New Innovative Simulator Tools for Quality Capacity Environmental Production Process Training in Education of Migrants

An Erasmus+ Cooperation partnerships project within adult education for inspector staff manufacturing production process training


Contractor: Quality Management Software
Contact person: Erik Engh - ​erik.qmsoft@gmail.com​ 

Background 

Mechatronic 4.0, new welding processes, the use of automated systems and robotics, increase the need for re-skilling and up-skilling of personnel in the manufacturing industry. In addition the the aging workforce requires education of more qualified personnel in the years to come. The latests statistics from EWF, shows a decrease of 6% new certificates and diplomas in 2019 compared to the top in the previous years. The lack of qualified personnel is imminent and actions must be taken in order to meet this shortcomings.

This project proposes to better support teachers, providers and industry VET demand needs by applying hands on dynamic online simulator tools that will remove for the target student group, migrants and adult workers, the burden of learning mathematics and material sciences in order to take the correct decisions during welding processes and joining operations.

Objectives

To develop a new, innovative training methodology that better supports and implements effective digitalization of advanced production processes applying the dynamic iQSim simulator. The proposed blended learning and work based training system solutions let migrants and adult students experience a seamless education and training system solution letting students answer "what happens if ..." based up on a "play and evaluate approach".

The specific objectives are

  1. Investigate, develop, test, evaluate and validate a new training methodology that apply advanced online simulator tools to investigate what are migrants and adult learning students prior learning experiences. This includes the previous experiences obtained during their previous work and jobs, and help establishing a common framework for education and training.

  2. Develop and adapt the new education and training methodology for effective inclusion of work based training as the backbone for the manufacturing production process training, by applying e-learning to communicate, distribute and implement problem based case studies from the industry to the students.

  3. Design industrial examples and cases of successful manufacturing processes, as well as processes that failed due to defects in the production. These examples will be implemented and applied in problem based learning processes during the pilot courses, in order to trigger discussions and reflection processes among the students.

  4. Implement and integrate the simulation tool iQSim(2009) into the new training methodology.

  5. Develop and deliver a set of pilot training courses that apply problem based training with the case studies and the iQSim simulator.

  6. Evaluate and verify the experience gained through the first set of pilot courses, and specially the use of industry cases as well as the use of the iQSim simulator.

  7. Demonstrate the importance of better understanding health, environment and safety issues within manufacturing processes.

  8. Establish cooperation activities that demonstrates industry VET demand needs and VET providers needs, in order to ensure that the project results will be maintained after the project is closed.

Results

  1. Developing, testing, evaluating and validating of a new training methodology that let migrants and adult personnel receive work based training leading to an international recognized qualification in welding. This new system solution will make these groups available for re-skilling and up-skilling of knowledge and skills.

  2. Emphasize the added value of applying work based learning techniques in order to meet industry requirements, thus underlining the special emphasis on skills development. The work based learning will be based up on step by step learning paths that follows the manufacturing process. By using this methodology, the students will easily observe the consequences of failures and mistakes.

  3. Migrants and adult personnel often meet technical challenges when starting their study, due to the mathematical challenges as well as metallurgical topics that they often lack due to absence from re-skilling education and training systems for a number of years. To better meet these challenges the dynamic iQSim simulator tool let the students overcome these limitations. It allows the students to ask questions like "what happen if..... " both for technical as well as metallurgical questions, while playing around with a number of parameters in order to find the best technical and economical solution. The students will manage to carry out complex process evaluations without knowing advanced mathematics or applying deep metallurgy knowledge.

  4. Increase the capacity for education of personnel that will work within the welding sectors in the European manufacturing industry.

  5. Make up a new iQSim simulator system solution.

  6. Develop new system specifications for integration of environmental issues in a forthcoming new version of the simulator, with additional features that better reflect the serious environmental issues the world is facing in 2022, together with health environment and safety aspects of the production.

  7. Piloting of training methodology and the use of industry case examples, including using the iQSim simulator.