Fonterra says the new technology, developed with Beca, will help to substantially reduce onboarding times.
Director of Health and Safety, Resilience and Risk at Fonterra, Greg Lazzaro, said virtual reality has the potential to be a game changer for Fonterra.
“The opportunities for VR are significant,” Lazzaro said.
“With this solution, we can replicate the physical environment of our sites, so staff can undertake virtual health and safety training in an extremely immersive and realistic way.
”That means our people can learn about and identify potential hazards more quickly than ever, encouraging more engaged employees and better workplace safety“
Following a successful pilot, the new VR technology will replace a significant portion of the hands-on health and safety training at Fonterra that is often costlier and less effective.
Training can be tailored to each of Fonterra's sites and tested through the completion of modules.
Project Manager for Beca, Andrew Cowie, says the technology is the future of health and safety training.
”Walmart now trains using VR, American footballers are using it and so is the military,“ Cowie said.
”Our clients are increasingly interested in the application of VR technologies and the value it can add to their businesses.“
