Virtual Safety: How Models and Storytelling Will Change Behaviors

Not everyone is aware of the risks and hazards associated with complicated construction operations, even the professionals who perform those tasks every day. Special training is required before commencing this dangerous work. But does traditional training actually influence the behaviors of people when faced with an unsafe condition? Most research points toward the culture of the construction worker as the primary barrier to safer construction sites. To change these behaviors we must use more effective means of communicating safe and unsafe practices to positively influence people's instinctive decisions. This is how our industry can capitalize on Building Information Modeling (BIM)—to enable visual storytelling. All contractors need to add this capacity to their toolkits. This class will focus on how you can develop models and use them to explain safety hazards and procedures in a safe virtual environment, and we’ll explore 3 fundamentals of visual storytelling to help change safety behaviors.