Page 48: of Marine News Magazine (July 2019)

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Lowering Shipbuilding Costs with Immersive Training

The ? ercely competitive domestic boatbuilding industry looks for any advantage in the day-to-day battle for bottom line ef? ciencies. ‘XR

Technologies’ offer an edge to shipyards as they grow their workforce.

By Matthew Wallace n the shipyard, skills such as welding and coating are in dustry standard processes. For example, using Lincoln Elec- high demand. The ability to lay down a proper bead, or tric’s VRTEX 360, trainees can get intensive proactive train- perfect the mil build on a ship’s hull can make the differ- ing on a variety of joints and processes, in and out of position, I ence between a successful project and a failed inspection. all with instantaneous feedback. If a new trainee is struggling

XR technologies are valuable compliments to traditional with penetration on his MiG pipe on plate weld, the simula- training programs (XR is an umbrella category for virtual tor will help him perfect his gun position and complete the reality [VR], mixed reality [MR], and augmented reality proper tie-in; or, a returning worker can be given a refresher [AR]). Ef