Advanced manufacturing and production are changing from a demand for manual laborers to skilled technicians in automation and data exchange who can communicate effectively in teams.  Recognizing the need for advanced manufacturing technicians who have the technical knowledge/skills and the soft skills to work efficiently and effectively in the changing workplace, this virtual reality (VR) simulation aims to help learners develop business communication skills through intercultural competence in a manufacturing setting. The simulation is composed of five sections including an introduction and four sequential storylines that require learners to interact and participate in the scenarios.

In this educational virtual reality-based simulation, the learner will play the role of a novice technician at We Wrap – a fictional manufacturing company of printed paper products located in rural Indiana, U.S.A. This small family-owned operation has just been acquired by a large, global corporation and is currently in transition to receive the latest technology to increase automation capabilities of the plant, which presents issues, challenges, and conflicts around people management, organizational communication, and diversity. The simulation starts when the learner enters the break room just off the factory floor to engage with some of the co-workers and the We Wrap management team members.

Throughout the entire simulation, the learner remains an active participant – that is, like a “choose-your-own-adventure book”, the choices the learner makes about what to say or do by clicking on the options presented will sometimes influence the people and events around the learner just as they would in real life. The overarching storyline is divided into several scenarios with breaks between and, during each break, the learner will be asked to reflect on their experiences and choices. Both the scenario plots and these reflections have been designed to help learners develop a number of skills, including communication and problem-solving within the context of a diverse workplace.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Numbers 2000779 and 2000888.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Required Equipment and Programs to Run VR Training Simulator:

• VR Headset
  • Compatible Headsets: Oculus Quest/Quest 2
  • VR handler/ Controller

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Akdere, M.; Acheson, K.; Jiang, Y.; Doty, J.; Creasy, A.; Fuehne, J.; Goosen, R.; Jin, L.; Johnson, N. E.; Lucas, T.; Medich, N.; Schaffer, A.; Parker, H.; Thomas-Miller, J.; Webster, R. (2022). Virtual Reality-Educational Program for Developing Business Communication Skills in Manufacturing Technician Education. Purdue University Research Repository. doi:10.4231/95JJ-BW82

  BibTex | EndNote

1. advanced manufacturing technician education
2. business communication skills
3. diversity
4. HRD_VirtualLab
5. Technology Leadership and Innovation
6. Technology Leadership and Innovation (Dept)
7. virtual reality simulations

The project is produced with Unity Version: 2019.4.30f1.

The dataset can be more easily accessed through the ftp protocol as file 10_4231_95JJ-BW82.zip on the PURR's FTP server. For instructions how to access the zip file, see https://purr.purdue.edu/kb/projects/access-datasets-using-ftp-client.