Efficient, safe and sustainable: Ericsson trains skilled personnel in 5G factory via VR

Ericsson's 5G Smart Factory in the US is one of the most advanced manufacturing complexes in the world. For the launch of the 5G production facility, technical staff were trained on site with almost no face-to-face interaction. Using virtual reality (VR), new Ericsson employees were able to learn directly from colleagues at another of the company's smart factories 8,000 kilometres away in Estonia. 

Ericsson's new USA 5G Smart Factory in Lewisville, Texas, began operations in early March this year, producing 5G base stations for the North American market. But almost a year earlier, when the future factory site was still empty, Ericsson had already initiated a project to train staff using advanced technology. This approach enabled Ericsson to staff the complex early, open it within the targeted schedule and thus be operational from day one. And it did so without requiring new US factory employees to travel to other Ericsson sites to be trained in person.

Erik Simonsson, head of Ericsson's 5G Smart Factory in the US, explains: "At Ericsson, we don't just talk the talk, we practice what we preach ourselves. That is why we have chosen this approach."

Anna Cau, Head of People, Group Supply, Ericsson, adds: "The challenge was how to train new colleagues in a factory that has not yet opened. We have a 5G-enabled smart factory in Tallinn, Estonia, which has been in operation for some time. We realised that the most efficient and productive way to train our employees in the new US factory would be through virtual collaboration and knowledge sharing with our colleagues in Tallinn. It was time to put VR-enabled induction into action."

In a room with Dallas, Texas and Estonia

From a classroom in Dallas, Texas, the future 5G Smart Factory professionals from the US joined their colleagues in Estonia, 8,000 kilometres away.

In addition to the previously recorded content, Jüri Josepson, an optimisation expert at the Tallinn factory, participated live as an avatar in a 360° tour of the Tallinn production facility and answered questions. Kuldar Agu, Operations Manager of the Tallinn factory, and Katri Jürine, Head of Employees at the factory, supervised the tour.

The first success of the approach was to hold monthly virtual induction sessions for new employees at the 5G Smart Factory in the US. To date, more than 60 professionals have been trained.

"Immersive learning and knowledge sharing simply meet so many different criteria - efficient, safe and sustainable," Cau emphasises." We are proud to have staffed our 5G factory in the US with highly skilled professionals who have been able to facilitate the manufacturing of 5G products from day one thanks to the innovative VR approach we have taken to launching these products. These professionals are now helping to meet the 5G needs of our customers in North America.

Cau adds, "We were able to train our new employees for a physical environment that didn't even exist at the time without putting them on a plane and flying them long distances, all thanks to the power of connectivity and virtual reality."

Source: presseportal