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    Virtual reality for occupational safety and health training

    Virtual reality for occupational safety and health training involves the use of computer-generated, three-dimensional environments, accessed via an immersive headset and controllers, to rehearse work procedures, recognize hazards, practice emergency responses, and experience the consequences of unsafe decisions without actual exposure to the danger. The goal is to improve risk understanding, learning retention, and transfer of knowledge to the workplace. It is applied to situations that are dangerous, costly, or difficult to replicate in the real world, such as working at heights, in confined spaces, operating overhead cranes, firefighting, energy isolation, evacuation, or handling chemicals. It is combined with augmented reality, which overlays information onto the real environment, and with simulators and desktop environments. In Spain, occupational safety and health training is an employer obligation under Article 19 of Law 31/1995, which requires that it be both theoretical and practical, sufficient and appropriate, focused on the job, and adapted to the evolution of risks. Virtual reality can serve to fulfill the practical component of certain content, although organizations such as the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration have specified that it does not, in itself, replace hands-on practice with real equipment or interaction with a trainer when required by regulations. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work recognizes the benefits of these technologies for training and, at the same time, identifies risks associated with their use, such as dizziness due to sensory conflict, eye strain, neck strain, falls and trips due to loss of awareness of the real environment, and psychological effects. These risks necessitate limiting the duration of training sessions, defining safe zones, and supervising and maintaining the hygiene of the equipment.

    In short

    The use of immersive three-dimensional environments to rehearse procedures, recognize hazards, and practice emergency responses without actual exposure to the hazard, as support for the theoretical and practical training required by Article 19 of Law 31/1995. It provides active learning, safe repetition, and performance recording, but does not replace practice with real equipment or interaction with the trainer when required by the regulations. Its use carries inherent risks (dizziness, eye strain, neck strain, bumps and falls, psychological effects, hygiene), described by EU-OSHA, which are controlled by limiting sessions, defining a safe zone, supervising, adjusting equipment, and maintaining hygiene.

    Content
    1. Applications and advantages
    2. Regulatory framework and evidence
    3. Conditions for safe use and quality training
    4. Organizational application: how to incorporate virtual reality into training
    5. Limits and common mistakes
    6. Practical example
    7. Regulatory and reference framework
    8. Related concepts
    9. References

    A–Z dictionary →

    Applications and advantages

    • Hazard recognition. Walkthroughs of construction site, plant or warehouse scenarios in which the person must identify unsafe conditions, with immediate feedback.
    • Work procedures. Practice of sequences such as energy isolation, access to confined spaces, working at height with lifelines or handling of lifting equipment.
    • Emergencies. Firefighting, evacuation, first aid and resuscitation, with safe repetition of situations that cannot be reproduced in reality.
    • Consequences of decisions. Experience of simulated accidents that reinforces risk perception and emotional learning memory.
    • Advantages described: Active learning, practice without exposure to danger, unlimited repetition, objective performance recording, standardization between centers, and greater involvement of people.
    • Modalities. Immersive virtual reality with headset, augmented reality over the real environment, desktop simulators and multi-user environments for teamwork.

    Regulatory framework and evidence

    Article 19 of Law 31/1995 obliges employers to ensure that each employee receives sufficient and appropriate theoretical and practical training upon hiring, when job duties or equipment change, and when new technologies are introduced. This training must be job-specific and repeated periodically if necessary. Royal Decree 39/1997 regulates the training of individuals performing preventive functions. Virtual reality can be a means of developing the practical component of certain content, provided that the training remains specific to the job and real risks, is accredited, and is evaluated. The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration, in an interpretation from August 2020, indicated that training exclusively online or in virtual reality does not, in itself, satisfy the requirements when the standard requires hands-on practice with equipment, such as donning personal protective equipment, or the possibility of interaction with the trainer—a criterion also useful as a reference for best practices.

    Evidence of effectiveness comes from studies and experiences of organizations and companies that describe improvements in retention and confidence among trainees, with results depending on the pedagogical design and the quality of the simulation. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, in its 2024 discussion paper on workers’ exposure to virtual reality, augmented reality, and the metaverse, acknowledges the training benefits and describes risks associated with the use of headsets: dizziness due to conflict between visual and vestibular information, with symptoms in a significant proportion of users; visual fatigue due to vergence-accommodation conflict and incorrect interpupillary distance adjustment; musculoskeletal strain in the neck and shoulders due to the weight of the headset; collisions and falls due to loss of reference to the physical environment and cables; psychological effects such as cognitive overload, disorientation, or anxiety; and hygiene risks due to the shared use of equipment.

    Conditions for safe use and quality training

    • Pedagogical design. Defined learning objectives, scenarios based on real job risks, integrated feedback and evaluation, and combination with real practice and with the trainer’s explanation.
    • Duration and breaks. Limited sessions, with breaks and progressive adaptation, following the recommendations that place the continuous duration below approximately one hour, and attention to the symptoms of dizziness or fatigue.
    • Safe zone and supervision. Clear and delimited area, without obstacles or cables, with virtual boundaries activated and a supervisor outside the perimeter throughout the session.
    • Fit and ergonomics. Adjustment of straps and interpupillary distance, visor weight, posture and rests, and compatibility with glasses and other equipment.
    • Aptitude and willingness. Consideration of people with binocular vision problems, photosensitive epilepsy or other conditions, and possibility of training by other means.
    • Hygiene and data. Cleaning of visors between users, replaceable face masks and processing of performance data in accordance with data protection regulations.

    Organizational application: how to incorporate virtual reality into training

    1. Identify the training content where virtual reality adds value (dangerous, costly or difficult to reproduce situations) and those that require real practice with the equipment.
    2. Define learning objectives and design or select scenarios based on real job risks, with integrated evaluation and feedback.
    3. Evaluate the risks of using virtual reality (dizziness, eye strain, postural load, collisions, psychological effects, hygiene) and establish the conditions of use: duration, breaks, safe zone, supervision, adjustment and cleaning.
    4. Integrate virtual reality into the training plan as a complement to the trainer’s explanation and real practice, and define how it is accredited and recorded.
    5. Train trainers and supervisors in the use of equipment, in the detection of symptoms and in responding to incidents.
    6. Ensure voluntary participation and provide alternatives for people who cannot or do not wish to use the viewer, and process performance data with data protection guarantees.
    7. Evaluate the results (learning, transfer to the job, incidents, acceptance) and review the scenarios when risks, equipment, or procedures change.

    Preventive management software allows you to plan training by position and risk, record virtual reality sessions and their results along with face-to-face training and real practice, certify compliance with article 19 of Law 31/1995, manage the conditions of use and incidents associated with the equipment and analyze the effectiveness of training by center and group.

    Limits and common mistakes

    1. Completely replace hands-on practice with real equipment and interaction with the trainer with the virtual reality session.
    2. Using generic scenarios that do not reflect the actual risks, equipment, and procedures of the job.
    3. Prolonging sessions without breaks or adaptation, or ignoring symptoms of dizziness and fatigue.
    4. Conducting sessions without a clear area, without virtual boundaries or supervision, with the risk of bumps and falls.
    5. Not considering individual aptitude, not offering alternatives, and not cleaning equipment between users.
    6. Do not assess the transfer to the position or record the training in a way that allows it to be verified.

    The effectiveness and conditions of use depend on each technology, scenario and group; this sheet is for informational purposes.

    Practical example

    Situation: A chemical company with several plants wants to strengthen training in energy isolation and leak response, content that it cannot frequently practice in real facilities.

    • Design. The prevention service and the training area define the objectives, select a platform with scenarios adaptable to their valves and procedures, and design a route that combines face-to-face explanation, virtual reality session and supervised real practice at the facility.
    • Conditions of use. The risks of using the headset are assessed, a classroom with a clear and delimited area is set, sessions of twenty to thirty minutes with breaks are established, supervision from outside the perimeter, individual adjustment of the headset, cleaning between users and alternatives for those who cannot use it.
    • Implementation. The trainers are trained, the itinerary is rolled out in the plants, and the sessions and results of each person are recorded in the preventive management system along with the actual practice.
    • Follow-up. The results of the assessments and safety observations before and after are compared, scenarios are reviewed when procedures change, and incidents and symptoms associated with the use of the headset are collected.

    Regulatory and reference framework

    There is no specific regulation in Spain on the use of virtual reality in preventive training; its validity depends on the training complying with the general requirements of article 19 of Law 31/1995 and, where applicable, with collective agreements and the applicable sectoral regulations.

    Related concepts

    References

    1. Official State Gazette. Law 31/1995, of November 8, on Occupational Risk Prevention. 1995, current consolidated text. Official source
    2. Official State Gazette. Royal Decree 39/1997, of January 17, approving the Regulation of Prevention Services. 1997, current consolidated text. Official source
    3. European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Worker exposure to virtual and augmented reality and metaverse technologies: how much do we know? Discussion paper. 2024. Official source
    4. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Standard interpretation: virtual reality safety training, various OSHA standards. August 10, 2020. Official source
    5. Osalan, Basque Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Virtual reality applied to occupational safety and health training. 2021. Official source
    6. Official State Gazette. Organic Law 3/2018, of December 5, on the Protection of Personal Data and the guarantee of digital rights. 2018, current consolidated text. Official source
    7. International Organization for Standardization. ISO 45001:2018. Occupational health and safety management systems. Requirements with guidance for use. 2018. Official source

    Editorial information

    Publication date: August 30, 2026 .

    Editorial Manager: Sabentis Editorial Team .

    Editorial review by Pablo Rodríguez LinkedIn

    Executive Vice President of the ORP International Foundation and Chief Financial Officer of Sabentis.

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