Pixaera Case Study: GE’s FieldCore Field Services

Safety training is important in nearly every profession, especially so in sectors with high-leverage worksites and complex equipment. The energy industry represents a vital landscape for safety enhancement, given that its infrastructure is needed everywhere. Advanced systems, and a lot of moving parts, are commonplace.

FieldCore is a field services maintenance business that focuses on servicing heavy-duty, power-producing equipment for various sites and facilities across the energy market: gas and steam plants, renewable energy sites, oil refineries and offshore pumping and drilling stations. The company, which is wholly-owned by General Electric, emphasizes innovation and optimization in its processes, and considers its people to be its most important asset.

As FieldCore began searching for ways to enhance its safety training procedures, Pixaera emerged as an optimal cultural fit. FieldCore’s leadership recognized a need for a new training mechanism to keep its employees abreast of strict in-house training requirements that meet both the company’s internal procedures, and the international standards across their global network. Pixaera’s immersive VR training platform represented a solution, prompting a partnership with FieldCore.

Virtual reality is gaining prominence in the field services industry. Guillaume Camard, IT Director for FieldCore Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA), recognized this opportunity.

“Two to three years from now, the AR/VR approach is going to be much more common because it’s efficient and effective and the best option for many types of training,” Camard said.

Here’s a breakdown of FieldCore’s deployment of Pixaera for its global safety training program:

Escaping the cycle of papers & lectures

It’s been suggested that we only retain about 10% of the information we read, compared to a 75% retention rate when we actually practice an activity or skill.

Static safety materials like PowerPoints, training manuals and worksheets aren’t the most effective means to implement a safety culture. Camard studied feedback from employees at FieldCore and found that they preferred a higher level of immersion in their training.

“We’re finding that they expect a tech experience at work that closely resembles what they’re used to in their personal lives, Camard said.

“With smartphones, voice assistants, and immersive entertainment, the standards are high. We knew we had to look at new methods of delivery - VR, AR, gamification - if we were going to reach the business goals associated with safety training.”

More effective training and positive user experience combine for efficient results. 100% of Pixaera users prefer the immersive VR simulations to traditional methods like paper-based modules.

“With Pixaera’s gamification features, they walk through the process, turn right, turn left, and gain a clearer understanding about what they have to do,” Camard added.

Flexibility to deploy Pixaera worldwide

A key differentiator for FieldCore was the scalability of Pixaera’s offerings. While a VR headset produces optimal results, Pixaera simulations are similarly effective on a PC, which allows a global organization like FieldCore to deploy training without investing in new technical infrastructure.

“We needed a solution which guaranteed that an engineer working on a job in Pakistan would complete the work in the same standard process as someone in Kuwait,” Camard explained.

Training costs were reduced by roughly 50%. FieldCore could drastically reduce its travel expenses with the new platform, as it no longer became necessary to fly employees to specific locations for seminars or in-person training.

Positive, measurable results to build on

Positive momentum is great - especially when it’s backed up by measurable, actionable data. Pixaera Learn allowed FieldCore’s managers to track trainee progress in real time, offering additional insights when needed. Company leadership found that workers across the spectrum of age and experience enjoyed Pixaera’s simulations.

The initial set of Pixaera modules provided a baseline for FieldCore to continue tweaking and adding to its VR safety training program. Revolutionizing a company’s safety training infrastructure isn’t complete with one step. FieldCore leveraged Pixaera’s immersive nature, scalability and measurable feedback to lay a foundation for continued safety improvement.

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