Development of a Virtual Reality-Based Working at Heights Safety Awareness Framework

Working at heights leads to serious injuries and deaths globally each year in part, due to poor working conditions, improper use of protective equipment, and lack of training. Currently, safety is enforced by requiring mandatory working at heights certification whereby trainees take written and practical tests in regular classrooms or specialized facilities (if available), to become licensed/certified. However, despite training, certification, and policy efforts, a number of accidents are still occurring when working at heights. In this paper, we present a virtual reality-based simulation that safely exposes and immerses trainees to more realistic training at heights scenarios. The simulation also includes a practical test component that involves 100% tie-off travel restraint on top of a building.