Case study · Medical device manufacturing
Boston Scientific: VR chemical process training in a virtual lab
Chemical process training that meant flying technicians to another site, rebuilt as a lab in VR.
- Customer
- Boston Scientific, Cork
- Sector
- Medical device manufacturing
- Training
- Chemical process
- Recognition
- IMR Awards 2022, Best Training and Development Programme
The challenge
Specialist chemical process training was only available outside Ireland.
Every technician who needed the skill had to fly to another site. Lab time, materials and trainer hours were expensive, and only a few trainees could be accommodated at once.
Boston Scientific needed to train technicians efficiently without lowering standards or slowing operations.
The solution: the lab, replicated in VR
Mersus built a replica of the lab in Avatar Academy, so technicians complete VR chemical process training without travelling.
Every step mirrors the real procedure. Trainees can follow structured lessons or go straight to a specific skill, with voice and text guidance giving instant feedback.
Practice can be repeated as often as needed, with no materials used and no lab time to book.
The results
- 6 or 7 timesthe training process run in a day, where it previously took four or five weeks
Using the TIBA Avatar Academy, in the space of a day you can run six or seven times the same training process that previously would take four or five weeks. Mersus Technologies’ virtual reality solution has revolutionised the way we train our staff, and we couldn’t be happier with the results.
Thomas Quilty, Process Engineering, Boston Scientific
Winner, Best Training and Development Programme, IMR Manufacturing and Supply Chain Awards 2022.