Do you struggle with keeping your employees engaged during mandatory safety training? With workplace safety being a top priority for many organizations, traditional training methods often fall short in preparing employees for unpredictable challenges they may face on the job. Recognizing this need for more effective and engaging training solutions, many organizations are turning to virtual reality (VR) to provide immersive experiences that better prepare employees for the realities of their work environments.

Immersive learning offers a level of realism and engagement that traditional methods struggle to match. By leveraging VR technologies, organizations can simulate dangerous situations in a controlled environment, allowing employees to practice safety protocols and refine their skills without putting themselves or fellow employees at risk. Hereby, this solution transforms safety training by immersing employees in realistic scenarios without exposing them to actual risks.

 

CASE STUDY – WINCANTON

Wincanton, a lead logistics company in the UK, shines as a prime example of immersive learning’s effectiveness in safety training. Computing an analysis of incidents and accidents in the UK’s logistic sector established that 60% of the incidents came from three major areas: dropped trailers, cage falls, and red light pull-offs. Wincanton’s goal to keep their workforce safe in these three work scenarios led to their collaboration with Video Interact to introduce immersive solutions created in CenarioVR®, a virtual reality course authoring tool. Their aim? Simple yet crucial: to prepare employees with the necessary skills to handle these three risky situations confidently, all without exposing them to actual dangers on site.

A key advantage of immersive learning for safety training is its ability to provide hands-on experience in high-risk scenarios that would be too dangerous, or too costly, to replicate in real life. With Wincanton, through VR 360-degree video simulation, employees found themselves immersed in the lifelike environments of their depots and during deliveries.

 

STEER TO SAFETY

Consider a scenario where a Wincanton employee experiences an incident where a cage has fallen from the back of a delivery truck. Guided by interactive prompts, they learn how to practice safety protocols, identify potential hazards, and navigate through the safety procedure involved in solving the incident - all without the fear of real-world consequences.

Moreover, immersive learning fosters a sense of presence that traditional training methods lack. By engaging people in lifelike environments, using VR headsets, laptops, tablets, or any other device, they are fully engaged in the experience. This leads to higher retention rates and transfer of knowledge and skills to real-world situations. Having all this available on multiple platforms further allows employees to access their training at anytime, anywhere. In Wincanton’s instance, logistic truck drivers can engage with the 360-degree training on their mobile phones whilst sitting in the truck.  This is crucial to keep safety training consistent throughout geographically dispersed organizations.

Furthermore, immersive learning allows for personalized and adaptive training experiences tailored to individual needs. By analyzing employees’ behavior within virtual environments, often training programs can dynamically adjust the difficulty level of scenarios, provide targeted feedback, and track progress over time. This personalized approach not only enhances outcomes but also ensures that each employee receives the specific training they need to excel in their role.

 

300% ROI

The benefits of immersive learning extend far beyond employee skill development. By reducing the risk of workplace accidents and injuries, organizations can minimize downtime, lower costs, and protect their most valuable asset—their workforce. Additionally, by fostering a culture of safety through experience, organizations can instill a mindset of responsibility among employees, leading to safer work environments and increased morale. In Wincanton’s case, by reducing the risk of workplace accidents and injuries by 50-70% in each major category, they experienced a significant return on investment of 300%. Additional benefits include improvements in employee morale and engagement, further enhancing the company’s commitment to workplace safety.

In conclusion, Wincanton's case study serves as a testament to the transformative potential of immersive learning to mitigate risks at work. Other companies including Fendi, NHS, Johnson & Johnson, and many more, have also seen promising results. Hereby, as we look to the future of safety training, we can find inspiration in Wincanton's success and revolutionize our own approach to workplace safety.

 

Liesl Twaalfhoven 

Content Marketing Specialist at ELB Learning