Siemens launches online game to simulate plant manager experience

Siemens in Canada has recently launched Plantville, a new online gaming platform where players are faced with the challenge of maintaining the operation of their virtual plant, while trying to improve key areas of manufacturing.

Plantville is a unique, educational and fun way for Siemens to engage students, plant managers, engineers and the general public, while driving awareness of Siemens’ products and solutions. The game enables the plant manger to improve the productivity of their facilities by learning how to effectively integrate industrial and infrastructure products and solutions. Gamers are measured on a number of key performance indicators (KPIs), including safety, on-time delivery, quality, energy management and employee satisfaction.

“With Plantville, Siemens is targeting the next generation of plant managers with a realistic simulation to understand what enhances productivity,” said Robert Hardt, senior vice-president of the Industry Sector for Siemens Canada. “This platform is entertaining and engaging. Players are able to utilize their skills to improve the performance of a manufacturing facility and turn it into a benchmark for the industry.”

Throughout the game, players are able to interact with Pete the Plant Manager, an animated character whose plant has just won the “Plant of the Year” award. Throughout the game, Pete shares his best practices to help players achieve outstanding results in plant performance. He uses webisodes, the Plantville Café, Puzzlers, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts to communicate with gamers. Pete also provides hints to playing the game and hosts a leader board for contestants to compare their results.

In Plantville, players first select which of the three virtual plants they would like to begin managing: a bottling plant, a vitamin plant, or a plant that builds trains. At the start of the game, each type of plant is faced with different challenges. The players must identify these challenges and implement solutions to improve the plant’s KPIs. Gamers will compete with one another on a number of levels, including plant-to-plant and on individual KPIs.

Embedded in the game are brain teasers that test a plant manger’s problem-solving abilities and provide tips to enhance their play. A manager attempts to solve a puzzle or problem, and in doing so gains new insight into their plant’s performance. The first person to correctly answer the puzzler receives bonus points and is recognized on the Plantville Facebook page.

The Café is a fun and educational platform within the game that offers periodic online chat sessions with Pete on topics, including process control, energy efficiency and industrial networking. Chat sessions are kept in a library as a resource for current and future players. These sessions enable gamers to collect tips that help them manage their plants more effectively, while also learning more about these topics and solutions.

Plantville, like the plants within it, will undergo updates and changes. Siemens will continue to develop and enhance this platform to reflect the continuing advancement of its technologies, as well as other elements that change or have an impact on industry and infrastructure.

For more information or to play Plantville, visit: www.plantville.com.

www.siemens.ca