The Virtual Learning Challenge

Voted in the Sunday Times’ top 25 companies to work for in 2019, Lindum Group is a construction company with projects throughout the food, education, and manufacturing industries. The company employs many on-site workers and as such, requires frequent and effective training to reduce the chances of an accident occurring at work.

The student team was asked to explore ways in which this training could be improved. Their main challenge was to research a variety of online E-Learning and Virtual Learning tools that could be implemented into Lindum’s training programmes – specifically for their heavy machine operational roles. The group took the route of investigating the use, and effectiveness of, virtual reality as a method of training, in a similar manner to the training methods used by pilots. This involved emulating a real-world build scenario inside of a computer-operated replica of the machinery used in Lindum’s builds which would reduce the impact of error when training to use the equipment. 

The project team researched the implementation of E-Learning and virtual reality in a variety of industries, comparing the benefits and drawbacks of both, as well as investigating how E-Learning can be implemented in a ‘blended learning’ approach. The students conducted primary research which found that attitudes to using virtual reality are generally positive and that it could provide a suitable replacement for ‘on the job’ training. It was identified that virtual reality could be a viable option for training despite its extensive costs for developing software.

The students taking part in this project were able to benefit from an extended guided tour of the Lindum site, which included meeting with members of the different departments and a few of the site managers. This gave them a sense of what it would be like to work in a variety of roles at Lindum.