The view a trainee would see using TRANSFR's bridge crane VR training.

Youre probably familiar with the service transformers that reduce the electrical power feeding your home to its proper voltagetheyre the can-looking things up on the power poles in your neighborhood, or the metal box at the edge of your front yard.

The Hyundai Power Transformers plant in Montgomery, Alabama.

The ones that handle the really big voltages at electrical substations, though, are tremendously larger than those little jobs. Those huge transformers are the kind made by Hyundai Power Transformers (HPT), a division of Koreas Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems Co., Ltd., in its plant in Montgomery, Alabama. The size of their transformers makes simply moving them within the factory a considerable safety challenge. The plants bridge cranes, which can lift up to 400 tons, are specialized pieces of equipment that require extensive training to service and operate.

Our oil-filled transformers weigh anywhere from 100,000 to 800,000 pounds, said Tony Wojciechowski, HPTs Chief Human Resources Officer. So any crane lift is a highly critical operation. HPT President JuSeok Kim has noted the plants enviable safety record, with over six million hours worked in Montgomery without a Lost-Time Accident. With highly-experienced Baby Boomer employees nearing retirement and a need to grow their workforce, the company wanted a better way to train new employees for those critical crane operations.

Transformers on a rail car for shipment after their construction at the Hyundai Power Transformers ... [+] facility in Alabama. Note the worker in the distance for scale.

Thats where virtual reality (VR) comes in. This week Hyundai and Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT), a division of the Alabama Department of Commerce, announced the launch of a statewide initiative that used HPTs training needs as the catalyst and built a VR-based crane inspection and operation instructional program. They worked in conjunction with TRANSFR, a New York City-based tech startup thats using the $12 million in Series A funding it raised last November to develop hands-on, simulation-based training for industrial users. Most people dont think of the government as innovative, said Bharani Rajakumar, CEO of TRANSFR. But here you have the AIDT leading the charge, bringing in Hyundai to help develop this, then implementing it and getting real results.

For us, heavy crane work is a great fit for the VR application, Wojciechowski said. Its repeatable, and it makes things very easy to learn. If someone uses this, when they hit the floor theyre already a year ahead of where theyd have been without this training.

One of the bridge cranes at the Hyundai Power Transformers plant. This one will lift up to 200 tons.

We give people the real experience of what its like to do the job, said Rajakumar. Its immersive, which can mean different things, including just having a 360-degree view. Here, its that but more, and gives the worker the experience of actually using the equipment and making mistakes. TRANSFRs technology is based on the Oculus Quest for Business platform. The tech allows the learner to acquire skills in the virtual setting, and then go straight to work in the HPT system.

Ed Castile is Executive Director, AIDT, and deputy secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. As Tony said, it provides consistent training, he said. But its also a psychological thing. It lets you get comfortable with the equipment in a virtual environment. The real thing can be very intimidatingits a daunting task to take on. TRANSFR worked directly with Tonys people to develop training thats very real, but in a safe environment.

To me, whats interesting is not just the technology, but using it to give outsiders a peek at what happens behind the walls at HPT, said Rajakumar. In a way its a recruiting tool. Most young people have no idea what goes on in manufacturing.

The program launched this week is intended to help manufacturers across Alabama see the potential of VR training. What we learned from TRANSFR will apply to any industrial setting, Wojciechowski explained.

A trainee using TRANSFRs virtual instructional program.

Weve been at this since pre-Covid-19, Rajakumar added. We already have over 100 industrial applications in our catalog, and we expect to have over 500 by the end of this year. The company is entirely focused on manufacturing applications for now. Weve developed applications for automotive, construction, manufacturing fundamentals, and safety, he said. In the future, after weve mastered these applicationsmarrying the technology with the workforce ecosystem to get people onto a solid career paththen we might explore other areas like healthcare.

A key consideration in all of this is the development of the next generation of workers. One of the things we encounter a good bit is people really arent comfortable with this, Castile said. People say it looks funny to put on these headsets. But for younger people, this is where they come from. Theyre used to this kind of technology. This is just the leading edge of whats coming.

But it also goes deeper than simple worker training. In 2018 Alabama Governor Kay Ivey set out an ambitious state economic development goal of adding 500,000 highly-skilled employees to the states workforce by 2025. Were diligent in our promotion of workforce development in Alabama, said Wojciechowski. We have great support from Governor Ivey and Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield, Ed Castile, Chairman of the Alabama WIOA board George Clark, and a host of various high-level supporters of workforce development in the seven Alabama Workforce Development Regions.

For Rajakumar it goes deeper still. The times were in are scary for a lot of people, he said. A lot of them arent sure when theyll get back to work or where their next paycheck will come from. Thats especially true for the underprivilegedpeople of color and people from rural areas especially. Were very excited to work with people in government, industry and education to equip workers with valuable skills. This is a real opportunityits not a gimmick. It can help put people on a path to prosperity.

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Virtual Reality Is Helping This Transformer Maker Train Employees For Heavy Lifting - Forbes