Virtual Construction Yards
CLIENT
Formedil – Scuola Edile Reggio Emilia
Risk Training Simulation
The Virtual Construction Yards cover 1 sim in Second Life. The area is split into different sectors, each representing a different typology of construction yard (Industrial, Residential, Restructuring and Renovation, Roadworks, Digs). The different sectors present relative building types in different phases of construction, from initial laying of foundations up to the completed structure. Each of these represents the virtual reconstruction of a real life building site scenario, containing a series of animated dummies, cranes, machines, and other animated objects.
Builders and development workers navigate the sim with the aid of a custom built HUD that takes them through a preset course of scenarios, based on the type of construction yard or type of risk selected. Users view each scene on their course and attempt to identify the objects and events that represent potential risks within a construction yard.
User testing is executed via web-based tests (both multiple choice and open text) and a point-and-click risk identification system, handled by the HUD. At the end of the test the user’s score is calculated and compiled based on the percentage of errors identified in-world and the web-test scores, and sent via email to course moderators.
The sim and user testing have already been demoed to a number of development schools in Italy, receiving much interest and excellent feedback. The service will be channeled through the Scuola Edile di Reggio Emilia to a number of other development training institutes in Italy.
Returns
Following a summary of costs reduction and knowledge improvements, which are the main ROI of the project:
- Knowledge improvements: the concurrent nature of the training allows people to experience real life nuances of team interaction, replicating not just the environment, but the experience as well. Formedil has reported an increased effectiveness of training, with better results in terms of :
- Learning Time;
- Persistence of complex procedures;
- Assimilation of risks conditions.
- Costs Reduction: Formedil uses the virtual platform in Second Life to provide a wide range of learning/training courses to workers displaced all over Italy. This aspect has been particularly useful in reducing travelling expenses, connecting trainees in one location despite their physical distance. Formedil has been training about 800 users a year inside their virtual environment, the Company estimates they saved over $40,000 in travel and venue costs, and more than $80,000 in meeting area rentings, staff hires and other minor costs.
