Serious Labs has announced a pilot of its mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) operator training virtual reality (VR) simulator with Align JV. According to RER, the Serious Labs training simulator will be used to carry out short 30-minute, Covid-19 safe training assessments of all MEWP operators on the Align JV jobsite.
Within the VR platform, trainees will perform virtual work on the UK’s largest environmental project: the HS2 high-speed railway. The line will run across eight of Britain’s cities, and will comprise 25 stations, according to the report. Operators will be tasked with overcoming difficult work tasks throughout the program, including situations involving overhead obstruction (entrapment) they could find themselves in while tunneling.
Digital reports will then provide data for review of the operator’s full range of skills, knowledge, attitude, training, and experience, and will highlight where improvement is needed. All operators will be assessed throughout the project at specified intervals to map their progress with a goal of continually improving their expertise on MEWPs to help ensure jobsite safety.
According to the article, over a dozen key stakeholders at Align JV tested Serious Labs’ typical hazards scenarios MEWP operators are likely to face as the project progresses.
“The new technology looks and feels fantastic; it is very close to reality,” said Neil Hancox, director of health and safety, Align JV. “Alongside ongoing technical assessment, I can see this being a great step toward the training of new operators and their further skills improvement for the experienced operator.”
Source: RER, Serious Labs
