A Study on the Effectiveness of VR Safety and Health Training in the Construction Industry

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The construction industry continues to record high rates of industrial accidents and fatalities. In 2024, 276 deaths were reported, accounting for nearly half of all workplace fatalities, with a fatality rate of 1.65 much higher than the overall industry average of 0.43. These figures highlight the inherently high-risk environment of construction, where falls, entrapment, and collapses are major causes. Traditional lecture- and theory-based safety education has proven insufficient for enhancing practical on-site response capabilities. To address this, the study examined the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR)-based safety and health training in improving hazard awareness and safe behavior. A survey of 110 workers captured VR training experience, satisfaction, limitations, improvements, risk awareness, and training effectiveness by job class. Findings indicated positive perceptions of VR training, particularly among subcontractor workers, those with less than three months of work experience, and foreign workers. Although some older workers reported experiencing difficulties and inconveniences using VR devices, VR training can be an effective alternative to strengthening accident prevention capabilities in high-risk industries by providing immersion and an environment similar to real-world situations. We proposed several improvement measures, including customized training design, ensuring technological stability, updating content, and expanding administrator participation. In particular, we confirmed through empirical analysis the necessity of developing customized content that reflects diverse user characteristics, and we emphasized the importance of enhancing device usability to improve training effectiveness.