Major European Car Manufacturer Exploits Serious Games Technology to Improve Production Line Performance

LONDON, November 3, 2011 -

Summary

An innovative immersive training simulation has been implemented by a major European car manufacturer to improve the response times and decision making skills of Team Leaders on production lines. The cutting-edge simulation was designed by award-winning serious games design company, Caspian Learning.

One of Europe’s largest car manufacturers is the latest in a long line of performance-orientated companies to use gaming technology as a tool to improve the performance of staff.  The company, through proactive performance initiatives, recently identified an area within their production line processes that could be made more efficient with some additional training.

Instead of reverting back to traditional forms of training, similar to those used in the past, the company have introduced an entirely innovative, new and cutting edge type of training. The new training relies on the same highly immersive concept used by the world’s best selling console games.

By transforming traditional training material from presentation slides, written documents and experience into a highly immersive 3D game, the company have successfully managed to create a more engaging form of training where positive results are already being recorded.

The serious game was designed by Caspian Learning, who are one of Europe’s leading, recognised serious games and simulation designers with numerous games design awards to their name. Their solutions are being used in some of Europe’s largest companies.

Caspian Learning took a bite-sized chunk of the production line process and transformed it into a fully interactive 3D environment. In the simulation, trainees are free to walk about, look at and interact with anything in the environment.  The environment is a working production line and the role of the trainee is that of the Team Leader.

As the line progresses, random events occur that the Team Leader has to respond to and deal with appropriately. Scores are recorded as the trainee progresses through the shift and responds to situations.

Due to the digital nature of the training, a huge range of faults and events are possible that would not be cost effective to perform on a live production line.

As well as enabling trainees to experience extremely rare faults in the simulation, turning the traditional training material into an immersive serious game has also improved the level of engagement from its users and therefore improved the overall impact of the training.

Chris Brannigan, CEO of Caspian Learning, said: “It was extremely exciting to create this kind of serious game or simulation where real performance benefits for our client can be achieved. It is even more exciting when the client is one of the world’s largest in its industry!”

The simulation (or serious game, as some will call it) has already been scheduled for a wider roll-out throughout the company.

About Caspian Learning

Caspian Learning are an award-winning serious games technology and design company. Formed in 2002, they are the developer of the acclaimed Thinking Worlds, whose globally unique technology allows instructional designers to create fully immersive 3D sims & games at costs previously restricted to 2D development.  They are the global leader in the use of 3D games and simulations technology for performance improvement, having developed over 100 sims or games for clients all over the world including IBM, BBC, QinetiQ, Accenture, Volvo, the Ministry of Defence and the European Union among others.

Lee Rushworth, +44(0)191-5561043, lee.rushworth@caspianlearning.co.uk

.