Enhancing operational competency in desalination plants: A virtual reality-based training model for entry-level technicians

Abstract

The ongoing water crises worldwide have prompted the demand for trained desalination technicians to address water scarcity concerns. Consequently, focusing on this problem, the current study intends to propose a Virtual Reality (VR) training program for the skill development of novice desalination technicians and examine and compare its effectiveness for enhancing the practical competence of new trainees against those of traditional training approaches. A quasi-experimental research design with a triangulation approach was employed, and 30 trainees were recruited for the study. The participants were divided into two groups: control (traditional training) and experimental (VR training), each encompassing 15 trainees. The VR module was designed to simulate reverse osmosis (RO) operations, and participants' skills were assessed pre-training and post-training using checklists, performance scores, and surveys. The findings revealed significant improvements in the VR group compared to the control group, showing that their performance scores went up by 19.7 points, in contrast to the traditional group's 9.8 points. Furthermore, the VR group demonstrated 34% higher accuracy, 28.5% improvement in task completion time, and 42.3% improvement in procedural compliance compared to those trained with traditional methods. Additionally, the experimental group also completed a survey to report their satisfaction and perceptions regarding distinct aspects of the VR module and indicated that participants found the system highly realistic and interactive. Overall, the results specified that VR is a safer, more effective, and more engaging way of training desalination technicians and that the technology has promise for advancing skill acquisition and operations in the water industry.