APPLICATION OF VIRTUAL REALITYTECHNOLOGY FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OFSAFETY IN THE STEEL ERECTION PROCESS

摘要

Technological advances in personal protective equipment have improved the safety ofrnworkers in the construction industry. Even with such improvements, construction continuesrnto be one of the most dangerous industries in the U.S. economy. Structural steel workers andrnconstruction laborers have two of the most dangerous occupations in the United States withrn58.2 fatalities and 27.7 fatalities per 100,000 workers respectively. About 33% of allrnfatalities in the construction industry are related to falls, but in steel erection, 63% of thernfatalities are the result of falls. As demonstrated by these statistics, there is a need forrnimprovement of safety in steel erection.rnThe purpose of this paper is to present a methodology for using Virtual Reality (VR)rntechnology to improve safety in steel erection. VR technologies have been used in variousrnfields for worker training, safety training, design evaluation, and military training. This paperrnoutlines possible applications of VR for safety training in steel erection. One of the primaryrnbenefits of this application is that workers can experience simulated hazards like they wouldrnencounter in steel erection without real risk of injury.