Safety Training

There can be little doubt that technology has bought about revolutionary change across a plethora of industries, becoming one of the key drivers of growth, innovation and development on the global business landscape. It wouldn’t be such a leap to suggest that VR is one of the most promising of these new technologies that has entered the market in the last couple of decades, with wide-reaching effects that are only now just being realised. 

One area that is seeing early utilisation – and, crucially, impressive results- is in health, safety and training. We spoke with Pat O’Connor, Managing Director of VRAI, to find out more.

As a content creation company that specialises in capitalising on the unique benefits of augmented and virtual reality, VRAI is at the very forefront of an emerging and ever-growing industry. Moreover, through their work with large organisation such as Samsung, IAG and the United Nations, VRAI are well-placed to notice new trends before they become industry-defining goliaths and, more importantly, they have become adept at solving real business problems with technology-centric solutions.

Combining these two advantages, VRAI have developed a new training platform that uses their considerable experience to reinvent best practices, as Pat explains. “Hazardous Environment Awareness Training, or HEAT, is an AI powered VR training platform that improves training effectiveness, reduces risk to employees and enhances operational outputs by reducing human error. Our HEAT VR training platform has 3 main elements – onboarding, training and analytics.

“In the onboarding phase, trainee profiles are created which captures demographic information such as age, years of service, whether the individual is salaried or contract, and data of that nature. During the training phase, the VR headset acts as an IOT device capturing rich datasets on the trainee movement and performance. In our next iteration of our HEAT training product we are building in biometric sensors that will then allow clients to not only measure how people perform tasks, but also how they feel while carrying out these tasks. Finally, in the analytics phase, all of the data captured in the previous phases is analysed via our cloud-based AI platform providing deep insights into training effectiveness and employee performance. In effect, the more training clients conduct the more data that is produced and the greater the organisational learnings.”

“This product is focused on reducing deaths and serious injuries in the workplace while improving operational performance.”

Pat continues, moving to discuss how VR, as a technology, has the potential to change huge swathes of the business world, in numerous industries, fields and sectors. At the crux of all this is training, which comes at a colossal cost for the world’s most successful companies. As Pat explains, there’s simply a better, more effective way than the current approach to this most essential of everyday elements. “The Fortune 500 spent approximately $100Bn on training in 2018, with over $11bn of that spent on safety training. Over half of these companies have had an employee death or serious injury occur in the previous 18 months.

“Considering the amount of money being spent, the problem is not the amount or length of training, it is the effectiveness of the training. We know, today, that the vast majority of training is delivered via lectures, or lecture-based training. This type of training is highly inefficient, ineffective and does very little to prepare people for the realities of carrying out the work in the ‘real world’ and in a real environment.”

HEAT, then, represents an alternative to current training techniques which represent a vast financial burden on industries where the money is, to put it simply, better spent elsewhere.

Understandably, healthcare is one industry where the effectiveness of VR is swiftly being realised. “Traditional training often required experienced staff to take time to train their more junior colleagues. With VR-based training, we can codify the knowledge of the more experienced colleagues to free them up to focus on healthcare delivery. By undergoing training that better reflects the real-world working environment, it better prepares new staff so that, when they start work, they are less dependent on experienced staff to show them the topes. The research shows, more effective training leads to more effective outcomes.

“Of particular note is the effectiveness of simulation training, which is already used a lot in the medical industries. In this, VR training is an obvious complimentary service. Simulators can be expensive to use, are generally limited in availability and are only available to students on the college campus. VR training allows you to empower your trainees to train themselves with the system acting as the trainer, capturing their performance and guiding them. The added bonus for both trainer and trainee is the additional data-driven insights that can drive performance improvement. In fact, in some colleges, it is being used to gamify training to create “leader boards,” Pat adds.

Yet, despite the runaway successes of VR and the promise of the future change that HEAT is sure to bring, there’s still obstacles to overcome. Here, in his closing comments, Pat enlightens us about the journey that lies ahead for VR and like technologies. “As with any new technology, companies need to be clear on the business case for adoption – it’s the race to be second. Thankfully the benefits of VR training are now becoming more obvious for clients, particularly when it is available on an AI powered platform such as HEAT that can be integrated into existing LMS systems. Now companies are clear on the business case, it’s about finding the best solution.

“Finally, scalability of training solutions is also key as our client companies are generally large cap firms with a global footprint. This means the system must be available in multiple sites, in multiple languages and with bespoke, tailored training.”

“We see VR as the laboratory which enables organisations to gather rich data on how their people perform and train in order to improve safety and operational efficiency.”

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Key Takeaways

• Health and safety hazards in construction
• Construction safety statistics
• The importance of health and safety training
• Benefits of using VR for construction safety training

Health and safety hazards in construction

In an industry with a fatality rate double the sector average, it’s unarguable that more needs to be done to protect employees from the well-known hazards that lurk on construction sites.

Despite the method statements and risk assessments put in place to protect workers and members of the public, thousands of fatal and non-fatal incidents are reported to the HSE year after year. In most instances, these are caused by:

Moving objects

Depending on the scale of the site, and subsequently the amount of moving machinery, workers are at danger from hazards such as supply vehicles, dumper trucks and overhead equipment shifting heavy loads.

Working at height

Many construction or demolition projects will require trades to work from height. Quite often, the risk of working at height is increased by added access and mobility restrictions which make for a more challenging environment. 

Slips, trips and falls

With the amount of activity from various trades operating on a construction site, it’s no surprise fatal and non-fatal injuries are caused by slips, trips and falls on a daily basis. Remaining vigilant at all times goes without saying.

Asbestos

Although the use of asbestos pre-dates recent generations of plumbers, electricians and builders, its risk to health is still very much present.

It’s estimated over 500,000 public buildings in the UK still contain asbestos, which, if disturbed without the correct health and safety measures, can cause life-threatening harm. 

Electricity

Usually subject to workers who attempt electrical work without the appropriate qualifications, an average of three electrocutions are caused every year on domestic and commercial building sites across the UK.

Construction safety statistics

Fatality rates within the construction industry are more than double those of the sector average. And when you consider the industry accounts for over 6% of the UK workforce, the numbers are hard to ignore.

According to construction and engineering statistics released by the HSE, 39 fatal injuries to workers, and four to members of the public, were reported in 2020/2021. 

The leading causes include falling from height (50%), being trapped by something collapsing or overturning (13%), being struck by moving objects (11%), being struck by moving vehicles (10%) and contact with moving machinery (4%).

Although data would suggest health and safety standards are improving, approximately 61,000 non-fatal injuries were reported in 2020/2021, predominantly caused by:

• slips, trips and falls
• lifting heavy equipment
• falls from height
• being struck by moving objects

In 2020, it was estimated the cost of workplace injury and new cases of work-related illness was the result of over 2.1 million working days lost within the construction industry. That equates to a lot of time and money!

The importance of health and safety training

Preventing injury, illness and death on a construction site should be a priority for anyone involved with the industry. 

As a manager or owner of a construction firm, having health and safety compliant workers on site not only saves lives, but contributes to the smooth running of projects. 

What’s more, having the appropriate health and safety standards in place for employees will also:

• develop a positive health and safety culture
• provide opportunities to review current standards for improvement
• meet your legal duty to protect the health and safety of your employees

To stay up to date with health and safety standards, regular training, information, and instructions must be made readily available for employees.  And with the development of virtual reality (VR), meeting such lawful requirements has never been easier.

Benefits of using VR for construction safety training

With construction sites rife with hazards, many business owners are investing in VR safety training to further prevent employee illness, injury, and fatalities.

Whether it’s identifying construction workplace hazards or training to safely operate heavy machinery, VR offers a three-dimensional learning platform based on existing and prospective building sites.

By slipping on a VR headset from anywhere in the world, employees enter a multi-sensory training exercise proven to have higher engagement and higher learning retention than any classroom-based alternative.

This is largely due to VR’s immersive learning environment, where participants can repeat learning exercises without distraction as many times as they require – all without the fear of causing a real-world injury.

For employers, it means work teams who learn through VR are more competent because they’ve already experienced lifelike health and safety procedures and requirements relevant to their role. 

Offering health and safety training through VR also saves construction firms time and money on booking external training providers and commuting to dedicated training rooms.

And by making training immediately accessible, construction firms also reduce the disruption to workflow while ensuring all workers remain up to date on the latest health and safety standards.  

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Virtual Reality technology is advancing exponentially. The days when it was just something that we saw in movies and TV are over. It has almost completely taken over the gaming market. It is quickly becoming a large part of safety training for jobs of all types.

The traditional way of training employees to deal with a dangerous situation that could arise is no longer enough. It is too difficult to show someone the changing variables that can take place in a tense situation.  

Traditional Safety Training

There are a lot of jobs where safety is crucial. Police officers, firefighters, construction workers, and pilots are only a few that could have dire consequences if safety is not a top priority.

Safety training was traditionally done in a classroom. Different scenarios are brought up and discussed to identify the best solutions for each one. Hands-on training can look a lot different depending on what kind of job you are doing.

• Police officers have obstacle courses and firing ranges to simulate conditions in the field.
• Firefighters have towers that they climb, and they go into smoking buildings or houses having a controlled burn.
• Pilots can get into a cockpit simulator to practice their instrument training.

Some of these forms of safety training are more effective than others. But all of them have serious drawbacks. Mostly, they are limited. 

You can only go through an obstacle course once before it becomes familiar. You cannot change the layout. You can do them over and over. But with there being no way to change them, they can become monotonous and lose their effectiveness.

Reasons Why VR Safety Training Is Better

There are inherent dangers and feasibility problems with the traditional way safety training happens. It comes down to the fact that the way it has always been done is the only way to do it. Companies make the best of it. 

Some of the things that we do for safety training are dangerous in and of themselves. To send firefighters into an actual fire to train them and have police officers fire at moving targets is risky. But since it was the only way to teach them, that is how they did it.

Now that Virtual Reality technology has come so far, a whole new dynamic is opening up. There are many reasons why Virtual Reality training is better for workers than the old way.

Safer Environment

Virtual Reality takes all the danger out of any environment. It can get you close to feeling like you are there without putting you in harm’s way. 

A police academy student can go into a nearly life-like scenario that they could face in their career. They can confront all sorts of dangers. And the next time that they run through it, they could face all-new encounters. The whole setting could even be changed.

A firefighter could train to retrieve a child from a house fire without facing the dangers of actual flames. You never have to worry about smoke inhalation or overexertion. No buildings will collapse, and no one will get seriously hurt.

Electricians can practice their trade without the risk of electrocution. Rescue workers can practice HAZMAT protocols without being exposed to dangerous chemicals.

Different Scenarios

Traditional training is limited in what scenarios you can train. A firefighter can train in a house fire, but not in a high rise at the same time. You can’t physically burn a house and then drive to another part of town to simulate a high-rise fire. 

But with Virtual Reality, you can train them on their duties in the house fire and then switch over and do the high-rise or a water rescue on the same day. The scenarios change, which forces the trainee to use a different part of his mind.

It keeps workers from getting complacent in their training. They retain more of what they learned in the classroom because they find more hands-on ways to use that knowledge.

Endless Repetition

For some training, the only way to master it is to do it repeatedly. Virtual reality training for construction workers can take advantage of the value of repetition. A worker on the fiftieth floor of an unfinished skyscraper can virtually do that job repeatedly until it is second nature. 

Working with virtual tools, putting on safety equipment, and going through procedures and protocols many times will make them retain more.

Even surgeons preparing for a delicate operation can benefit from the repetition offered by Virtual Reality. They can perform that surgery a hundred times until they are flawless before doing it in real life. 

Immersion Training Increases Focus

A pilot going through training will sit in a cockpit simulator staring at instruments. While being able to fly by instruments is very important, the feeling of being in a fake cockpit in a classroom makes it hard to focus on something like that. 

Immersing yourself in a virtual world with all the sites and sounds that make it really helps to learn that much quicker.

Looking through the window and seeing the obstruction you are trying to avoid or seeing the position of the ground to the sky makes it more realistic. The realistic surroundings help to draw the trainee into the situation. That helps them maintain their composure and figure out what they need to do.

Insights

Virtual Reality safety training does not just send a trainee into a situation and grade them on how they handle it. It can monitor everything about them and how they react.

• Their eyes can be tracked. What were they looking at? Did they notice a hazard when it presented itself, or did they take a minute? 
• The heart rate can be gauged. Are they panicking in high-stress situations?
• Listening can be measured. Are they hearing warning signs? Are they reacting to threats that haven’t presented themselves yet?

All of these things can help with their training, but they can also help with developing the software. If dangers aren’t making themselves known, then the simulation can be adjusted.

Conclusion

The amount of training that can be accomplished by traditional means is impressive. We’ve been able to create some fine first responders and soldiers using the old way. 

But virtual reality training is allowing companies to make the training better than it has ever been, all while saving a lot of money and potential incidents in the long run.

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The two companies have formed an alliance to deploy VR training to public safety officers

ArborXR is an enterprise-grade platform for the management and secure distribution of augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) content across businesses.

The global firm will partner with Axon, a global leader public safety training, to remotely deploy VR training content and software updates to US public safety workers.

ArborXR is currently employing the recently-debuted HTC VIVE Focus 3 as hardware to support the large-scale distribution of Axon’s VR content.

HTC’s incredibly powerful headset contains specs which outshine rival hardware with its Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chipset, 5K display, 90Hz refresh rate, and ultra-wide 120-degree field of view.

In a press release, Amir Khorram, AVP of Enterprise Sales at HTC VIVE, said that, due to “Axon’s impressive content and ArborXR’s seamless deployment,” national firms could “benefit from the highly immersive training experience.”

The partnership will enable Axon to deploy training solutions to scale across a fleet of headsets, allowing firms to easily access an array of VR training tools, IT resources, and customer troubleshooting guides.

Brad Scoggin, ArborXR CEO and Co-Founder, said in a statement the firm is “excited to partner with Axon to build a comprehensive solution for VR on a large scale,” adding the partnership is one of the “largest VR deployments to date.”

The co-founder continued, explaining ArborXR would act as a “backbone for Axon’s VR-based public safety training across North America.”

Axon VR Training

The news comes as the Seattle-based firm tackles challenges faced by law enforcement and public safety officers with innovative training offering a range of immersive hardware and software solutions.

Axon started out as ‘TASER International’ and supplied public safety officers with non-lethal methods of protection, but in 2017, the company rebranded to represent its rapid expansion into emerging public safety solutions such as body cameras and VR training.

In addition to law enforcement, Axon also supports other public sectors such as federal defense departments, correctional facilities, and fire departments.

The experienced Axon team has gained the knowledge and resources available to provide a comprehensive training ecosystem to prepare individuals for field work and introduce trainees to Axon’s range of industry-grade smart weapons and cameras.

Currently, Axon offers the “future of training” with a remote VR course developed by scenario experts and community leaders aimed at preparing officers for real-world situations.

Additionally, the VR-based software incorporates real-time feedback that enables coaches to review training session recordings and analytics.

To support its VR solution, Axon runs an academy with the firm’s industry and hardware experience to supply new or existing officers with a digital hub to access crucial training resources.

Both the Axon Academy and VR training ecosystem provide officers with the assistance needed to improve empathic, tactical, and preparatory decision making.

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