VR Truck Simulator at Raben Group - from R&D Department recommendation to a tailor-made tool

R&D Department at Raben Group deals with many innovative products or services which are evaluated for their usefulness in various departments of the company. These include the VR Truck Simulator, which has progressed from a supplier training tool to a highly developed prototype tailored to the needs of the major logistics operator. The result of the work is very satisfying, and we are convinced that the device will find many applications in our organisation. 

We turned our attention to the truck simulator when testing a completely different solution. High-tech, equipped with a basic training application and a moving platform supported by VR technology, it was one of the first simulators of its kind in the world. The supplier - the Best Driver company from Poznan - mainly used it to teach and improve skills of drivers with little experience.

We felt that this device could support various processes within the transport company, such as verifying the skills of candidates applying for a job with Raben, onboarding new drivers to the organisation, improving skills in manoeuvring different types of vehicles (tractor + semi-trailer, sets with BDF swap bodies, etc.), and teaching to drive ecologically or defensively. All these activities could be carried out in a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly way, without the need for an actual truck.

Prior to the decision to purchase the solution, the potential of the simulator and the training application was evaluated by Raben Transport experts, who gave many valuable suggestions as to what was missing or worth improving. The positive reception of this idea reinforced our conviction that, if properly implemented, this can be a tool that effectively improves many parameters that directly or indirectly affect the functioning of the entire organisation, such as the number of accidents, damage to transport fleet and damage to goods, vehicle operating costs or consumed fuel. At the same time, it turned out that Raben Transport had been working for a long time to build a team of trainers to look after the drivers and monitor their performance. The simulator, with its capabilities, was a great fit for this project and, in a way, brought it forward.

We made a positive recommendation to the Management Board regarding the simulator, which, after several months of work, resulted in the first copy tailored to Raben Group's very specific requirements. The prototype software takes into account driving trucks with our logo, manoeuvring around the Raben Distribution Centre, training scenarios with different levels of difficulty, different types of vehicles and weather conditions (wind, snow, rain, fog, day, night), different types of roads (motorways, roads in the mountains, national roads, built-up areas), traffic of other vehicles influencing the driver's work or forcing appropriate reactions, and finally the trainer's administration panel which records all the parameters from the training sessions.

An important aspect of the whole project, if not the most important, was its mobility and flexibility. Space constraints at a number of depots and, at the same time, the size and complexity of assembling and dismantling the simulator meant that it was placed in a special transportable container. This feature significantly increases its efficiency: the mobile simulator supports the recruitment or training process in multiple locations, wherever it is currently needed. 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.