Danger comes without warning, especially for those working in industries where avoiding or preventing hazards form a daily part of the work routine. 

This is especially true for industries that always have a risk factor attached to it  –  Oil & Gas, Maritime, Mining. Traditionally, these industries have a specific safety training process, where you need to attend a safety training session, pass the test, and be certified before being allowed to work on-site.

What happens if the training can be done in an immersive way, without actually being on-site? Virtual Reality may be the answer to this.

What Is VR And How Does It Help?

VR is a computer-generated simulation of an environment. It is typically viewed through a screen in your VR headset, in which it brings forth experiences within a digital world. 

Essentially, it provides a simulated experience of real-looking scenes and objects, where it helps the user immerse in it. Users do not have to be physically “on-site” to prepare them to be “on-site”. Imagine doing a safety brief to workers at a shipyard where they will be probably dealing with quite a few hazards in their environment and scope of work; the usage of VR to provide a full immersive experience of what to expect and what to do if something happens will be game-changing.

Realistic Simulation Training

Drills for evacuating safely in such hazardous work sites, can also be practiced with VR, where simulations of enactment (from low-light, fire, and navigating through smoke) can be done to train users to remain calm and find a safe way out.

All these can be done safely and remotely via VR Emergency Training, especially in some training centers where users try out the evacuation protocols/perform fire extinguishing training without causing harm to anyone else. 

A recent study by PwC revealed that VR learners are more confident in applying what they’re taught. Learners trained with VR were up to 275% more confident to act on what they learned after training. This is in comparison to improvements after learning in a classroom (40%), and over e-learning (35%).

Importantly, it gives a realistic feel that can be comprehended by the user, beating any training videos with no actionable takeaways that the user can relate to even after being on-site. Because of the engaging interaction that constantly stimulates the user while going through the simulation training and actually practicing such skills on the spot, knowledge retention of such situations increases significantly due to the constant reinforcement.

Doing More With Less

Companies spend millions in insurance, safety, and accident-related claims every year. With proper preparation through an immersive environment that VR offers, this spending could lessen significantly.

Constant add-ons of VR Safety training, simulations, and protocols can be tweaked and added without structural re-design of training centers or office spaces.

At the end of the day, the human brain works better with realistic stimuli, and the closest thing to a physical feel would be immersion through VR.