The following is an excerpt from our whitepaper: ‘5 Ways VR Training Helps Companies Even in an Economic Downturn’:
Safety training. This is a cost of doing business that for many industries is regulated and doesn’t change much. However, with the lack of skilled labor today, many companies are struggling to teach these skills and are putting poorly trained employees ‘into the field’. Particularly the younger workforce that struggles with comprehension using traditional training methods. This is leading to unsafe environments and more accidents.
Virtual reality (VR) has been proven to be extremely effective for learning safety skills because an employee can practice their reactions and responses in life-like conditions. Employees are much more likely to be able to avoid an accident or react appropriately in an emergency when they have been able to practice behaviors. This article provides the details on how VR safety training is more effective and how it lowers costs for the business.
Why VR training is more effective for preventing accidents
Oddly enough, one of the first industries to utilize VR for safety training was mining. Multiple studies have been presented over the years at the Minesafe International Conferences showing that VR is extremely effective and accepted. One study found that 94% of the mining workforce preferred VR as a teaching medium compared to other methods and that 77% of the workers said the VR simulations had a “good” level of realism. But the most important finding was a study that tracked a 43% reduction in lost time due to injury after VR safety training.
Beyond being more engaging, VR can create unsafe situations to test an employee’s response in critical situations while keeping employees perfectly safe. Even the best corporate training programs don’t have the resources to simulate real-life emergencies or unsafe scenarios without the help of virtual reality.
In VR safety training content employees can learn fall protection as if they are actually working at heights. They can practice their emergency response skills, learning to perform CPR or safely put out a fire. They can learn hazard recognition, lockout / tagout procedures, or even learn to safely work in confined spaces. All activities and skills that are much easier (and less costly) to simulate in a virtual reality environment.
How better safety training reduces costs
Improving workplace safety can make a very positive impact to a company’s bottom line. Doing safety training well reduces accidents and liabilities. This saves significant money from unintended payouts. The cost savings comes from not having to pay for disability, workers compensation, and fines from regulatory bodies like OSHA. Less accidents can also lower insurance premiums.
Reducing accidents also keeps employees working. In a time when lots of open positions are unfilled or filled by under-skilled workers, it can be very damaging to have good workers out from injury. Keeping employees on the job equates to less strain on coworkers and better overall productivity. That adds up to improving employee satisfaction and retention rates. It also can mean improved business outcomes like more throughput or better customer satisfaction. Over time, that makes a positive impact on revenue.
Examples of companies realizing the benefits of VR safety training
Lots of companies have begun using virtual reality for safety training and have shared their amazing results. Verizon compared VR safety training to classroom training and found it so much more effective that they now use VR training for all store employees. Telstra tried VR safety training and realized that not only was it more effective, but it took half the time to achieve better comprehension. These are encouraging results, but let’s look at a few more detailed examples on how better safety training improves outcomes.
Example #1: Insurance company sees big cost reductions from VR safety training
An insurance company specializing in construction insurance is now bringing VR headsets with safety training to construction sites to get insured workers better trained on construction safety. They are thrilled with the results:
- 100% higher engagement in VR training compared to previous training .
- Accidents have been steadily declining.
- Insurance payouts have been reduced, saving the insurance company money.
- Construction companies being trained are seeing lower premiums and higher employee retention and productivity.
Example #2: Pharmaceutical reduces accidents by 25% with VR training
A large pharmaceutical company started using VR training to improve safety awareness and ultimately hoped to reduce accidents. While their accidents were not major, they knew there were too many and that they were taking a toll on employees and the business. After an initial pilot they found:
- A 25% reduction in the number of safety accidents.
- Increased overall productivity/output from employees.
- A reduction in OSHA costs fines.
Examples like these are becoming more frequent as companies look to save money in a questionable economy. Innovative companies know that keeping safety training the same as always is hurting the bottom line.
Safety training is a great investment in any economy
Improving safety training with VR technology and content leads to reductions in hard costs, but there are also soft cost improvements that forward-thinking companies see the benefits of. Specifically, improving safety training is a clear indication to employees that their company cares about them. When employees feel they are being cared for, they are less likely to look around for other opportunities. Employee retention can be critical during a questionable economy to help a company come out healthy. But really, improving safety is a benefit in any economy.
For learning and development leaders looking to get started with VR safety training, there is actually a lot of great content that already exists and has been proven effective. Here are a few other resources that can also help:
Cost cutting evidence to build a case for VR training? Read whitepaper here!
In our previous whitepaper we covered how to bring VR into your training program, get the step-by-step guide here!
Download the whitepaper: 5 Ways VR Training Helps Companies Even in an Economic Downturn’:
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