Case Studies
Granite: Immersive Learning with Digital Twins
Granite Construction partnered with Treedis and Matterport to revolutionize site operations through an immersive and gamified digital twin experience. This innovation aimed to streamline and improve truck driver experience and enhance worker training to drive a safer operation, leveraging the power of virtual site visits and interactive learning.
By utilizing Matterport’s 3D scanning technology and Treedis’ no-code studio, Granite created digital twins of their sites with customized virtual training that engaged and informed site visitors and workers efficiently and safely.
Granite Construction faced a significant challenge in training truck drivers and site workers. As a rapidly growing company with a goal to onboard 300 new engineers annually across various sites, they needed a training solution that was both engaging and efficient. Traditional methods, such as PowerPoint presentations and videos, often lacked the realism and impact necessary to prepare workers for the hazardous environment of an asphalt site.
Daniel Mekis, Granite Construction’s CI Project Manager, underscored the urgency of this need: “There are probably a thousand different ways to die [on an asphalt site].” The Santa Clara plant presented countless distractions and risks that made conventional training methods inadequate.
The company needed a way to familiarize truck drivers (many of whom do not have English as their first language) with the site, how to stay safe, and what the plant operator would need from them. Granite would use the same location scan to create a separate training for internal employees to introduce workers to the flow of materials and asphalt mix through the plant, and detail the main pieces of equipment. Additionally, the solution needed to offer flexibility to adjust the training difficulty, ensuring it aligned with each employee's level of knowledge—providing more challenging experiences for seasoned employees.
Granite had already consulted nine different software companies in search of a solution to create a 3D model lab space. The need for technical expertise and substantial programming resources hindered their efforts until they discovered Matterport and Treedis. Matterport enabled them to create a highly accurate and photorealistic digital twin of their site with fast and efficient scans.
Treedis' no-code platform offered a unique opportunity to simplify the creation of 3D training models without the need for a background in programming or an extensive development team. Daniel and his team do not have a development background and would need to roll out the training experience in a few months.
Granite adopted a hands-on approach that emphasized scalability and ease of use. After the initial success of the POC, they empowered their team to leverage Treedis' user-friendly platform.
In one example, an employee responsible for training content created a comprehensive virtual experience in just 30 minutes with basic Treedis training materials. By the end of the session, he was developing content on his own, meeting Granite’s expectations and eliminating the need for additional hires.
Workers could independently create and expand their own training modules, reducing the need for a specialized programming team. This ability to scale content efficiently was crucial for Granite's ambitious growth plans.
This training methodology proved highly effective. Granite plans to onboard an intern for their Learning and Development department to further build gamified experiences. After just a few hours of training, the intern will be ready to deliver impactful content, driving efficiency and innovation throughout the organization.
Granite Construction's journey toward a solution began with a Matterport scan of their asphalt plant, which became the foundation of their digital twin. Using Treedis, they crafted site-specific, gamified virtual training experiences that engaged users in an interactive and meaningful way. The first step was developing a Proof of Concept (POC) to familiarize truck drivers with site processes based on their visit purpose, such as onloading, offloading, or general site tours.
Building on this success, Granite expanded their use of Treedis to create an interactive training experience for plant workers. They introduced scenarios that tested employees' knowledge, such as obtaining hot work permits and performing fire extinguisher checks. Using Treedis' HTML plugin, they integrated an AI tutor trained on Granite-specific knowledge from their Management System. This AI acted as an informative tour guide, making learning feel personalized and relevant. Additionally, realistic soundscapes were overlaid with actual plant noises, immersing trainees and enhancing their engagement.
Daniel highlighted the impact of this approach: “We needed to give people the ability to visit the site without all of the other distractions and risks. We wanted to help them focus on what we’re trying to present to them.” The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, sparking creativity among the workforce and inspiring new additional training concepts using the Matterport and Treedis systems.
The results of Granite’s use case of Treedis and Matterport digital twin solutions were transformative. The digital twin and gamified training experiences replaced outdated PowerPoint and video methods, keeping trainees engaged and improving knowledge retention. Employees now interact with site-specific challenges and realistic scenarios, learning in a dynamic and meaningful way.
The company also expanded their digital training capabilities to new projects, such as the American River Bridge Project, and envisioned onboarding processes for corporate offices. These innovations set a new standard for workplace training, combining self-paced virtual learning with traditional in-person sessions.
By leveraging Treedis' no-code studio, Granite accelerated content creation, achieving rapid scalability and having the ability to reach hundreds of users simultaneously. As Daniel Makis explained, “Immersive learning is a way to get new engineers all trained with onsite processes without needing to get in a classroom.”
The integration of digital twins and augmented training established a foundation for future growth, supporting Granite’s mission to train an ever-expanding workforce efficiently and safely.
Granite is one of the largest diversified construction and construction materials companies in the United States as well as a full-suite provider in the transportation, water infrastructure and mineral exploration markets. Granite is an industry leader in safety and an award-winning firm in quality and sustainability.
The reception has been really good. It creates tons of new ideas, and triggers people's imaginations on how we can keep using this solution to train people.
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