Innovation Spotlight: JLG AccessReady Fusion XR Simulator

Training programs from the access industry leaders like JLG bring safety and confidence to aerial equipment owners and operators. And, when you combine cutting-edge technology with a unique training experience, trainees can effectively build the hands-on skills they need to be successful in real-world work scenarios. 

That’s what the JLG® AccessReady Fusion XR™ Training Simulator offers — an immersive, one-of-a-kind virtual reality-based training for MEWP (mobile elevating work platform) users of all skill levels. It covers everything from controls familiarization to advanced machine operation. It also includes opportunities for instructors to create their own scenarios designed to test various skills and select the criteria for evaluation of user performance. 

Available in the market for several years now, JLG upgraded its AccessReady Fusion XR offering in early 2020, and we asked JLG’s Senior Director of Global Training Rick Smith to offer some insights into JLG’s new enhanced offering.

What has the response been to this platform?

Two thousand twenty (2020) was a big year for the JLG® AccessReady Fusion XR™ simulator with the addition of the scissor lift platform, which means that today our customers are able to do both boom and scissor lift VR training from one unit. This expanded offering came at the request of our key customers from around the world who were already utilizing the company’s original AccessReady XR training product. They were looking for additional ways to use VR tools and technology to familiarize users with a broader range of MEWPs.

Adding the scissor lift platform wasn’t the only upgrade to the Access Ready Fusion XR simulator — it was also upgraded to include a training scenario creation and management system. With today’s expanded offering, instructors can create their own scenarios which allow them to test various skill levels and select the criteria for evaluation of user performance. Scenarios can be sequenced in a “playlist” that walks users through various exercises. The Scenario Manager is a powerful addition to the traditional Access Ready XR system.  

The success of our initial venture into virtual reality training on boom lifts inspired us to develop this expanded experience, and since its launch, we have continued to look for ways to provide new training avenues to our customers to improve safety across the access industry. Our commitment to advancing training either in-person, online or virtually remains as strong as ever. That’s why we continue to listen to our customers, learning about their experiences with the simulator, in order to know what features and functionality they’d like to have in the future. From the feedback we have received, we are considering future updates that will further enhance the simulator’s capabilities, such as haptic feedback. We are also focused on rolling out the simulator globally. 

What has customers’ response been to this type of training?
To date, hundreds of MEWP operators have been trained on JLG’s AccessReady Fusion XR simulators. In fact, many companies have invested in multiple simulators, using them on an ongoing basis to train their employees, as well as to validate skill levels. And, we anticipate this number will continue to grow and accelerate over time as adoption increases — both in North America and globally.

In talking with our customers about this type of training, they’ve very enthusiastic and continue to give us positive feedback about the JLG simulator. In fact, we’ve gotten several great testimonials from North American users that mention how AccessReady Fusion XR’s realistic simulations, performance monitoring capabilities and the ability to customize training scenarios has made using the simulator an effective tool for building confidence in machine operation, while decreasing the time to proficiency for users.

To see these testimonials, please visit: https://www.jlg.com/en/destination/virtual-reality-training. Seven of them are published immediately after the “Watch a Sneak Peek” section of the webpage. Please click on each dot to see what our customers are saying!

To learn more about the JLG AccessReady Fusion XR™ training simulator, click here.

Do you want to stay up to date with industry news and issues similar to this? Make sure you subscribe below to receive monthly updates from Direct Access with newly posted content so you never miss important information.