Eddie Orbison of Clean Seal Inc. in South Bend, Ind., tries out a VRTex welding simulator from VRSim Inc. under the watchful gaze of Lincoln Electric Company’s Jason Scales at the Work Truck Show in Indianapolis this March.Photo: Keith Norbury
Faced with a chronic shortage of welders and a new generation of tech-savvy employees, more companies are incorporating virtual-reality systems into their hiring and training strategies.
Welding simulators give both new and veteran welders the chance to hone their skills and build confidence — and give employers the chance to recruit would-be welders who are either attracted to the virtual reality experience or anxious about jumping straight into the booth.
Jason Scales, business manager for education at Lincoln Electric Company in Cleveland, Ohio,
Jenny Ogborn The Lincoln Electric Company, Cleveland, OH, USA
“When you think about the low unemployment we have, we have to differentiate how we are going to attract people to manufacturing and welding.”—Jason Scales, business manager for education, Lincoln Electric Company
an industry leader in welding simulators and training, said it’s important for companies to recognize that the landscape of the industry has changed dramatically — as have the ways in which welders can train and perform their work.
“How we weld today in advanced manufacturing or mass production or those different arenas is different than what we did and how we did it 20, 30 or 40 years ago,” he said. “We use robotics, advanced processes and GMAW (gas metal arc welding) … how we train and engage with welders is different.”
Bringing training to life
For many welders, that shift is happening as early as high school. The portability and safety of welding simulators means that instructors or employers can bring the welding experience into the classroom, giving students a chance to try their hand at a weld and explore a potential career path.
“When you think about the low unemployment we have, we have to differentiate how we are going to attract people to manufacturing and welding,” Scales said. “How you can use the virtual simulators, our products, is that you can engage that training and education in a completely different way — it brings it to life.”
Incorporating technology into an introduction to welding can help draw in more students who may not have considered the field. Plus, simulators can serve multiple purposes, like allowing a teacher to demonstrate a technique to multiple students at once — and giving them all a more close-up view than possible in a standard teaching setting. For more individualized instruction, the machines can record a student’s work, allowing a teacher to go into replay mode to analyze each step of the process, and provide specific feedback.
Scales explained those options during a presentation at the 2019 Work Truck Show in Indianapolis this March. As an example, he said, say you want to train a group of welders in using a weave technique. Instead of explaining the process out loud or trying to do a demonstration — and just hoping everyone is able to pick up on the nuances of the technique — a simulation can provide a more in-depth tutorial.
“You can see it in real time, you can do a bird’s eye view and show them how you’re moving that
Those options can help set the course for a more accelerated introduction to welding, which means new employees could be ready sooner to help with a company’s workload. And in a time when welders are in such short supply, Scales said that’s a benefit that should be of high importance in just about every workplace.
“We have to, No. 1, get the right people in the door and then skill them up as quickly as possible,” he said. “And once we get them in production, and they start honing their skills, then they can maybe move up the ladder.”
VRSim Inc.’s products also include SimSpray for spray paint training.Photo: VRSim
Seasoned welders benefit
Simulators aren’t just for brand new welders. Seasoned professionals at any point in their career can improve their skills with the virtual training. The technology can help diagnose problems that might be hard to pinpoint on the floor. A welder could run through the same process he or she had been struggling with, record it, and then get specific help or tips on how to make things work better.
“The computer doesn’t care who you are, and it doesn’t care how long you’ve welded,” Scales said, “So it’s going to measure you in that weld, regardless of who you are.”
Still, everyone isn’t sold — at least not immediately — on the idea of turning the training process
“The numbers are not there yet to make it a no-brainer. It still requires thought and some balancing, and it’s going to be driven by price point and efficacy.”— Matthew Wallace, CEO and president, VRSim Inc.
over to a computer. Matthew Wallace, CEO and president of VRSim Inc., a Connecticut-based virtual reality software and simulator developer, said he’s seeing a growing acceptance of the technology at two ends of the corporate spectrum. CEOs are embracing the use of simulators, as are workers starting out in training programs, but there is still some resistance among more experienced workers and mid-level managers.
“The numbers are not there yet to make it a no-brainer,” Wallace said. “It still requires thought and some balancing, and it’s going to be driven by price point and efficacy.”
Wallace said he points people to studies showing that companies that want to stay competitive should be investing in technology and training like simulators, and notes that costs are dropping — though maybe not quickly enough to persuade some companies into taking a risk.
But as younger workers develop their skills and move into management roles, Wallace expects that more will be looking toward simulation for training — in part because it’s the sort of thing they grew up with at home and in school.
“As the instructors themselves get younger, (and have) grown up with video games, they have become generally more open to change,” he said.
Reaching a tipping point
Sometimes, the tipping point for people waffling on the idea of simulators comes when they try it out for themselves. Wallace, who presented alongside Scales at the Work Truck Show, said the experience frequently surprises people.
“The first reaction we get is: ‘Wow, that’s a lot more realistic than I was expecting,’” he said. “Everybody comes in with an expectation of what they expect from the quality of the simulation.”
Wallace said he also expects a smaller percentage of people to insist that no simulation is as good as doing and seeing the work in the real world. And he believes they are right.
“That’s not a statement we hide from; We absolutely know the real thing is the best way to do it,” he said. “But we also know that’s the most expensive way to do it.”
Companies that are prepared to use simulators for multiple purposes — recruitment, training, diagnostics — are probably best suited to make the investment in the technology, Scales said.
“You have to use it through the whole process of onboarding and training your workforce,” he said.
As demand for the technology grows, so are the many applications for it in workplaces of all sizes. Ready or not, Scales said, welding simulators are on their way toward becoming an established part of the business. And that’s especially true so long as the supply of jobs far outpaces the supply of welders.
“It’s here to stay — it’s not going away,” he said.
— Erin Golden
Erin Golden is a writer based in Minnesota.
