Virtual Reality (VR) technologies were first introduced into safety trainings by APM Terminals (APMT) MedPort Tangier in 2020. Now the port sees training modules cover 14 different safety topics while also providing a training experience where individuals can react to near-real-life scenarios.
APM Terminals safety scenarios cover their ‘Fatal 5’ area of risk while working in a terminal, which includes examples such as working at height or suspended loads. These are now tested through this emerging technology.
“Virtual reality not only increases engagement for safety training and appeals to a broader audience, but it increases the effectiveness of critical safety training and improves safety behavioral attitudes,” said Ahmed El Amrani, HSSE Manager at APM Terminals MedPort Tangier.
“It enables trainers to put employees in simulated scenarios that would simply not be possible in real life and gives them a much more valuable ‘real context’ of when they might face dangerous situations. Through Immersive exposure, it increases the retention of trainees’ knowledge.”
According to a statement from AMP Terminals, the VR technology is able to constantly evaluate participants while monitoring their performance on an individual basis, enabling it to adjust the training experience and difficulty level based on the participants need. This makes this method of training much more cost-effective than traditional classroom-based learning.
“Before we fully embraced virtual reality, we carried out a study to test how it would match up to more traditional methods of training,” continued Amrani.
“The study measured VR training against a number of attributes, such as the commitment of the personnel in the matters of health and safety at work, reduction in training costs, and overall effectiveness.
“A group of employees took part in the VR training modules that they had previously completed in a traditional classroom situation. They were then asked to rate the training against a number of dimensions. In a comparison of the results against previous classroom-based training there was no questioning the effectiveness of VR”.
This is not the only progress MedPort Tangier has been making aiming to increase their productivity. In April 2021, it was announced that the port will be entering its second phase of its development, increasing the total quay length to 1600 meters. This was said to increase annual capacity by one million TEU.
