7 Reasons to Consider Virtual Reality Safety Training Videos in the Workplace

Every year there are approximately 2.3M worldwide work-related accidents and 610K workplace injuries.  While about 20% of all worker fatalities in the US are part of the private sector construction industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many others are in fields such as nursing and health, heavy equipment, drivers, maintenance and repair workers and of course retail and sales. The use of virtual reality safety training videos in the workplace can reduce workplace related injuries while providing workers with simulated training experiences just like in real life. 

Consider the following:

Michael works at the same food processing facility every day and he has for more than a decade. Things don’t change much at Michael’s job, in fact you might call it rather monotonous. Each day, Michael arrives at work, clocks himself in as he walks through the office, he grabs his vest off the hook by the factory door preparing for a long day at work. He clips his vest on, without skipping a beat and then enters the food preparation zone. Michael walks over to his area of the food preparation factory, where he will be responsible for double checking large piles of beef for excess fat or bones before it goes into the grinder for further processing.

As Michael begins his work day, his mind begins to wander off, much like it has on many other workdays. He’s thinking about his plans for after work all the while, he is also aimlessly sorting through beef like he has hundreds of times in the past. As he quietly daydreams and fulfills his work duties, something snaps Michael out of it and brings his attention back to today. 

It’s his vest! He’s leaned over to sort the beef, and his vest has managed to snag on the conveyor. Apparently when he clipped his vest on, there was a part of the sash that had a tear in it leaving it long and hanging as Michael was working along the conveyor. The result: Michael’s vest has managed to get snagged in the conveyor, pulling him in towards the grinder! He can’t reach the automatic shut off! And he can’t get out of the vest….

It’s like a nightmare, and although it’s not reality this time, it does have a lot of very realistic scenarios that took place! Fortunately, Michael is not going to lose an arm today, because this is all part of a virtual reality safety training series that he is watching and learning from at work. The training provided features incredibly realistic experiences and real-life scenarios that can help Michael to better understand the potential risks of very specific events that could occur at work. Thanks to this training, Michael will do a better job at checking his work vest in the future and he will be less likely to suffer a catastrophe like the one experienced in the VR simulation.

Benefits of Virtual Reality Safety Training Videos in the Workplace

Training scenarios, like the one that Michael experienced, have a variety of potential benefits at work, particularly in dangerous workplace scenarios where hands-on, real-life training could be quite risky. Engaging employees in workplace safety training that is delivered via virtual reality can mitigate risk while improving overall employee learning outcomes. In fact, these benefits are just a few of the potential reasons that you might want to consider the use of virtual reality safety training videos at work.

Checkout these additional reasons to consider virtual reality safety training videos in the workplace:

1. Safe Training Environments – VR makes the environment that you train your employees in just like real-life, except it’s perfect safe even though it might appear otherwise.
2. Realistic Training Scenarios – with VR videos are incredibly realistic despite the fact that they might be quite risky. Learners can push the limits without pushing the risk.
3. Randomized Situations just like in Real Life – Virtual reality safety training videos in the workplace can be used to create randomized safety situations for workers to engage in, just like they would in reality.
4. Procedures Easily Tested & Evaluated – If you’re trying to find a way to test new procedures before putting them to work in real life, virtual reality is the way to go. Test, and evaluate, without risking any harm to your employees or to others.
5. Immerse Employees for Maximum Focus – with VR training videos, you provide your workers with an immersive scenario in which they can focus 100% on what they are learning without interruption or interference.
6. Customized Training Scenarios – virtual reality safety training videos in the workplace can be used to provide unique, fully customized training scenarios that meet the very specific educational needs of your workers. Workers learn concepts that are most important now.
7. Training is More Efficient – With virtual reality training videos, a worker can engage in more efficient training and education. These videos can provide up to an hour worth of traditional classroom training in about 5 minutes or less.

When it comes to virtual reality safety training videos in the workplace, there are many reasons to consider this format of training for your team but it’s up to you to decide what’s best. For help producing top quality virtual reality safety training videos that you can use in your workplace, give Beverly Boy Productions a call!