The Effectiveness of Virtual Training in Organizations
Lisa R. Sickinger
University of Maryland University College
ITEC 610 Section 9042

Abstract
This paper discusses how virtual training is a cost effective training solution for organizations without sacrificing training quality. Three major motivations for implementing virtual training are discussed: 1) To replace traditional training; 2) To develop new training capabilities; and 3) To augment traditional training. In each of these scenarios, this paper shows how cost effectiveness is realized through cost savings, reduced risks and increased proficiency of trainees.

Table of Contents Introduction 4 Background 4 What is Virtual Training? 4 What is Cost Effectiveness? 5 Virtual Training Effectiveness 6 Replacing Traditional Training 6 Developing New Training Capabilities 9 Augmenting Traditional Training 13 Conclusion 18 References 19

Introduction
Virtualization is a term often heard today with regards to information technology innovations. One area of virtualization that is widely being adopted by organizations is virtual training. Is the adoption of virtual training simply a popular trend or are there greater benefits? Like any project, the development and implementation of a new technology like virtual training requires extensive planning and resource allocation. Are the extensive investments needed to implement a virtual training program worth it to the organization in the long run? Despite the research and development costs, this paper seeks to demonstrate how virtual training is a cost effective means to conduct organization training without sacrificing training quality.
Background
What is Virtual Training?
Virtual training is defined as any type of training that uses information technology like computers and the Internet to emulate a real-world scenario. There are many different types of virtual training, but all can be categorized as instructor supported or non-instructor supported (Virtual reality, n.d.).
Instructor-led virtual training emulates traditional classroom training with the exception of physical location. In one example, an instructor uses audio and video to broadcast the training material over the Internet. Students access the material via the World Wide Web, and if it is a live training session, are able to ask questions and receive feedback using input/output devices on their own computers. Instructors can also use all other forms of instructional media to display in the virtual classroom, including presentation slides or supporting video files.
Non-instructor led virtual training can be delivered in a wide range of applications. It can be as simple as a power point presentation made available via the Internet. However, advancements in computing capabilities have led to much more advanced applications of virtual training. 3-D virtual reality environments that simulate physical presence in a real or made-up world are being utilized to train individuals beyond simply conveying information via technological means.
However, because a technology capability exists does not mean it is in the best interest of an organization. In order to introduce a new technology, an organization must ensure that the use of the technology brings a positive impact to the organization. Although monetary gains, or cost benefits, are the most common and easiest means of validating implementation of a new technology, there are many other types of positive impacts. This paper will discuss how multiple types of positive impacts, beyond cost benefits, are realized through the use of virtual training. The term used to categorize all possible positive impacts is cost effectiveness.
What is Cost Effectiveness?
Whereas cost benefits define the monetary benefit from selecting a course of action, cost effectiveness is measured as the amount of a desired effect from a monetary investment. In terms of training, monetary gain is not the only desired effect of a well implemented program. Many other effects are measured, and in some organizations, prioritized higher than monetary benefits. Some examples of beneficial effects from successful training programs are increased proficiency, reduced risks, or number of lives saved. Although cost benefits are certainly one type of cost effectiveness, this paper seeks to explore various cost effectiveness effects of virtual training in organizations in addition to cost savings.
Virtual Training Effectiveness Virtual training is utilized in a wide variety of organizations. The motivation for each organization to implement virtual training varies on what effects the organization seeks to achieve. This paper will explore the cost effectiveness of three different applications of virtual training: 1) Replacing traditional training; 2) Developing new training capabilities; and 3) Augmenting traditional training.
Replacing Traditional Training
Some organizations have developed and implemented virtual training programs as a replacement to traditional training methods. Specifically, the implementation of virtual training in the manufacturing and maintenance industries has given way to a much more in-depth and thorough means of training over traditional training. According to Yang and Wong (2010), “Training on the machining operation has been mainly carried out in the way of on-site physical training. The trainees will be trained on the machining theory and practice on the real machine in a group manner” (p. 1285). This type of on-the-job training has not proven to be the most effective way of training. First, since trainees are observing actual operations at “full speed”, the primary objective is to manufacture the required product as quickly as possible while training becomes a secondary, not-to-interfere, task. This type of training environment does not lend to a collaborative learning environment of questions and answers. Secondly, group observation does not provide trainees repetitive hands-on experience. Conversely, computer-based training can be provided separately from real world observations where trainees can spend as much time learning, or repeating, a learning objective as much as needed to master the topic. Virtual training forces each trainee to interact and participate in the training. Lastly, virtual training can be easily logged and recorded using computing algorithms in order to ensure each trainee receives a minimum amount of exposure to a learning objective.
What makes virtual training so successful in these industries is because both manufacturing and maintenance activities are sequenced-based tasks. Multiple scenarios can be developed within the virtual environment to test the proper application of a sequence. Also, scenarios can be repeated as many times as possible to reinforce, through repetition, the proper process.
Wang and Li (2004) discuss the use of virtual reality in industrial training applications. The authors focus on the use of a 3-D synthetic environment, and how its complexity emulates reality to a level of fidelity sufficient for training. Wang and Li (2004) state, “Maintenance represents the largest single variable operating cost in most enterprises when considering physical plant value, maintenance labour, materials and overhead. High productivity maintenance contributes to better customer service, high quality, on-time delivery and, ultimately, satisfied customers” (p. 192). The authors developed a case study to analyze the effectiveness of virtual reality training for maintenance of a centrifugal pump commonly used in refineries. The purpose of the study was to develop a virtual training program on a desktop computer that enabled a user to identify faulty components and then perform disassembly, casualty correction and reassembly of the faulty component with the correct sequenced procedures. The case study showed that a virtual training scenario could be developed that accurately represented a maintenance action with high fidelity and complex graphics. The authors conclude that a virtual training program within the industrial industry provides direct cost savings as, “This desktop prototype VR system does not relegate a training task to a training room or a particular audience. With the hardware and software required, the proposed system offers a portable and affordable VR solution to industrial training applications” (Wang and Li, 2004, p. 197).
Yang and Wong (2010) discuss how web-based virtual training in manufacturing can be developed to provide training to all levels of proficiency. Beyond new hires with no experience, a web-based virtual training program can be architected with different layers of difficulty. Where a standardized interface is used to introduce fundamental knowledge and tasks sequences to junior personnel, advanced topics can also be provided for personnel who are already experienced. A multi-level tailor-able virtual training application allows all trainees, regardless of level or experience, to “Move forward on their study progress by going through case studies designed with different complexity” (Yang and Wong, 2010, p. 1290).
The cost effectiveness in virtual training for sequence-based training is realized in direct cost savings. Trainees are able to effectively and efficiently learn the sequenced tasks in a shorter amount of time than group observation. Time is directly proportional to training costs; the less time a trainee is required to become qualified, the less training costs are needed. Additionally, more effective training results in fewer errors in day-to-day job performance.
Besides the quality of training material, certain applications of virtual training are more advantageous than traditional training due to the expanded availability of training. Another form of traditional training besides group observation that occurs in industry is classroom style training. This type of traditional training requires the instructor and the trainees to be in one geographic location at a set time. Conversely, virtual training enables trainees to be geographically distributed and allows trainees to proceed through the material at their own independent times. For a geographically distributed organization, expensive travel funds are needed to place trainees and instructors in one geographic area. Also, regular work hour productivity is lost if a trainee has to travel to a training site for a fixed period of time. With the use of desktop computer-based training applications, cost effectiveness is observed in direct cost savings. Organizations save on travel expenses and trainees can complete training at their normal workstation around other day-to-day tasks.
Developing New Training Capabilities
Virtualization has a big impact on organizational training when a capability that did not previously exist is created. Training capabilities of this type are typically ones that cannot be performed or emulated in day-to-day operations due to their intrinsic nature. Examples include medical or flight emergencies. As such, two industries which have taken advantage of new training capabilities through virtualization are the medical and aviation industries.
Because no previous training capability exists, the development and implementation of virtual training comes at a monetary cost. However, the cost benefits are realized in units other than dollars, for example the number of lives saved. The following discusses the virtual applications implemented in the medical and aviation industries and how each realized training effectiveness through virtualization.
In the medical community, practitioners seek to identify and heal things that are wrong with the human body. Ailments, diseases and other medical conditions are, by nature, uncommon and complicated. It is often unpractical or unsafe to use a live human for medical student training applications. In many instances, medical students were only taught via a traditional book or lecture style of teaching prior to their commissioning as a medical doctor.
The application of virtual training provides a means to create exposure/experience training opportunities for doctors in training. Calinici and Muntean (2010) state:
One of the goals in medical education on undergraduate level is to enable the students to identify and solve clinical problems. For this, the students must interact with the patients, and this experience is blended with traditional lectures and small group tutorials. But the issues of safety, the legislation, the patients punctual reactions, limit this interaction, and because of this, the medical education for the students in not the best that could be offered. A solution for this is to use simulations instead of real patients. One of the most suitable technologies for this is the use of virtual patients (page #?).
A virtual patient is a general concept referring to the use of computers, the Internet and software applications tailored to the medical learning environment. A virtual patient enables a controlled and structured environment to introduce various symptoms or conditions to medical students. Virtual ED Patient is an example of a virtual patient application. It is a virtual model that was designed to present emergency scenarios to medical students. Within the model, four patient vital signs are monitored by the user (the medical student) throughout the course of the exercise. The simulation is time-step driven, meaning that as time passes, the simulation changes in order to emulate events in the real world that would change with the passing of time. For example, the simulator is programmed such that the virtual patient vital signs worsen as time passes if no action is taken. The user has the ability to intervene throughout the course of the time-step driven simulation and is able to monitor changes in the four core vital signs based on his or her intervention. The model implementers used a pre- and post-test to measure if there was a knowledge gain after the student used the virtual model. Using accepted analysis methodologies, the authors were able to show that there was a statistically significant improvement between pre- and post-tests as a result of model usage. The authors conclude that the implementation of Virtual ED Patient can be expanded to other medical disciplines to effectively enhance medical training (Dev, et al., 2007). Another example of a virtual patient is a colonoscopy simulator. Advanced graphics and high fidelity algorithms are used to create realistic graphic simulations of what a doctor would see through an actual colonoscope device. Additionally, the user interface apparatus is a physical mock-up of a real colonoscope. Specifically, the handle, or joy stick, that is used for the virtual simulator closely resembles a real colonoscope’s handle and provides the student the actual translational and rotational movement. Survey results shows that physicians supported the realistic use and effectiveness of the colonoscopy simulator (Yi, Woo, Ahn, Kwon & Lee, 2006). The military also adopted virtual patient applications in the training of combat medics. The United States Army adopted a simulation program called STATcare (Simulation Technologies for Advanced Trauma Care) with the specific intent to study the impacts of virtual training on combat medics. A primary difference in the application of the military virtual patient is that combat medics do not attend nearly the amount of schooling as civilian doctors or nurses. However, they are expected to perform trauma response while on the battlefield. The application of STATcare demonstrates the versatile capabilities of the virtual patient. Although used for similar medical conditions as Virtual ED Patient, STATcare is able to induce a different environment, specifically a battlefield with limited medical equipment and the induced stress of battle (Hemman, 2005). It is difficult to correlate a cost benefit to medical applications of new virtual training capabilities. There is also little literature to document the direct benefits of virtual training in actual medical practices. However, studies of virtual tools like Virtual ED Patient and the colonoscopy simulator empirically show the effectiveness of virtual patients in increasing the proficiency of medical practitioners. There is a likely inference that increased proficiency in a training environment has direct results in real world applications.
Augmenting Traditional Training
In many cases, virtual training cannot replace “real world” training. Although virtual training is not an adequate replacement to traditional means in all scenarios, many instances exist where using virtual training used to augment traditional training provides enhanced proficiency or capability to an organization. The aviation industry proved the effectiveness of augmented virtual training with the use of simulators for aircraft maintenance inspectors. Maintenance inspectors are considered a key component of safe aviation and follow strict protocols administered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). However, stressful working conditions, especially a demand to complete the task quickly, can impact the performance of an inspector despite having strict procedures in place (Bowling, Khasawneh, Kaewkuekool, Jiang & Gramopadhye, 2008). Additionally, maintenance defects are not the norm, and therefore are not seen with great repetition during on-the-job training. By creating a virtual reality environment of an aircraft cargo bay, researchers demonstrated two major benefits of using a simulator to augment traditional training. First, the inspectors were introduced to all possible visual defects. Second, by repeating the virtual scenario, inspectors gain increased proficiency through repetition. The study was deemed a successful use of virtual training as Bowling, Khasawneh, Kaewkuekool, Jiang, & Gramopadhye (2008) showed, “that participants perceived the virtual environment to adequately mimic a real environment and thus it was acceptable as a training tool” (p. 115). In other industries, traditional training methods are extremely expensive. Therefore, alternate means of training are sought out to minimize the amount of “live” training needed. The availability of virtual training capabilities has answered the need for alternate, more cost effective, means of training. Two examples where virtual training has effectively augmented traditional training are in the mariner and aviation communities. In both the mariner and aviation communities, training new shiphandlers and pilots is an expensive endeavor. Both require the repeated usage of large assets, specifically the ship or the aircraft. Both the assets themselves and the means to operate them provide challenging schedule and resource constraints. The rising costs of fuel have only added to the expensive nature of operating a ship or an aircraft. However, the risky environment that the platforms operate in requires some sort of “real world” training and experience for its operators. Virtual training will never totally replace traditional training in these environments, but is a cost effective means to use in conjunction with live training. The use of virtual trainers reduces the amount of live training time needed to train to the required proficiency. Although the usage of virtual training is commonly considered beneficial in these industries, there continues to be research to ascertain what type of virtual training is the most effective. In the aviation community, two types of virtualization have been developed to train pilots: immersive and non-immersive virtual environments. According to Ntuyen and Yoon (2002), an immersive environment is one where a trainee is immersed into an environment similar to the real 3-D world by wearing head-mounted displays with view stereoscopic or binocular images and 3-D sounds whereas non-immersive training uses a computer monitor to display the environment to the trainee. The cost of virtual training varies based on the complexity of the virtual reality. A computer based training program will cost less than an immersive virtual reality trainer that requires special equipment and takes up large spaces. Since the purpose of augmenting live training with virtual training is to reduce overall costs, Ntuyen and Yoon analyzed if the more-expensive immersive training actually provided more training capability over its non-immersive counterpart. Interestingly, Ntuyen and Yoon showed that both immersive and non-immersive virtual training of pilots had positive impacts, but immersive training was not more advantageous than non-immersive virtual training. Further analysis showed that the immersive model used had several faults with the head gear and that the head gear did not provide a realistic field of view.
This example demonstrates two important points: The first is that any type of virtual training proved to be a valuable tool in augmenting traditional training in the training of pilots. The second point is that simply applying a virtual training program does not necessarily yield cost effectiveness for an industry. The expectation was that the immersive technology would show a statistical advantage over the non-immersive virtual training. However, unreliable design and non-realistic design hampered the immersive training simulator and it was not assessed to its fullest potential. Resources must be dedicated to properly plan and design virtual models, especially in high fidelity virtual reality applications that should nearly reflect reality. The U.S. Navy developed virtual environment simulators that demonstrate the effectiveness of augmenting real world shiphandling training with virtual training. The only real-world opportunities that navy vessels have to train new shiphandlers are when they are at sea conducting operations. The focus when a warship is underway is not only safely driving and navigating the ship, but also conducting complex operations at sea. Therefore, benign training opportunities to teach new shiphandlers complex mariner skills are few and far between. Not only must a new Officer wait for training time around real world operations, but he or she must also share training opportunities with other newly commissioned Officers. Coupled with the fact that an Officer must become proficient in numerous nautical situations, it is often not possible for an Officer to become a fully proficient mariner in the time allotted for qualification/certification. Finally, in recent times, increased fuel costs have limited underway training opportunities even further. In response, the U.S. Navy invested in virtual reality simulations to augment real world training for junior Officers. The simulations provide a mock-up of all navy ship bridge equipment required for navigation and shiphandling. Large screen displays provide a high fidelity display throughout full peripheral vision. The simulations also provide Officers familiarization with a wide variety of operations and environments. Since some of these situations are rare occurrences, it is unlikely that an Officer would have exposure to all the required areas of expertise without the use of virtual training. The cost effectiveness of U.S. Navy simulators is realized in two ways. First, direct cost savings are observed since less actual underway training time is needed. Secondly, cost effectiveness is observed in terms of risk reduction. Incidents at sea are, at a minimum, very costly and possibly deadly. Investing in training more proficient shiphandlers and mariners directly mitigates errors at sea which would result in serious personnel and equipment casualties. Hayes and Vincenzi (2000) demonstrated the utility of these simulators in a case study of 42 trainees who trained on 15 different shiphandling variables in a full mission bridge simulator. The result of this study showed “significant learning in a variety of shiphandling skill areas” (p. 185). The aviation and U.S. Navy examples support augmenting training for difficult and dangerous tasks, like operating complex machines like ships and aircrafts. Beyond this application, the military has adopted virtual training to augment traditional training for an even more dangerous mission: combat training. Although soldiers can exercise maneuvers, command and control and communications in a “real world” environment, they cannot actually shoot at each other. 3D, and even 4D, virtual reality trainers provide the military a means to augment traditional training in preparing its soldiers for the fog of war.
The U.S. Army has developed the largest hybrid training exercise that will be executed at Fort Bliss, Texas, this year. The exercise will require 1000 live soldiers to maneuver around a mock village while helicopter pilots and tank drivers will be providing support via high-tech virtual reality simulators. The decision makers at the command-and-control tent will not know which actors are real and which are simulated on their display screens. By conducting hybrid exercises using actual field scenarios combined with virtual reality simulators, the U.S. Army intends to not only increase soldier proficiency and exposure to a complex opponent, but also save money. Magnuson (2010) states, “We can’t pay for everybody all the time to be shooting live ammunition on a range” (p. 42-43). Overall, the use of virtual training to augment traditional training provides multiple types of cost effectiveness. First, when trainees are exposed to more scenarios and more repetition than they would see through live-training alone, their proficiency is significantly increased and the amount of risk incurred by the organization is reduced. Also, as seen in combat training, virtual applications can expose a trainee to interactions and environments that cannot be trained to in a real world scenario. Lastly, direct cost savings are realized when virtual training is used to augment real world operations that are extremely expensive to execute.
Conclusion
Virtual training, when properly executed and applied in the right way, can provide a wide variety of cost effective solutions for organizations. In industries that train towards sequence-based tasks like manufacturing and maintenance, virtual training provides a more in-depth and effective means of training over traditional methods. Other organizations can use virtual training over traditional training to save on travel and loss-of-work costs by offering geographically distributed training that can completed on an individual’s own schedule. In other industries like the medical community, virtual training provides new training capabilities that did not currently exist. These training capabilities increase the proficiency and knowledge of medical practitioners, which in turn helps save lives. In high risk industries like the aviation and military communities, traditional “live training” can never be replaced. However, augmenting traditional training with virtual training can significantly reduce errors and risk. In summary, virtual training provides significant cost effectiveness in many areas of industry and should continue to be developed for effective implementation.
References
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