Assignment 2 Report

Share this post:

Overview

Working at heights is a leading cause of death and serious injury in Australia (Safe Work Australia, 2023). This application aims to provide an immersive simulated virtual reality (VR) experience to effectively train individuals in the safe operation of suspended working platforms (SWPs). Using a virtual reality system trainees can be effectively trained at a low cost in a low-risk simulated environment to improve on-site safety and safe operating procedure (SOP) effectiveness

Application Description

Training for operating a SWP is necessary to facilitate safe and effective operation of the equipment. However, training usually requires access to a SWP, which can be expensive and comes with the real risk associated with operating a SWP. Alternatively, some training can be done on paper, but it is not significantly effective (Din and Gibson, 2019). A solution to this dilemma is using virtual reality (VR) to simulate the operation of a SWP. This is cost-effective, low-risk, and accessible (Rey-Becerra et al., 2021). Using a VR application allows for a realistic simulation of the high-risk environment (Rokooei et al., 2023) and can closely mirror the operation of a real SWP.

In the virtual reality application, the trainee is placed on a suspended working platform (SWP) on the side of a skyscraper. The trainee's goal is to complete a task (in this case window cleaning) that necessitates the safe operation of the SWP. By making the trainee operate the suspended working platform they are familiarised with the activity and can operate the SWP safely and effectively. This training is directly transferrable to real-life, on-site operation of a SWP

Using an immersive virtual reality environment trainees will have increased learning effectiveness, thereby improving safety quality when they perform the same operations on-site (Badr, 2023). To achieve an immersive environment, the trainee’s familiarity and sense of presence in the virtual environment is enhanced by background audio (Lu and Davis, 2016), including wind, machine operation, and city sounds.

To further emulate the experience of working at heights when operating a SWP, the trainee is placed high above the ground where interactions with the SWP system is required to complete a task (cleaning high-rise windows).

Interaction Design

The interactions in this application are as follows:

Control box with buttons to operate the SWP, based on an existing temporary SWP system (Scatech Gondola, 2023)
Using a cleaning apparatus to clean windows to provide an activity to do alongside the operation of the SWP.

Future revisions of the application could also include:

More functionality/features of the SWP, as well as different suspended platform systems, such as the one seen in this video at 1:30 (BBC London, 2019)

More activities, particularly construction and maintenance related – e.g. placing insulation in the building walls during construction, general maintenance activities in difficult-to-reach locations.
A safety harness/rigging system to further enhance the training, ensuring that trainees appropriately manage their safety harness/rigging.
Scenarios where the SWP system has failed (e.g. a tilted platform) with guidance on how to respond to the situation.
Dynamic movement of the platform, reacting to wind and the user’s movement.
Varied weather conditions.
Inspections of equipment as per the safe operating procedure (SOP), checking to see if the SWP is safe for operating.
Other SOP scenarios, such as safe entry and exit of the SWP.

The interactions with the SWP control box are required for training in the use of the suspended platform system. By extending the functionality and variety of these systems in future revisions, training can be provided more completely for a wider range of systems.

Providing an activity to perform alongside the operation of the SWP allows the training to more accurately simulate on-site situations, further enhancing the training effectiveness when the trainee comes to operating a SWP on-site with real tasks to perform while in the SWP.

Storyboard of a potential use case of the application:

Technical Development

The application was developed and tested using the Oculus Quest 2 VR headset with the included controllers.

To interact with the buttons on the suspended working platform control box, hold the grip trigger (5) to make a fist, then point with the index finger by not touching the trigger (6) to press the button.

To wash the window, grab the cleaning apparatus by holding the grip trigger (5), then wipe the dirty window.

Descriptions of 3D Models

Suspended Working Platform (SWP)

The SWP is where the user is placed in the application from which they clean control the SWP to move up and down as needed to clean the high-rise windows.

Control Box

The control box is where the user interacts with two buttons that move the SWP up and down.

Cleaning Apparatus (Squeegee)

The cleaning apparatus is the tool that the user can clean the windows with.

Dirty Windows

The dirty windows are intended to be cleaned with the cleaning apparatus while the user is trained to operate the SWP.

City

On the side of a skyscraper in the New York City asset is where the application is set.

References

Bibliography

BADR, S. 2023. VR-based Safety Training Program for High-rise Construction Projects. Master of Science Masters, American University in Cairo.

BBC LONDON 2019. Window cleaning London's tallest skyscrapers - BBC London.

DIN, Z. U. & GIBSON, G. E. 2019. Serious games for learning prevention through design concepts: An experimental study. Safety Science, 115, 176-187.

FOREVR GAMES. 2023. How to Pick Up a Ball [Online]. Available: https://help.forevrgames.com/hc/en-us/articles/4416032155789-How-to-Pick-Up-a-Ball [Accessed 29/08 2023].

LU, X. & DAVIS, S. 2016. How sounds influence user safety decisions in a virtual construction simulator. Safety Science, 86, 184-194.

REY-BECERRA, E., BARRERO, L. H., ELLEGAST, R. & KLUGE, A. 2021. The effectiveness of virtual safety training in work at heights: A literature review. Applied Ergonomics, 94, 103419.

ROKOOEI, S., SHOJAEI, A., ALVANCHI, A., AZAD, R. & DIDEHVAR, N. 2023. Virtual reality application for construction safety training. Safety Science, 157, 105925.

SAFE WORK AUSTRALIA. 2023. Working at heights [Online]. Available: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/hazards/working-heights [Accessed 29/08 2023].

SCATECH GONDOLA. 2023. Temporary System Old [Online]. Available: https://www.scatechgondola.com/temporary-system-old [Accessed 29/08 2023].

Assets

Get KIT208 Assignment 2 VR

Download Now

KIT208 Assignment 2 VR

Add Game To Collection

Status	Prototype
Author	Nicholas Boersma
Genre	Simulation