Many of the tasks we do every day for our jobs seem trivial because we grow complacent in the repetition of the job and how it feels doing it.
For those of us who feel well-seasoned in our environment, utilizing safety programs, policies and procedures such as the 20-20-20 rule can help us identify hazards and keep us safe while we are in the field. Do you ever recall what your first week inside a facility felt like? There is a nervous excitement of working in and alongside colossal chemistry sets that create so many products that we use in our everyday lives. Even walking alongside a mammoth crane distracts us as we recall childhood memories of building skyscrapers in an imaginary city. The smells, noise, landscapes and vibrations can overwhelm your senses in a way that leaves little room for critically evaluating your surroundings for hazards. After some time, we learn to identify which of those sensory inputs should elicit a response and which to categorize as background noise.
It’s no secret that we work in a dangerous industry. Every one of us probably has a story about someone we know or with whom we were acquainted who was killed or seriously injured in an industrial environment. I have worked with many people who have been on the front lines of these incidents and am able to share in vivid detail what happened and the emotions that overwhelmed them to the point that they could think of nothing else for days. The memories of what went wrong and the feelings of loss will probably remain with them for the rest of their lives. As horrific as these incidents were, we remember them well because of the emotions tied to the people, places and jobs that were involved. If our emotions are such a driving force for the memories we retain, shouldn’t we put more focus on emotional responses for critical safety trainings?
I recently experienced virtual reality (VR) training for the first time at the Health and Safety Council. It wasn’t very lengthy, and for someone who has never used VR, it wasn’t difficult to get accustomed to the controls. Overall, it was not that different from the typical computer-based training we are all accustomed to. What was different was the feeling and emotion I left with, which I know will stay with me for some time. The reaction I had was a split second of fear that I made the wrong choice in a potentially life-threatening situation. That scenario, when experienced in VR, made an impact on me and has stuck with me ever since.
Various studies have proven that VR has a positive impact on long-term memory retention, in large part due to the spatial awareness the experience conveys. This is similar to why many of us learn better by doing a task as opposed to hearing about or seeing it done. Many safety trainings are not just about hazard recognition, but also about how to react correctly in dangerous situations. Being safe in our environment is not just about remembering the right information, it’s about having the ability to react correctly when you are bombarded with lots of information that overwhelms your senses in a high-stress environment.
One of the largest safety concerns that we have in our industry is a new employee coming into the workforce who has never been inside of an industrial facility before. Most contracting and owner companies have extensive safety training programs to help mitigate the risk, but many have been the same for many years and do not keep up with the ever-growing landscape of research that utilizes new technologies and processes to address the most effective way that people are learning. VR gives us opportunities that classroom, computer-based training and hands-on safety training cannot offer. No one is going to purposely light five barrels of diesel on fire to test someone’s reaction, but a great alternative is to experience the event in VR. Companies are focused on getting as many new employees into the workforce as they can to combat labor shortages. With all of these new people coming into our industry, we need to take every opportunity to make them as safe as possible. I believe that using VR training can be a big part of that.
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