view.
The Louisiana-based company said it began developing its VR competency assessment and training program in late 2018, and it plans to begin fully implementing the program for both land-based and offshore work environments in December 2019.
Danos, who believes technology transform the oil industry, said employees are embracing the hands-on, technologically advanced approach to training, and it hopes to appeal to those entering the labor market.
“Millennials are the largest group in our workforce, and they learn differently than previous generations,” he said. “We need to attract new employees in a way that resonates with their skills and experience, and VR is one way to do that.”