10
VR training modules, 200+ operations trained before the installation goes live
Sector
Energy & GasDuration
8 to 12 weeks
Solutions
Technologies
Gasunie (Underground Storage and Hydrogen) is building new installations for hydrogen storage and transport. The field technicians who will work on them have to be fully trained in every safety procedure before operations start. One problem: during the training period, the installations have not been built yet.
Hydrogen places different demands on safety than natural gas does. The double block-and-bleed procedures for isolating pipework are critical, because a mistake there can lead to fire, explosion or poisoning. Ten essential training components were identified, together covering more than 200 specific operations that technicians have to carry out correctly, step by step.
Classroom training or e-learning on their own do not cover this: testing knowledge is not the same as training behaviour. Gasunie wanted its technicians to be able to rehearse every procedure in full, including the feel of the right sequence, the recognition of a situation going wrong, and acting under time pressure, all without the installation being available.
Core problems
- › The OSH installations were not yet built during the training period
- › Hydrogen procedures demand a different safety discipline than natural gas
- › More than 200 operations have to be performed correctly, step by step
- › Existing e-learning tests knowledge, not behaviour and decision-making
- › A pilot with real field technicians was needed before any wide rollout
STARK designed a blended programme of ten modules that alternates e-learning with VR practice. Field technicians take the theory digitally first, then rehearse the operations in VR, and repeat that rhythm through every training component. The STARK 4D route:
01
Discover
Co-creation with Gasunie safety experts and experienced field technicians. All ten training components worked out into procedural decision trees. Critical failure moments identified per operation.
02
Design
Blended structure: an e-learning theory module (15 to 20 min) followed by a VR practice module (15 to 20 min) per training component. Total time per technician: 60 to 120 minutes. The VR environment was built from the OSH installation drawings.
03
Develop
Ten VR modules with interactive step-by-step procedures, voice-over guidance and real-time feedback on incorrect actions. Every module records completion and behavioural data: sequence, hesitation, errors.
04
Deploy
A pilot programme with 8+ field technicians to validate the procedures and the ease of use. Feedback processed before the wide rollout. Compliance reporting per technician, ready for the HSE team to act on.
What was delivered is a complete blended programme of ten modules. Each component pairs an e-learning module for the theory (15 to 20 minutes) with a VR practice module for rehearsing the actual operations (15 to 20 minutes). Together the programme takes a technician 60 to 120 minutes.
In the VR modules the technician stands on the virtual OSH installation. The double block-and-bleed procedure is carried out step by step: closing valves, venting pressure, checking measuring points, activating safeguards. Take a wrong step and the system responds immediately, recording the deviation for the HSE manager.
Every scenario is based on the real OSH installation drawings and validated by Gasunie safety experts. A pilot with eight field technicians produced the feedback that sharpened the modules before the wide rollout.
What was delivered
- ✓ 10 blended modules: e-learning plus VR practice per training component
- ✓ 200+ operations trained interactively on the virtual OSH installation
- ✓ Real-time feedback on an incorrect procedural step in VR
- ✓ Behavioural reporting per technician, exportable for HSE audits
- ✓ Validated by 8+ field technicians in a pilot programme before rollout
10
VR training modules delivered
Covering every essential OSH safety procedure for hydrogen
200+
operations trained per technician
Step by step and interactive, with immediate feedback on errors
Day 1
training ready before the installation goes live
Technicians fully trained before the physical OSH installation is operational
What this means in practice
Gasunie can train and certify field technicians in full before the installations are operational. That removes the risk of untrained staff on day one of the operational start. Behavioural reporting per technician makes individual coaching possible and produces demonstrable evidence for internal and external safety audits.
Does your team need to practise procedures on installations that do not exist yet, or cannot be entered safely?
Milan
Business development, STARK Learning