The introduction of virtual reality (VR) technology has changed the way employers train and improve the skills of their employees. The resulting experience is called immersive learning, as trainees are virtually immersed in a safe, instructive environment that allows them to practice their skills without causing harm to company property or themselves.
A new study suggests employee safety could be improved through the use of Virtual Reality (VR) in health and safety training, such as evacuation drills or hazard recognition.
A team at the University of Nottingham has conducted a study to produce evidence-based guidance for the development and use of virtual environments in engaging and effective training using cost-effective and accessible solutions. The team developed an immersive VR system to stimulate participants’ perception of temperature, senses of smell, sight, and hearing to explore how the participants behaved during two health and safety training scenarios: an emergency evacuation in the event of a fuel leak and a fire.
In one scenario, participants had to evacuate from a virtual fire in an office, seeing and hearing using a VR headset but could also feel heat from three 2kW heaters, and could smell smoke from a scent diffuser, creating a multisensory virtual environment.
This group was compared against another group who were observed in this scenario using only audio-visual elements of VR.
Observing real-life behaviors
Previous research on human behavior during real-world fire incidents has shown that a lack of understanding of the spread and movement of fire often means that occupants are unprepared and misjudge appropriate actions.
Immersive health and safety training can enable employers to train people about hazards and hazardous environments without putting anyone at risk. The Nottingham research, funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), found contrasts between the groups in the way participants reacted to the scenario.
Those in the multi-sensory group had a greater sense of urgency, reflecting a real-life scenario, and were more likely to avoid the virtual fires.
Evidence from the audio-visual participants suggested that they were treating the experience more like a game and behaviors were less consistent with those expected in a real-world situation.
Dr. Glyn Lawson, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering, said: “Health and safety training can fail to motivate and engage employees and can lack relevance to real-life contexts. Our research suggests that virtual environments can help address these issues, by increasing trainees’ engagement and willingness to participate in further training. There are also business benefits associated with the use of virtual environment training, such as the ability to deliver training at or near the workplace and at a time that is convenient to the employee.”
Virtual Reality vs. PowerPoint
A further test was done, as part of the study, to measure the effectiveness of VR training versus traditional PowerPoint training. Participants took questionnaires, testing their knowledge on either fire safety or safe vehicle disassembly procedure, before and after training as well as one week later. While those trained via PowerPoint appeared to have gained more knowledge when tested directly after training, there was a significantly larger decrease in knowledge scores when participants were retested one week later.
In comparison, the VR group’s long-term retention was better and reported higher levels of engagement; attitude to occupational safety and health; and willingness to undertake training in the future.
Research suggests that the increased cognitive engagement of learning in the virtual environment creates more established and comprehensive mental models which can improve recall, and implies that testing an employee’s knowledge immediately following training may not be an effective means of gauging long-term knowledge of health and safety.
Conclusion
By improving training strategies with the use of technology and stimulated sensory experiences, we are heading in a direction where the workforce will not just enjoy a more immersive and interesting training course but participate in an effective learning experience, so they are better prepared and equipped to stay safe, healthy and well at work.
Interested in trying out a virtual reality (VR) safety training for yourself? Well, Costello Safety Consulting can help! Contact us today and schedule your Immersive Learning experience today.