Virtual Simulation Grabs Attention In Safety Training
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The U.S. Air Force recently decided to make safety training more relevant by developing an innovative, high-impact approach, which it rolled out at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.
Like most employers, Robins found that employees tended to think of safety training as “been there, done that” information. That’s changing. Called “A Second Chance,” the new training grabs attention and some adrenaline with high tech content and delivery. Three aspects are especially notable.
One, it’s a three-dimensional (3D) presentation accessed individually through a head-mounted display, so each student experiences the training first hand, as though on site with the content.
Two, the headset shuts out all distractions to focus the student’s attention on what he or she sees and hears.
Three, it gets very real. In one segment students come extremely close to an accident.
That experience, along with the reality-based visuals and sound throughout, keeps employees involved as the training progresses through office, industrial and even home and recreation settings, with each segment providing safety training based on real-life experiences.
Introduced in November, 2007, Second Chance blends safety awareness with personal values and experiences, and with concrete, here-and-now thinking. It also teaches ways to avoid becoming rushed or stressed, because both are associated with more mistakes than a calm, paced atmosphere.
“People learn best when they have a first-hand experience,” says Annette Tindall, lead instructor for 3-D ETC Inc., a Michigan-based company that developed the training.
The Second Chance title was chosen with care, she says, adding that “Having a second chance can be the difference between life and death,” in the military.
Robins is home to more than 60 units that comprise a major part of the Air Force fighting team. Its missions include worldwide management and engineering for repair, modernization, overhaul and testing for a number of aircraft fleets, and it employs more than 25,000 civilian, contractor, and military personnel.
“We hope the training will encourage people to think about the choices they make every day so they don’t need a second chance,” says Tindall.
The core of the video was produced at Robins last summer, and has been modified for other bases across America. So far 1,500 employees at Robins have been trained, and given the new training thumbs up reviews.
Second Chance opens and closes with the powerful image of a soldier in full battle dress.
After a series of explosions, he appears through billowing smoke to talk about the trust he places in the men and women who maintain and repair military equipment.
“Without that, we could die out here,” he says. “Safety awareness in your work environment is directly connected to the success of our military operations overseas.”