On accident causation models, safety training and virtual reality

Abstract

Inefficiency in real-time visualization and user interaction in traditional accident causation models (ACMs) necessitates the development of a dynamic ACM that can foster real-time hazard identification, accident prevention and interactive safety training. A virtual reality-based accident causation model (VR-ACM) may serve such a purpose. In this study, we performed a comprehensive literature review on different ACMs and safety training practices. The limitations of the existing models and practices are identified. A VR-ACM model is proposed comprising three modules: VR-based modelling and simulation, accident causation and safety training. Several research issues for VR-ACM are highlighted. An experimental study with 22 crane operators is presented, showing the applicability of the proposed model. The proposed VR-ACM serves as a medium for analysis of potential underlying causes of accidents, the three-dimensional perspective of visual analysis, real-time user interactions and real-time judgement and decision-making.

Keywords:

• hazard identification
• virtual reality
• virtual prototype
• accident causation
• safety training

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and Ministry of Steel, New Delhi, India, and Tata Steel Limited, Jamshedpur, India for funding this research through Uchchatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY) for the project entitled “Safety Analytics: Save People at Work from Accidents and Injuries (WAI)”. We acknowledge Safety Analytics & Virtual Reality (SAVR) Laboratory, Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, IIT Kharagpur for experimental, computational and research facilities for this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ministry of Human Resource Development, India [Grant Number IITKGP_022]; Ministry of Steel, Government of India [Grant Number IITKGP_022]; Tata Steel, Jamshedpur, India [Grant Number IITKGP_022].