Learning simulators improve workplace training by recreating real-life scenarios that enhance decision-making and employee engagement while reducing costs and time. They offer a more interactive learning experience compared to traditional methods, benefiting various sectors such as public utilities, industrial machinery, and education. Schneider Electric has successfully developed and implemented these simulators for government and industry programs, leading to improved employee performance and knowledge application in real environments.

1. Learning Simulators
October 2011 / White paper
Make the most of your energy SM

2. Summary
Executive summary ................................................................................... p 1
Introduction ............................................................................................... p 2
Application benefits ................................................................................... p 4
Methodology, participants, and technical development .............................. p 5
Application areas by sector . ...................................................................... p 6
Schneider Electric success stories ............................................................. p 8
Conclusion ................................................................................................ p 10

3. Learning Simulators
Executive summary
Learning simulators reflect the expertise of software programmers, technical
experts and learning professionals in creating real-life workplace scenarios
that require decision making on the part of the training employee. Not to
be confused with e-learning or laboratory practice, these simulators offer
the flexibility to address the aptitudes, tools and motivations specific for the
employee’s role. By actively involving trainees and exposing them to the
consequences and results of their decisions, learning is improved significantly
compared to training that does not involve interactivity. This approach also
improves the trainee’s motivation and confidence. Organizations benefit not only
from more comprehensive employee knowledge but also heightened on-the-job
employee engagement – all with less training cost and time invested.
Business sectors that see particular advantage to learning simulators are public
utilities, industrial machinery, transportation, education, social services, and
hotel and restaurant services. Beyond learning the processes and procedures
involved and the relevant regulations and safety guidelines for the specific
sector, the employee gains appropriate customer interaction skills through
real-world scenarios requiring decision making and evaluation of the results of
those decisions.
Schneider Electric has developed learning simulators that have proven highly
successful for Ministry-level programs and for industry federations in Spain;
for risk prevention programs in regional governments; and socially and
environmentally sustainable practices in construction work. In these projects,
Schneider Electric provided comprehensive definition, design, and technical
development and production expertise to help clients realize the benefits of
effective learning simulation.
The benefits of effective learning simulation
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4. Learning Simulators
Introduction
Learning simulators enable the recreation of scenarios for carrying out decision
making in the same way as real life. By means of software that utilizes the
same recreational component employed in video games, simulators become
an educational resource yielding unlimited expansion of contents intended for
training, troubleshooting, decision-making, and fulfilling conceptual, procedural
and learning objectives (knowledge, power, and drive).
In terms of work positions, simulators offer the possibility of incorporating new
updates. They also provide different responses to diverse situations, and can
address all required aptitudes, tools and motivations.
As in real life, simulator-based decision making prompts a set of
consequences — as in the case of changes in scenarios and variables —
which enables learning based on real experience. This can yield significant
benefits for users and higher profitability for organizations, such as:
• Application of knowledge to the real environment
• High degree of interactivity, allowing users to explore the space, options
and limits of a problem
• Various types of feedback after decisions are made
• Improved working performance in professional practice
• Increased motivation and engagement of workers and students —
fostering personal and professional development
• Simulation of reality — minimizing costs
• Transfer of knowledge to the work domain, which is both rapid —
increasing speed in knowledge comprehension by 30 percent — and
constant, given that learning lasts over time
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5. Organizations optimize
their learning curve,
improving knowledge
acquisition by up to
10 times

6. Learning Simulators
The benefits of effective
learning simulation
Application benefits
Utilization of simulators for learning purposes,
which should not be confused with e-learning,
offers numerous advantages to both users
and organizations that apply them in their
training processes.
Simulators enable users to:
• Learn by making decisions: simulators are
based on Dewey’s learning by discovery
theory, whereby the user becomes the
protagonist in his or her training process,
as opposed to the traditional model which
positions the user as a passive subject
• Practice and train: employees become aware
of the consequences of their decisions and
errors in situations that reconstruct reality,
helping them to gain confidence in performing
specific actions, take on more risks, and act
more quickly
• Increase their level of motivation: as a product
• Drive down costs: reducing training time and
of the recreational component, it is suitable
minimizing the costs of displacement and
for both digital natives and people with
attendance-based training for environments
more experience who wish to swiftly transfer
that are distributed geographically and in time
learning to real situations
• Apply a scalable training model: enabling
shorter training time with respect to the
Organizations, in turn:
traditional method involving laboratory practice
• Optimize the learning curve: improving
knowledge acquisition and implementation by
up to 10 times, thereby increasing employee
motivation and engagement
• Integrate learning into the productive process:
becoming part of an employee’s working
experience instead of being confined to a
specially-designated time outside of the
productive process. The user can also turn to
the online platform at any time
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7. Learning Simulators
Methodology, participants, and
technical development
Simulator development methodology is defined by
five correlative stages:
1. Project definition
2. Knowledge engineering
3. Scripting
4. Technical development
5. Pilot testing
Likewise, there is a series of participants —
experts and technicians — who are involved in the
different stages as teaching, content and learning
specialists, in addition to 2-D and 3-D designers,
Flash programmers, and Unity programmers.
Finally, technical development consists of five
key aspects:
• SCORM 2004 packaging
• LMS platform compatibility
• Flash or flex programming language for 2-D
graphic design or chrome videos
• Studio 3-D for 3-D modeling of avatars
and scenarios
• Unity programming language for real-time 3-D
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8. Learning Simulators
Application areas by sector
The areas and sub-areas for applying learning • Risk management: working protocol
simulators are numerous, with simulators yielding in accordance with occupational risk
significant benefits in all of them: management and for dealing with factory
situations entailing risk
1. Utilities sector: there are simulators that help • Machinery configuration and management:
companies increase the efficiency of commercial working process using plaster production
contacts, lower the number of errors in field machines via the control panel
decisions, make the right decisions in critical • PLC (a production indicator reading) monitoring:
situations, and meet good practice standards. mechanism for reading and monitoring machine
Areas for application are as follows: reading results, such as speed, parts per
minute, heating times or errors
• Customer service situations: processes
involving new customer sales 3. Transportation sector: the chief
• Consumption measurement: gas meter reading advantages simulators bring to this sector,
• Incident management: protocol for which is characterized by a high degree of
reporting information involving customer personnel turnover, are training speed and
breakdown resolution ease, option for simple procedural consultation,
• Waste treatment and associated good practices access to infrequent critical processes, a drop
• Plant and station working processes: water in downtime; and easy adaptation to
treatment plant and purifying station operation multiple languages.
or water pump level monitoring
The main areas for application are as follows:
2. Industrial sector: in this sector, simulators
enable the elimination of the costs of training • Package handling: protocol for shipment,
machinery utilization, as well as instruction handling and palletizing
time of experienced personnel. In addition, • Receiving and delivery processes: freight
personnel in training learn through simulation delivery validation or stock updating in
of costly and dangerous heavy machinery, unloading and receiving freight goods
without exposure to harm due to the virtual • Safety norms and guidelines: course of
environment — allowing them to resolve action in situations involving risk, as well as
customer conflicts in different situations. Areas transport and handling of packages containing
for application are as follows: hazardous freight
• Operating special modes of transport:
• Working processes that include heavy mechanism for unloading freight using
machinery: work procedures in using heavy equipment
packing machines • Driving under adverse conditions: accident
• Course of action for customer service, sales, prevention in situations entailing risk
after-sales or call center situations: protocols
for handling customer queries
• Waste treatment and associated good practices
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9. Learning Simulators
Application areas by sector
4. Public administration (education): in the • Raising awareness of groups at risk of social
case of public entities and administrations exclusion: training processes for foster parents
in charge of education, simulators provide • Personal autonomy-related skills training:
benefits that include unification of electronic carrying out daily activities
management for all government employees, • Professionals working with risk groups: people
management model awareness, reduced with AIDS, the mentally ill, delinquents, minors,
downtime, easy procedural self-checks, and the chemically dependent
appropriate decision making in critical situations, • Training professionals in community social
and compliance with good practice standards. assistance: supporting local and autonomous
The main areas for application are as follows: administrations with regard to application and
implementation of the new law on dependency
• New worker training: documentation
management in public administration 6. Hotel and restaurant industry: in this sector,
• Training in working tools and methodologies: the simulator application translates into greater
good practices in file management ease and speed in training, given that it is
• Raising awareness in serving citizens also a sector with a high degree of personnel
appropriately: proper manners for citizen turnover. It provides management model
services and in addressing citizens from awareness, in-depth knowledge of processes
other cultures involved in preparing certain dishes, higher
• Basic administrative legislation and sectorial efficiency in operational processes, and training
standards: assessment of environmental and message unification for all company
impact on infrastructures and economic and restaurants. Areas for application are as follows:
budgetary management
• Functional skill development: preparation and • Customer service procedures: steps to be
presentation of written reports and working taken in making a reservation and providing
team management table service
• Occupational risk prevention: avoiding posture • Maintenance operations: room
and stress related risks cleaning processes
• Food preparation: sauce preparation or
5. Public administration (social services): service branding
here simulators allow the possibility of working • Procedures for receiving goods: protocol for
under real conditions with people entailing risk, receiving valid food products
facilitate communication of new regulations, • Waste treatment
favor training that is accessible to people • Safety and security norms and guidelines for
from different social strata, and achieve cost situations entailing risk
reduction by unifying training for different
entities. Areas for application are as follows:
• Skills training: working with
high-performance teams
• Conduct and attitude orientation: civility and
proper conduct, work and performance
guidance, in accordance with road safety norms
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10. Learning Simulators
Schneider Electric success stories
Success stories in developing and creating
learning simulators
Ministry of Education and the FIAB
Creation of a simulator for learning food
product sealing and packaging operations for
the Ministry of Education and the FIAB (Spanish
Federation of Food and Drink Industries, as per
the Spanish acronym).
Ministry of Education and the FEHR
Creation of a variety of simulators for learning
to analyze hazards and critical control points in
situations involving supply, handling, cleanliness
and disinfection for the Ministry of Education
and the FEHR (Spanish Federation of Hotels and
Restaurants, as per the Spanish acronym).
Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and
Commerce and red.es
Creation of learning simulators for operational
processes involving the creation of cooking
sauces for the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and
Commerce and red.es.
Regional Government of Castile and León
Development of a variety of occupational risk
In each one of the three projects,
prevention learning simulators for the Regional
Schneider Electric conducted the following activities:
Occupational Risk Prevention Service of the
Regional Government of Castile and León.
• Methodology design for information extraction,
architecture, and the development model
Autonomous Government of Galicia: Office of
• Gathering information from material experts
the Environment and Sustainable Development
and specialists in teaching contents
Development of a serious game of strategic
• Transformation of extracted contents into a
environmental assessment intended for seasoned
multimedia script coupled with didactic and
developers and future developers. It was built for
pedagogical support
the Galician territory, taking into account the
• Development of architecture contents
social and environmental effects of the
• Development of contents from the
construction work involved.
development model
• Multimedia production in 3-D format
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11. Learning Simulators
Schneider Electric success stories
Endesa
Development of a working occupational
risk prevention simulator for learning meter
replacement procedures.
In executing these three projects, Schneider Electric
carried out the following:
• Content definition in conjunction with the
linguistics expert
• Content scripting and adaptation to
simulator format
• Graphic design rendering
• Multimedia production
• Pilot testing and implementation
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12. Learning Simulators
Conclusion
Learning Simulators in a nutshell:
• Simulator-based training for employees provokes decision-making related
to actual experiences specific to their business and allows participants to
assess the real-life consequences of those decisions.
• This active training engagement results not only in improved
comprehension of learning material but also in increased employee
confidence and motivation.
• The employer benefits from reduced training time and costs and improved
employee performance.
• Learning simulators have shown to be highly effective in many business
sectors, including private and government sectors where appropriate
customer interface and support is key to successful business.
• Schneider Electric offers expertise in delivering effective learning
simulator solutions.
Simulators enable users to learn by
making decisions
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13. © 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Schneider Electric
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28108 - Alcobendas (Madrid) (Spain)
Telephone: 34-902-33-55-99
Fax: 34-91-714-70-05
http://www.schneider-electric.com
July 2012