Timber iQ February - March 2020 // Issue: 48 | Page 9

NEWS
VR improves safety
during training
By Forestry South Africa
In a world first, trainee chainsaw operators will soon be able to use a virtual
reality (VR) application to test their theoretical knowledge and hone their skill in
a simulated timber plantation.
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While the number of chainsaw operators employed in large
commercial plantations has declined in recent years, the
opposite is true in small-scale and community forestry, where
suitably trained chainsaw operators need to be equipped with
this scarce and critical skill.
Although forestry has used simulators over the past decade,
their use in the training of chainsaw operators is an innovative
development.
MOBILE, COST-EFFECTIVE, LEARNER-
ADAPTABLE AND INJURY-FREE
The cost of practical training has risen substantially. The
sector sought a solution that would not only provide a
cost-effective coaching medium with minimal risk, but a
means whereby trainee operators could gain a feel for their
equipment before taking their first steps into the field or forest.
Safety concerns have proved to be a limiting factor in the
eveloped by Forestry South Africa (FSA), the Fibre
Processing and Manufacturing Sector Education
and Training Authority (FP&M Seta) and industry
partners, this solution trains chainsaw operators in a
safe, simulated environment before they test their skills
in this high-risk activity in timber plantations.
The VR application requires the use of goggles.
training of chainsaw operators. Other constraints include
unwieldy class sizes and a limited number of trees available
for practical instruction.
“Besides the obvious benefits that our industry stands to gain
from this project, VR is the future of skills development and
training. It transports learners into the environment for which
they are being trained, promotes interactivity and improves
the retention of information through experience,” says FSA
business development director Norman Dlamini.
“I am holding the very first chainsaw in the world that has
been wired with sensors and can transport a learner into a
virtual timber plantation,” says Dlamini in a video developed
to promote and demonstrate the application.
The solution is remarkably simple to operate and offers
significant value for money. All that is needed is a dedicated
computer, a VR headset, a specially adapted chainsaw with
sensors and a customised mobile gazebo. The total cost of
the hardware to run the app is approximately R35 000, while
the software is available free of charge to FSA members.
PROJECT PARTNERS
Chainsaw operators need to be well-trained to be able to work in
the field.
www.timberiq.co.za
The project has been substantially funded by the FP&M Seta.
“It uses fourth industrial revolution technology to improve the
quality of instruction. Excited by FSA’s proposal, FP&M Seta
contributed to this initiative,” says FP&M Seta CEO Felleng
// FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020
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