Measuring the Effectiveness of VR Technique for Safety Training of Hazardous Construction Site Scenarios

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) has been widely applied in many fields. Previous studies have shown that the safety training by immersive interactions of VR-based techniques is more effective than the traditional lecturing courses in internalizing construction safety knowledge and consciousness. This paper presents the results of the development and effectiveness measurement of a “Virtual Reality-based Interactive Education System for construction hazards (VRIES)” in assisting the construction safety training programs. The research adopted various methods such as the literature review on workers’ unsafe behaviors, a survey of construction accidents through group meetings, field visits to construction accident sites, and so on to develop the proposed VRIES. The results of system tests in a lab and the fields for 117 trainees presented that construction workers’ safety scores improved by 10.15% for personal safety equipment selection and by 19.08% for specialty safety inspection process of different construction tasks. Moreover, the trainees actively involved in VR-based safety training than in the traditional ones. The testing result showed a significant improvement in knowledge and consciousness of the workers on construction safety after training with the proposed VRIES. The proposed VRIES shows great potential to enhance the safety knowledge, consciousness, and behavior of the construction workers to prevent the occurrence of construction accidents.