Enhancing Bridges' Safety Training Using Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

The increase in urbanization rates has driven the construction of highly complex infrastructural projects across the globe, including the construction of bridges. However, such growth comes at an extremely high cost as the industry is considered to be among the most dangerous industries. Accordingly, construction safety has been raising several concerns due to the associated adverse impacts, thereby creating an urge to depart from the memorization and spoon-feeding approaches of the traditional safety training methods to novel teaching methods that incorporate new technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). The efficacy of using VR-based training programs within the construction industry has been well established in the literature; yet there is still a lack of the simultaneous capitalization of several technologies to push the limits of the provided training programs in relation to the trainees' learning outcomes. Such a lack has been coupled with a lack in targeting the hazards associated with one of the riskiest construction project types, namely the construction of bridges. Thus, this research aims to design and test a safety training program that integrates AR and VR to address potential hazards in the construction of bridges in an attempt to introduce novel training means that would elevate the quality of training programs within the industry. It is worth noting that this research is a part of a mega-research that aims to develop a comprehensive AR and VR-based bridge construction safety training program. The results revealed a statistically significant improvement in the trainees' knowledge acquisition, safety motivation, safety awareness, and hazard identification and assessment skills. Hence, not only do the results of this research aid in enhancing the safety performances of bridge construction projects but also, act as a basis for the development of novel training approaches to elevate the learning experiences and gains of trainees.