Next* Magazine, Issue 4 - Chevron

Another test case was for hazardous-operations reviews. Specialists, who are often broughtin for these reviews, now can remotely conduct them using 3-D virtual environments while theinformation is collected and saved for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.What about retention?Perhaps the immediate use is in training. The virtual environment allows new operators whohave never been in a refinery unit to learn in hands-on virtual environments by manipulatingtheir avatars in a 3-D reconstruction of the refinery. The result is a safer training environmentthat can condense the training time needed to learn the same material in a classroom setting.“It’s very powerful,” said Renner. “People are apprehensive at first, especially if they’recompletely unfamiliar with using avatars or gaming. But it’s a pleasure to see them begin to getit, then enjoy it, then want to come back for more. We knew we were successful when people wehad just trained on the system began suggesting additional test cases.”User surveys confirm what Renner was experiencing anecdotally: colleagues are respondingto learning and working in 3-D virtual environments. Retention is higher and efficiency isgreater. And practicing in a virtual environment before working in the real environment contributesto safety.“We’re taking a leadership position in adopting these innovative technologies and looking atapplications throughout Chevron,” said Renner. “The company has a lot of real assets that canbe viewed in three dimensions and realized in a virtual world. This is just the beginning. We’restill in the early stages of this technology. There’s a lot more to come.” ■For a demonstration and tour, please visit Chevron.com/Next/DigitalRefining.‘I saw how my kidsbecame so immersedin gaming that theywere in another world,and I knew educatorswere leveraging that.’The architect’s 3-D drawing of the vacuum gas oilhydrotreater, seen below, already existed whenvirtual-training testing began, helping minimizedevelopment costs.PHOTO: MAURA WARNECKENext* | 27