Virtual Reality Postural Training for Construction

Currently, the U.S. construction workforce is aging faster than the next generation is being trained. While an insufficient workforce will cause major issues with the advancement of infrastructure, it also causes less discussed worker health safety hazards. Traditional experiential learning is a major limitation of the construction industry's growth rate due to the non-availability of real environments, time, and training supervisors. Virtual reality (VR) allows for a virtual environment to efficiently mimic dangerous, expensive, and difficult to set up training scenarios. This paper presents an exploration of a virtual approach to training future construction workers. VR environments and a RGB camera based pose estimation pedagogical tool are evaluated for their ability to improve the training process of future construction workers. Study participants will be assessed on their ability to learn, identify, and assess health safety risks, specifically proper lifting and postural techniques associated with construction tasks. Findings of this work in progress will provide quantified learning gains by measuring training time, changes in behavior, and risk assessment ability; and a qualitative understanding of the experience in the virtual environment through participant interviews. Findings from this study transfer to a much-needed digitization of pedagogical approaches for blue collar industries.