Second major award for Offaly man's company

MIDLANDS-based software company, Mersus Technologies which was co-founded by Offaly man Dermot Condron, has scooped the ‘Best Training & Development Program’ category at the IMR (Irish Manufacturing Research) annual Manufacturing and Supply Chain Awards.

This is the second major award for the company. In April this year Mersus won the Irish Times Innovation Award.

IMR is the government body for research in Ireland’s vibrant advanced manufacturing industries.

The award, sponsored by IBEC, recognises the excellence of Mersus’ enterprise software platform ''Avatar Academy'' which utilises virtual reality to train people in simulated work environments. Mersus, together with global Life Science leader Boston Scientific, won in the face of stiff competition from fellow finalists.

The Avatar Academy platform digitised a highly sophisticated process, capturing and transferring tacit knowledge from the UK back to the Boston Scientific (BSCI) site in Cork, during the COVID pandemic and lockdown.

Brenda Mannion Chief Operations Officer at Mersus which is based in Athlone stated, ''The award recognises the effort of years of development that has gone into building this revolutionary platform. In a tough market, Mersus has an enviable pipeline of talent, all of whom want to work on this exciting new frontier that is Virtual Reality. The true success behind Mersus isn't just the technology. It’s the pride that lies in training, developing and nurturing the talent that creates it. This award is a testament to the ingenuity, skill and professionalism of the staff of Mersus Technologies.''

The Avatar Academy platform uses computer gaming technology to recreate virtual laboratories and cleanrooms, allowing employees to familiarise themselves with a work environment and processes. By wearing a Virtual Reality headset, a trainee can experience and practice fully immersive training material, working at their own pace from any location, learning how to carry out any task.

Co-founder, Dermot Condron from Tubber explains that “A lot of trainees are apprehensive about working on live production lines. They are afraid of making mistakes. By realistically simulating training experiences in Virtual Reality, our Platform allows them to make those mistakes and learn from them inside the headset first”.

Immersive training allows for autonomy in the learning journey. Gamification keeps people motivated while providing a continual learning experience. Key Performance Indicators measure success across the training experience. Immersive learning technologies can collect usage statistics ie. frequency of training, duration, completion, tasks performed, questions answered and monitor engagement levels (by measuring factors like eye tracking, head movement, clicks, and other learner interactions). The analytics produced confirm that trainees achieve a deep level of understanding of the material.

Joe Devlin, Director of Process Development at Boston Scientific Cork states that “The training experience within Avatar Academy allows us to train people on complex chemical processes in a safe environment, allowing them to get used to the process and make mistakes safely before they are introduced to the actual environment where they will be carrying out the process”.

Mersus has developed this software platform which holds immense value for Life Science operations so prominent across Ireland. Skills training is in high demand, with many companies struggling to fill positions in ever-expanding operations. The strong demand for talent is driving competition, and transitioning new operators onto production lines faster is an attractive proposition for these companies.