Customised virtual reality health and safety training
This project has been conducted by Dr Zulfikar Adamu of Southbank University, with funding from the Royal Charter International Research Award 2018, of which Dr Adamu was a co-winner. The Awards is supported by the BRE Trust and the Worshipful Company of Constructors.
The research at Southbank University is developing a virtual-reality tool to deliver training that is designed to improve health and safety in the construction industry. It includes a psychometric test to assess key personality traits for each trainee, the outcomes of which are used to customise the virtual-reality experience so that the training benefits are enhanced.
The trainee then becomes a ‘player’ in a virtual-reality, health and safety training ‘game’, which is set in a construction workplace with a range of hazards (such as, falling equipment, fire and working at heights), adapted to the player’s particular personality and needs.
Other variables include the weather, such as rain, wind, snow and lightning, set to varying strengths, and inventory such as equipment and tools – so the player’s ability to, for example, work safely on scaffolding on a windy day can be tested and lessons learned. The impacts of health issues such as dust and vibration, and the player’s ability to appropriately deal with these, can also be included.
The next steps are to finalise the desk top application for use on laptops, etc, and then to enable it to be played at home on smart TVs – bringing construction into the home in a way that could potentially help to attract new talent to the industry. The final step will be to make a web accessible version of the game so it can be streamed live.
Find out more at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5Bv9OnmMMM&feature=emb_logo
This article originally appeared on the BRE Trust website in 2020.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Construction Products Reform Green Paper and Consultation
Still time to respond as consultation closes on 21 May 2025.
Resilient façade systems for smog reduction in Shanghai
A technical approach using computer simulation and analysis of solar radiation, wind patterns, and ventilation.
Digital technology, transformation and cybersecurity
Supporting SMEs through Digitalisation in Construction.
Villa Wolf in Gubin, history and reconstruction. Book review.
Construction contract awards down £1bn
Decline over the past two months compared to the same period last year, follows the positive start to the year.
Editor's broadbrush view on forms of electrical heating in context.
The pace of heating change; BSRIA market intelligence
Electric Dreams, Boiler Realities.
New President of ECA announced
Ruth Devine MBE becomes the 112th President of the Electrical Contractors Association.
New CIAT Professional Standards Competency Framework
Supercedes the 2019 Professional Standards Framework from 1 May 2025.
Difficult Sites: Architecture Against the Odds
Free exhibition at the RIBA Architecture Gallery until 31 May.
PPN 021: Payment Spot Checks in Public Sub-Contracts
Published following consultation and influence from ECA.
Designing Buildings reaches 20,000 articles
We take a look back at some of the stranger contributions.
Lessons learned from other industries.
The Buildings of the Malting Industry. Book review.
Conserving places with climate resilience in mind.
Combating burnout.