Virtual reality for the creation of stories and scenarios for construction safety: social distancing in the COVID-19 pandemic context

Published in Journal of Computational Methods and Experimental Measurements, Vol. 11 (2), pp. 105-114, 2023. Open Access
DOI: 10.18280/ijcmem.110205

Abstract

The construction site is a complex and dynamic place. Workers are susceptible to certain risks due to the variability of their worksites, the tasks they perform, and the equipment they use. These aspects make the architecture, engineering, construction, and operation industry (AECO) have high accident rates. These typical processes are added to the growing use of new technologies in the workplace (e.g., drones, robots) that must coexist with human workers, not altering their routines and preserving a safe environment. A key aspect of occupational risk prevention (ORP) is worker training. Traditional training methods are not satisfactory. Given these deficiencies, virtual reality has shown advantages and benefits for training, allowing the development of immersive training experiences that promise to generate more meaningful learning for students. The construction sector needs to reactivate their construction sites after periods of confinement due to the direct implications on the progress of projects and, indeed, the industry's productivity (with the repercussions on costs, time and legal aspects). In this respect, training workers in covid protection measures and designing and analysing changing construction site scenarios to reduce the spread of viruses is crucial to ensure workers' health. This research shows the application and agile development of a training experience for social distancing at construction sites to prevent COVID-19 transmission, based on virtual reality and building information modelling and using serious games as a teaching strategy. Analyses are shown to exemplify the application and potential of the tools.