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Training for employees at Freudenberg Medical is evolving into the digital world while clearing roadblocks that arose from supply chain disruptions and improving overall efficiency.
If you visit Freudenberg Medical's site in Carrick-on-Shannon, Ireland, you may encounter people wearing virtual reality goggles. Even though they are obviously having fun - they are not competing in a virtual table tennis tournament. On the contrary: they are engaged in a training program that’s ensuring employees have the skills to meet the high-quality standards required in the manufacturing of catheters for minimally invasive surgery. Catheters are used in the human body and therefore must meet the highest standards.
For the team that built this new program, there really is no downside to moving training into a virtual reality space. Seamus Maguire, VP of GROWTTH and Lean Systems at Freudenberg Medical, had an integral role in developing this VR training and has seen dramatic improvement since its implementation.
“Introducing new employees on the shop floor is challenging,” said Seamus Maguire, VP of GROWTTH and Lean Systems at Freudenberg Medical. “We have many highly specialized tasks that need to be accomplished under magnification. Training for these tasks previously required a dedicated trainer for each trainee.”
Conventional training at Freudenberg Medical meant production on lines would be disrupted so new employees could get adequate training. Now, those new employees are doing 100 plus repetitions through VR training prior to beginning work on the line.
Seamus Maguire, VP of GROWTTH and Lean Systems at Freudenberg Medical, had an integral role in developing this VR training.
Lars Gerding, Vice President GBU Silicone & Vice President of Technology at Freudenberg Medical, is now seeing a significant decrease in scrap generated through training.
“After three days of VR training the operator is able to hit takt time,” said Darragh Beirne, GROWTTH Lean Engineer.
Prior to integrating this VR training, Beirne, who helps facilitate training at the Carrick-on-Shannon site, says it took three to four weeks for operators to gain the beat of the lines and hit takt time.
“This VR training builds muscle memory for trainees,” said Beirne. “It creates awareness of the materials used and the equipment terminology.”
All of this is happening without trainees ever touching a single product or raw material. Typically, raw materials are used to teach new employees how to manufacture the catheters. Now that employees can learn initially though VR training Lars Gerding, Vice President GBU Silicone & Vice President of Technology at Freudenberg Medical, is seeing a significant decrease in scrap generated through training.
New virtual reality training at Freudenberg Medical is significantly increasing the speed in which new employees can hit takt time. (Photo Credit: Paul Lehane)
“This follows Freudenberg’s commitment to sustainability and as a byproduct we are saving money and improving efficiency,” said Lars Gerding, Vice President GBU Silicone & Vice President of Technology at Freudenberg Medical
In addition, Freudenberg Medical, like so many other companies, has been struggling with supply chain disruptions in recent years. Gerding says utilizing raw materials that are in short supply for training wasn’t ideal, and VR training has solved this problem as well.
Freudenberg Medical’s VR training is designed for employees to complete at their own pace. Currently, this VR training is being done on site, but there is opportunity to expand access to this style of training in the future.
“We have taken a requirement of in-person presence and opened up the ability to train from anywhere,” said Maguire.
This gamification approach to training has also encouraged competition among participating employees.
“VR training is giving more people the opportunity to train in a way that works best for them and takes away the one-size-fits all approach,” said Gerding.
After a successful rollout in Ireland, Freudenberg Medical plans to soon implement VR training at other sites where there are highly precise steps being done manually under magnification. Gerding says the long-term plan is to put VR training in place company wide.
Looking inside the VR training headset
This VR training at Freudenberg Medical is giving trainees an interactive experience that allows them to physically walk through the process of producing catheters before they start on the line.