Science of Safety Training
Pairing strategies like storytelling and humor together with modern technologies to enhance training
Training is the cornerstone of an effective safety program. It allows us to impart knowledge, improve skills, and reinforce safety culture, but is slow to change. By studying training from a scientific perspective, we will unpack the fundamental drivers of adult learning and reimagine training as it is currently delivered. Specifically, we will explore how time-tested strategies like storytelling and humor pair with modern technologies like simulations, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. With input from front-line employees and controlled experiments, we will test how these potentially transformative methods of training impact the acquisition, retention, and application of new safety knowledge. This project is critical for equipping the next generation with training that is purposely designed to be more effective, efficient, and engaging.
Source: University of Colorado Boulder, Construction Safety Research Alliance (CSRA)
Collaborative Research: Immersive Virtual Reality with Haptic Feedback to Improve Safety Hazard Recognition, Assessment, and Decision-Making Among Construction Professionals
Research shows that safety learning occurs to a great extent through experiential learning - especially when individuals experience or witness an injury firsthand. The objectives of this research are to create a novel and fully immersive Virtual Reality safety education environment that provides haptic feedback to users when hazards go unrecognized and unaddressed, measure the extent to which instruction in this environment enhances learning outcomes in construction safety compared to traditional media, and measure and explain the psychological mediators of cyberlearning in this multimedia-rich environment.
