Prevence rizik a školení BOZP prostřednictvím virtuální reality 2

This policy brief focuses on the use of virtual reality in occupational safety and health (OSH) training in the construction industry, which has long been one of the highest-risk sectors. The document draws particular attention to workplace accidents involving foreign nationals in the Czech Republic: in 2023, foreign nationals accounted for more than 23% of fatal workplace accidents, and among the most common nationalities during the 2015–2023 period were workers from Ukraine, Poland, and Slovakia. Typical types of accidents include falls from heights, traffic accidents on construction sites, being pinned or crushed by machinery, electric shock, and being buried in excavations.

This policy brief presents new VR training modules developed as part of the project “Risk Prevention and OSH Training through Virtual Reality.” The module “Safe Movement of People and Machinery on Construction Sites” teaches workers to recognize safety signs, move along pedestrian corridors, respond to the visual and audible signals of machinery, and safely navigate intersections between pedestrian routes and moving machinery. The “Excavations and Earthwork” module focuses on preventing falls, being buried by soil, and hazards posed by construction equipment; in this module, participants practice identifying properly secured excavations, safely entering and exiting them, defining danger zones, and responding to risky situations.

The authors emphasize that VR allows for the realistic simulation of hazardous situations without posing any actual health risks and can help workers better develop proper habits and identify risks in a real-world construction site environment. However, virtual reality is not intended to replace traditional occupational safety and health training, but rather to complement it appropriately. The recommendations suggest that scenarios should be based on the specific risks of a given workplace, correspond as closely as possible to real-world conditions, be linked to legal regulations and the employer’s internal rules, and take place in safe, controlled conditions under the supervision of an instructor.