Photo: Opel
Back in the 20th century, building a passenger vehicle was simple considering the operation consisted of straightforward processes. Employees worked on the assembly and everyone had to do one job - screwing some nuts, connecting the gauges to the engine, fitting wheels and so on and so forth.
But as vehicles get more and more intricate due to advanced electronics and high fit & finish standards, factory employees need more training than before to assemble an automobile. But building a modern and tech-savvy vehicle is way harder than using a little elbow grease to screw a dashboard together.
Take the airbag for example. A factory worker must learn to install it neatly into the steering wheel, but also connect it properly to the airbag’s computer module. That’s no easy task, but one that takes endless hours of practice. This being the year of the recalls, automakers simply can’t afford to mess up their vehicles, especially during assembly.
To be put into practice from 2015, VISTRA virtual training has a few notable advantages. It’s quicker, cheaper and much more flexible than learning with reproduced hardware prototypes. Evaluation revealed that those trained virtually make less mistakes (down 40%) than those trained on prototypes.
Despite these advantages, the German manufacturer tells that the virtual system will not replace working on real prototypes completely, but complement the current prototype-only assembly training system.
Take the airbag for example. A factory worker must learn to install it neatly into the steering wheel, but also connect it properly to the airbag’s computer module. That’s no easy task, but one that takes endless hours of practice. This being the year of the recalls, automakers simply can’t afford to mess up their vehicles, especially during assembly.
Because of these reasons, GM subsidiary Opel is testing virtual training of its assembly line workers
Dubbed Project VISTRA (Virtual Simulation and Training of Assembly and Service Processes in Digital Factories), Opel is now bringing the digital dimension into real world applications by preparing employees for assembly procedures with the help of a Nintendo Wii and a Microsoft Kinect camera.To be put into practice from 2015, VISTRA virtual training has a few notable advantages. It’s quicker, cheaper and much more flexible than learning with reproduced hardware prototypes. Evaluation revealed that those trained virtually make less mistakes (down 40%) than those trained on prototypes.
Despite these advantages, the German manufacturer tells that the virtual system will not replace working on real prototypes completely, but complement the current prototype-only assembly training system.
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