Virtual reality (VR) has been reported in several companies and industries as having a positive effect on training, being used for educating new employees or teaching new processes and techniques. Airborne Environmental Consultants, or AEC have created immersive training scenarios designed to show hazards around asbestos and Legionella.
AEC created a practical training centre in Manchester called ‘Hazard House’, which lets delegates interact with over 180 asbestos installations and Legionella hazards. Seeing positive results from Hazards House, AEC set out to recreate the training centre in VR.
The company says that creating practical, hands-on training courses is central to what AEC tries to provide. The new VR scenario allows delegates to use Oculus Go headsets to explore the various potential hazards present in the VR re-creation of ‘Hazard House’.
The VR scenario lets delegates get a full 360-degree view of the potential hazards, which gives delegates more confidence in being able to spot similar problems in a real-world scenario, compared to examining still 2D images of asbestos or Legionella hazards.
Bob Harris, Technical Director and head of AEC’s training services said “We pride ourselves on giving our training delegates a comprehensive, interactive learning experience. Virtual reality software provides us with the ability to address different learning styles. Students have different approaches to how they process information, and we want to increase their academic confidence by offering creative ways of learning.”
Debbie Clare, Commercial Director, commented: “AEC’s ethos is to not only train people to pass exams, but to prepare delegates for the real world with practical training in realistic environments. Customers who have trialled the new technology have expressed that they are more confident identifying hazards in the workplace after seeing mock hazard’s in situ.”
Further information on Airborne Environmental Consultants immersive training can be found on the official AEC website. For future coverage on use of VR in training and education, keep checking back with VRFocus.