This project allows the formation and evaluation of construction personnel on procedures and safe work practices. The system will use Virtual Reality techniques in order to make the subject feel immersed in the simulated environment and faces it with the same expectations as he/she would to a real environment. This will enable the individual to practice risky situations without a real danger to him. The fact of being involved and feeling protagonist of the situation makes the transfer of knowledge higher than in a passive environment in which it is simply a spectator. With these systems the paradigm of learning by experience is sought.

 

DRAGADOS S.A., the parent company of the Building Area of the ACS Group, is a leader in its sector in Spain and one of the top three European groups. DRAGADOS S.A. maintains a greater focus on civil works, either in the construction of major projects as highways, toll roads, and marine works, hydraulic works, metropolitan infrastructure, airports, ports, etc. Specifically, this business segment represents about 60 % of the construction industry and has a strong competitive position worldwide due to the complexity, size and quality of the projects.

The numbers of injuries, work-related accidents and illnesses that occur in construction works often exceed those of any other industry. Therefore, it is essential to improve the levels of safety and health in construction. More than 30 % of work accidents resulting in time off work recorded last year have taken place between construction workers. As in 2005, this sector claimed 315 workers’ lives throughout Spain. According to studies by various agencies, the main causes of these accidents lie in organizational failure.

Considering training as essential to combat occupational injuries and taking into account the criticality of this aspect in the construction sector, in DRAGADOS, it has been chosen to intensify training, not only direct work force but also specialized personnel and collaborating companies, before starting to develop their services.

The aim of PREVISOR project (raised to 3 years in the period 2006-2008) is the implementation of a simulation system of construction environment using the latest technologies based on real-time computer graphics (Virtual Reality), which allows training and evaluation of construction personnel on procedures and safe work practices. The system will use Virtual Reality techniques in order to make the subject feel immersed in the simulated environment and faces it with the same expectations as he/she would to a real environment. This will enable the individual to practice risky situations without a real danger to him. The fact of being involved and feeling protagonist of the situation makes the transfer of knowledge higher than in a passive environment in which it is simply a spectator. With these systems the paradigm of learning by experience is sought.