Active personalized construction safety training using run-time data collection in physical and virtual reality work environments

Abstract

Purpose Accidents resulting from poorly planned or setup work environments are a major concern within the construction industry. While traditional education and training of personnel offer well-known approaches for establishing safe work practices, serious games in virtual reality (VR) are increasingly being used as a complementary approach for active learning experiences. By taking full advantage of data collection and the interactions possible in the virtual environment, the education and training of construction personnel improves by using non-biased feedback and immersion. Design/methodology/approach This research presents a framework for the generation and automated assessment of VR data. The proposed approach is tested and evaluated in a virtual work environment consisting of multiple hazards. VR requires expensive hardware, technical knowledge and user acceptance to run the games effectively. An effort has been made to transfer the advantages VR gives to a physical setup. This is done using a light detection and ranging sensing system, which collects similar data and enables the same learning experiences. Findings Encouraging results on the participants’ experiences are presented and discussed based on actual needs in the Danish construction industry. An outlook presents future avenues towards enhancing existing learning methods. Practical implications The proposed method will help develop active learning environments, which could lead to safer construction work stations in the future, either through VR or physical simulations. Originality/value The utilization of run-time data collection and automatic analysis allows for better personalized feedback in the construction safety training. Furthermore, this study investigates the possibility of transferring the benefits of this system to a physical setup that is easier to use on construction sites without investing in a full VR setup.

Automating the Estimation of Productivity Metrics for Construction Workers Using Deep Learning and Kinematics

“…However, computer-vision methods have limitations. Using cameras requires a well light scene, is a stationary method, and suffers in almost every configuration, especially in dynamic work settings, from occlusions (Jacobsen and Teizer, 2021). Furthermore, storing the information needed for the supervised machine learning algorithms can be costly as the files from cameras (pictures or videos) require large amounts of storage (Sherafat et al, 2020).…”

Virtual reality: A review and a new framework for integrated adoption

“…The theme environment revolves around experiences in VR from a design and immersion perspective. The literature in this area examines the key design elements of VR, which include immersion (i.e., the level of users' involvement and sense of presence), interactivity (i.e., the way users interact with the virtual environment, which may include physical movements, controllers, and voice commands), and realism (i.e., how close the virtual environment mimic the real-world) (see Ball et al, 2021;Bogicevic et al, 2019;Bower et al, 2020;Chang, 2022;Crescentini et al, 2016;Dehghani et al, 2022;Gelder et al, 2018;Guttentag, 2010;Jacobsen et al, 2022;Jang & Park, 2019;Leung et al, 2022;Lin & Yeh, 2019;Luna-Nevarez & McGovern, 2021;McGill et al, 2016;Oh & Kong, 2022;Peukert et al, 2019;Sepasgozar et al, 2021;Shin, 2017;Vishwakarma et al, 2020aVishwakarma et al, , 2020b. The immersion aspect of VR allows users to have an increased sense of engagement (compared with traditional 2D channels) in various activities, such as shopping and education (e.g., Bower et al, 2020;Luna-Nevarez & McGovern, 2021;McGill et al, 2016;Peukert et al, 2019;Shin, 2017).…”

A Literature Analysis of Construction Workers’ Safety Training based on narrative review and Citespace

“…A dangerous interactive teaching system based on virtual reality is given to assist in the development and outcome evaluation of construction safety training programs [20]. In addition, using serious games in VR as a supplement to active learning experiences can help to improve construction worker education and training [37].…”