VIRTUAL REALITY: INNOVATION FOR RABEN DRIVERS

Virtual Reality (VR) technology is finding more and more applications in business. Its advantages and usefulness for the TFL sector were recognised by the Research and Development Department at Raben Group, which proposed the use of the truck driving simulator to the company's transport department. Under the watchful eye of the R&D team and taking into account tips from trainers and drivers, the Best Truck Driver project was modified and adapted to Raben's requirements.

 We discovered the VR truck simulator when we were testing another product, says Przemyslaw Ciesielski, R&D project manager. - We then decided that its potential was worth presenting to the unit responsible for managing the fleet and drivers of one of our companies. After internal testing with our experts, we jointly decided that this could be a great tool for, among other things, training and improving the skills of our drivers.

Macieja Zwada, fleet development manager at Raben Transport, adds:

The process of final implementation required us to make multi-stage preparations. It was important to adapt and calibrate the simulator itself, which was related to selecting the optimum road conditions and taking into account the laws of physics resulting from the behaviour of a 40-tonne truck on the road. We had to take into account atmospheric factors, different types of terrain, road types and the possibility of manoeuvring the set at terminals or parking lots, so that they reflected the real working environment of our drivers as much as possible.

This is how Raben Group's ‘tailor-made’ VR Truck Simulator was created, which is equipped with the original steering wheel and seat and which reproduces the conditions in the cab of the truck that the operator's fleet uses on a daily basis. Additionally, it also enables manoeuvring around a Raben Distribution Centre. The user has two ways to view the world - using VR goggles or the three built-in LCD screens. The simulator includes scenarios of varying degrees of difficulty and is extremely versatile: it takes into account different vehicles and different road types (mountain roads, motorways, national roads, built-up areas), various weather conditions (wind, snow, rain, fog, day, night) and the movement of other vehicles affecting the driver's work or forcing appropriate reactions. The trainer's administration panel records all parameters from the training sessions.

Thanks to this, Truck Simulator can be used in various situations and processes carried out at Raben Group, such as verifying the skills of candidates applying for a job with Raben, introducing new drivers to the organisation ('onboarding'), improving the skills of manoeuvring different types of vehicles (tractor + semi-trailer, BDF swap body sets, etc.), and even promoting the driving profession and encouraging it, especially among the younger generation.

The driving simulator brings many benefits: it is possible to carry out exercises in safe conditions, teach how to react in emergency situations, improve habits needed for ecological or defensive driving, and help properly introduce new employees without experience, explains Robert Jabłoński, transport senior specialist at Raben Transport, Master Driver.

An additional advantage of the simulator is its mobility. The containerised body means that it can be transported between locations and used wherever it is currently needed. A pilot phase of the project took place in 2023 and the prototype is now ready for regular operation. Its implementation coincided with the creation of a training team at Raben, and the new device will be a huge support for it. In the near future, it will be used mainly in Poland and Czechia, and if the solution proves successful, further simulators will be implemented in other Raben depots in Europe.

VR Truck Simulator is an ideal tool for us for many reasons. Not only does it streamline work and respond to practical needs in the area of recruitment and training, but it does so in a way which is close to Raben Group's idea of operations: innovative, ecological, economical and safe, concludes Magdalena Szaroleta, Sales Director at Raben Transport.