April 2013



Best Practices

Game-Based Learning: Using Video Game Design for Safety Training

By Sarah Bloom

Although parents sometimes consider video games to be an obstacle to their children’s education, the same technology that keeps adolescent eyes glued to the television for hours is now being used as an educational tool for more effective employee safety training. This is because the underlying principles of video game design parallel the learning process, says Jessica Trybus, founder and CEO of Etcetera Edutainment, a company that uses video game technology to develop safety training programs.

Video games such as Halo, in which the primary objective is for the player (in the form of a cyborg uber-soldier)?to save humankind by battling a fellowship of alien races, are popular mostly because of the way they are designed. In this game there are levels, motivation, surprise, a story, relevance, and choice and consequence; players basically get to choose their own adventure based on their choices. The same qualities that make Halo appealing and entertaining also make video games in general a valuable learning tool.

For example, when a person plays Super Mario Bros. for the first time, s/he might at first be overwhelmed by the interactive world. A logical first step is to figure out how to use the controls. With no obstacles or enemies initially in the way, the player learns to walk, run and jump by experimenting with the controller or input device. When the player first sees a turtle in the game, s/he may be unsure as to whether it is an enemy or a friend. Allowing the turtle to approach, the player is killed and loses one life. The player immediately learns that the next time a turtle approaches, the correct response is to jump over it. Eventually the player will beat the level and move on to the next, and each gets progressively more difficult.

The same mental processes are at work when a student learns new content, says Trybus. There is a buildup of cumulative difficulty, through which the student is guided by rewards and consequences.

“Video games are designed so that you learn how to do everything,” says Trybus. “You are motivated by positive feedback and a ‘hang-in-there’ mentality. You make a choice and you immediately see the consequences of that choice. So instead of [designing] swords and dragons, we started making the content relevant to what we wanted people to learn.”

Using the Technology in the Workplace

In January 2007, Etcetera Edutainment developed the SafeDock program for Alcoa Inc.—an aluminum producer—that would refresh safety awareness for its employees who operate forklifts, pallet jacks and other mobile equipment on loading docks. The goal was to create an environment in which employees could learn through hands-on experience without actually being put in a dangerous situation.

In the game, employees start in the break room and emerge into a multiplayer, 3-D virtual reality. They operate their respective machinery at the same time and in the same space. They must be conscious of their own safety and that of others, just as they would in an actual loading dock. Each level presents a different goal: inspecting a forklift, basic driving maneuvers, or putting on seatbelts and other PPE. Instead of a written test, the final exam is a complex driving situation in which the employees must prove their competence.

According to Trybus, the game creates a goal-oriented mindset that mirrors theories of effective learning. Other helpful features in the game include programmable distractions and replays shown from every angle. Trybus says the replays are particularly useful, since studies show that people learn a lot by reflecting on their own errors. This will also enable Alcoa and other companies using the program to identify specific concerns with each employee and demonstrate the impact of individual mistakes.

Interactivity Is Key

According to Trybus, the principal difference between game-based learning and traditional training methods lies in the role of the learner. During PowerPoint presentations, lectures, videos and even e-learning as it has traditionally been used, the learners are put in a passive role. They sit, read and click through the content, and are expected to regurgitate it in a final quiz. This type of training provides little motivation and no mechanism ensures that the employees are engaged in the process. As a result, they likely do not retain much of the information.

“The goal is to increase retention in order to reduce accidents,” says Trybus. “Passive training is not doing it.”

In game-based learning, however, the learner is an active participant. “When I say [these programs are] ‘interactive,’ I don’t just mean click, click, click. I mean you make choices and you immediately see the consequences of those choices,” Trybus says.

The most important aspect of safety training is the amount of information the trainees retain. Trybus believes that more effective education, not more education, is the key to retention and true understanding of safety principles. This has become somewhat of a mantra for Trybus and her team.

For example, suppose a company pulls an employee off the floor to watch safety videos for 5 hours as part of a training program. Afterward, the employee is given a quiz, which s/he passes. If s/he goes back to work and makes a mistake or is involved in an incident, the company’s first instinct will be to retrain, making the employee watch the videos again. Five more hours will be wasted on an ineffective training technique.

According to Trybus, more education is not necessary. Rather, more effective education is essential.

“We are trying to reach 80% to 90% retention rates, whereas lectures usually show a 30% retention rate,” she says.

Out of Harm’s Way

The increased retention demonstrated in these types of games has made the technology attractive to advertising companies. The concept of “adver-gaming,” or using video games to advertise a product, has become increasingly popular because consumers are much more likely to remember a brand after they see it in a game.

Alcoa used Etcetera Edutainment’s technology to practice and refresh its employees’ memories of safety principles; the employees using the game already had basic knowledge of forklift inspection procedures, driving maneuvers and PPE. However, Etcetera Edutainment has also created a game for Columbia Gas Co. that was designed to train new employees to recognize gas leak hazards in homes. Before, Columbia Gas trained its new inspectors primarily through videos and lectures taught by experienced inspectors.

Most gas leak situations that the inspectors encounter in real life will turn out not to be a big deal. But maybe one out of 500 times, the right mixture of gas and oxygen will be present to cause a major, life-threatening explosion. With such a dangerous situation, hands-on training is impossible.

The training game helps new inspectors recognize gas leaks and hazards without putting them in a dangerous situation.

Targeting the Right Audience

People between the ages of 18 and 35 are most at risk to suffer an injury incident in the workplace. Many in this age group also grew up surrounded by interactive media. Thus, the people most at risk are also those who will be most receptive to these new training tools. Even those who fall outside this age range will retain more information from game-based learning, says Trybus. This is because the games are fun and highly engaging, and they create a heightened sense of urgency during the learning process.

Trybus says she became interested in using video game technology to develop safety training games when she first realized how much workplace accidents cost. According to OSHA and NIOSH research, roughly 70% of all accidents reported could have been avoided with proper safety training and policies, which means that companies spend $170 billion per year on preventable accidents. Indirect costs that companies suffer after a workplace incident must also be taken into account, such as reductions in productivity and morale.

According to Trybus, if safety training prevents one incident, it is worth what it costs. The games are priced relatively competitively with other forms of training. “One forklift accident can be a six-figure problem, so if you prevent one accident, you’ve already paid for it.”

The Future

The company is in the process of developing safety training games for arc flash safety, cranes and harness safety. Trybus says the company has received requests for almost every subject area on OSHA’s top 10 citations list, and the team is working hard to keep up with these requests.

“I think in a few years, this will be the standard norm for how people train,” she says. “It is such a broad tool. We are already applying it to industrial applications and healthcare but it can really be used for so many different things—anything where you want to communicate.”

The technology has possible applications in preventive healthcare, K-12 education, teaching foreign languages, and even advertising and marketing.

“Right now, we are positioning [game-based learning] as a supplement, but our goal is to replace what’s not working,” Trybus says. “My personal goal is to absolutely turn safety training on its head.”

Sarah Bloom is a senior at Indiana University, pursuing B.A. degrees in Journalism and Spanish. She was a communications/marketing intern for ASSE in 2008. During that time, she wrote an article on employee wellness programs, which was published in the August 2008 issue of Professional Safety.

Products

Extinguisher Training

The ITS Xtreme, from BullEx Digital Safety, features an automatic flame response and sensing system that allows trainees to learn how to effectively use a fire extinguisher without the cost and cleanup associated with dry-chemical or CO2 extinguishers. System provides a realistic flame pattern and requires trainees to use the proper technique for the flames to be extinguished. The system senses where the trainee aims and sweeps the compressed air and water, and varies the flames automatically. Select class A, B or C fires at four different difficulty levels or instantly reignite the flames using the flare-up button to challenge trainees. Scoring system allows user to quantify a trainee’s skill level. www.bullexsafety.com

Lockout/Tagout

Summit Training Source’s Lockout/Tagout: Employee Awareness video/DVD program opens with a first-person account of an accident to make clear to machine operators and other site workers the importance of lockout/tagout procedures and best practices for preventing hazardous energy releases. Program features multiple work environments and various machines and lockout/tagout scenarios. Video/DVD is accompanied by a facilitator guide and quiz, 10 employee handbooks, which include a punch-out wallet-size card for quick reference, and PowerPoint presentation. http://safetyontheweb.com

Confined Spaces

Confined Space Trainer Kit from Prosafe Solutions Inc. contains seven PowerPoint presentations and several handouts to conduct a confined space course. Training can be given in a full-day session, or condensed for a short version. The kit contains many photos of real-world examples. www.prosafesolutions.com

Driving Simulation

Virtual Driver Interactive has announced its LX Platform virtual trainer, which uses the firm’s Virtual Defensive Driving Course (VDDC) curriculum. The six-part VDDC curriculum was developed using examples of hazardous driving situations encountered every day in the real world, allowing drivers to improve driving skills without the risk of injury. Curriculum and simulation system teaches in-car driving and defensive driving techniques. The LX Platform is a lightweight, portable solution that can fit through a standard door frame and is available with a 29- or 38-in. monitor. Wide monitor design offers a 180° field of view with no monitor frames to hide critical road hazards. Other features include realistic controls, such as a steering wheel and foot pedals, an ergonomic and comfortable learning environment, and seamless wheelchair accessibility. www.driverinteractive.com

Audience Response System

Turning Technologies introduces TurningPoint, the latest version of its flagship system that turns any live audience event into an enjoyable and educational interactive experience. System allows teachers, speakers and trainers to measure their audiences’ knowledge and opinions in the aggregate—and keep listeners more involved. System enables teachers, lecturers and trainers to test students of any age to ensure the transfer of knowledge. This allows presenters to tailor the material to the needs of the audience. Software includes plug-and-play hardware setup, six reports, Office 2007 support and improved user interface. www.turningtechnologies.com

Driving Green

Advanced Driver Training Services introduces its web-based driver training course, Driving Green—a tool for helping business fleets reduce their fuel usage and expenses. According to the company, the techniques covered in the course can save fleets as much as 30% to 35% on fuel costs. Course teaches a combination of fuel-efficient driving techniques and safe driving behaviors through an interactive program designed to improve gas mileage, reduce fuel costs, reduce vehicle emissions and reduce the risk of a crash. Topics include aggressive driving, idling, vehicle packing, trip planning and vehicle maintenance. Video, audio, graphics and animation help to make the content memorable, while a test measures driver retention. Tracking system logs test scores, making it easy to monitor driver compliance with the program. www.drivinggreen-ADTS.com

Motor Grader Operation

VISTA Training Inc. has introduced a four-part DVD set of training videos for safe and efficient motor grader operation. Developed with the input of professional operators, each title offers a compre­hensive look at four job-specific applications. New Construction covers road building basics, working slopes, parking lots, cul-de-sacs and spreading material. Road Maintenance discusses maintaining and blading gravel roads and shoulders, pulling and cleaning ditches, and clearing culverts. Operating Tips offers day-to-day operational tips on topics such as wheel lean, frame articulation and windrow spreading. Snow Plowing provides techniques that can save time while opening and widening roads. Enhanced with detailed photography and video, each video begins with a brief machine introduction, practical overview of the preuse inspection and unique features of a motor grader. www.vista-training.com

Safety Training

With the idea that safety is everyone’s responsibility, Coastal Training has enhanced its STOP For Each Other program, which helps participants develop their safety awareness and talk with peers about all safety aspects. Based on the principles of DuPont’s Safety Training Observation Pro­gram, it integrates a peer-to-peer approach. Using individual self-study, field activities and group meetings, the program teaches employees to rely on themselves and each other to stay safe. Coastal says this approach fosters increased peer-to-peer communication about safety, allowing safety to become second nature to the individual and, over time, a greater and more integrated part of the company culture. www.coastal.com/site/dupont/stop

Online OSHA Training

OSHAcampus.com offers interactive online courses that include the 10-hour outreach, 30-hour outreach, train-the-trainer, HazWOPER 40-hour and 8-hour refresher. The firm also offers live on-site training for OSHA outreach, HazWOPER, confined spaces, NFPA 70, trenching and excavation and other topics. www.oshacampus.com

CPR/AED Training

American Safety & Health Institute introduces an enhanced, content-rich upgrade to its CPR and AED for the Community and Workplace program. This release incorporates both instructor and student resources. Instructor package includes enhanced DVD with high-definition video, instructor guide and PowerPoint presentation. Student handbook offers larger, graphic-rich pictures in an easier-to-comprehend format. Students will also be able to utilize either a traditional-print or digital-book format. The digital-book version of CPR and AED gives learners anytime access to the same reference materials as contained in the hard copy. Accessed online, students need not purchase additional electronic devices or software to access the handbook. www.ashinstitute.org

Best Practices

Safety Incentive Programs: Avoiding the Pitfalls

Incentives can be a powerful motivator. Images of grabbing the brass ring or receiving a gold star persist because people have an instinctive need to be recognized and/or rewarded for efforts and successes. Since the beginning, companies have leveraged this desire by using incentives to steer employees’ behavior toward increased productivity, safety and other dimensions of performance.

The two basic categories of incentives are extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic incentives are tangible rewards that companies bestow on employees who achieve set levels of performance. These can be direct cash payments or other valuable items such as gift certificates or extra vacation time. The value is directly related to the nature of the reward. This separates the incentive from the act that achieved it—once you have the $50 in hand, how you earned it starts to fade in relevance.

Intrinsic incentives are fundamentally different. They have no explicit value but are directly linked to the personal need to be appreciated. They can be official, such as a safe employee of the month award, or unofficial, such as public praise for a special effort. The incentive is directly linked to the behavior and remains that way. The effectiveness of intrinsic incentives depends on the workplace culture. If an employee does not perceive that the company values safety, s/he will not put much value in being recognized by the company for safe behavior. If coworkers undervalue safety, being recognized for it can even be counterproductive because earning the reward can be embarrassing.

Incentive programs also can have serious unintended consequences. As the real estate and banking crises in recent years have starkly illustrated, misaligned incentives can lead to employee behavior that directly contradicts the company’s true objectives. Incentives can be linked to the wrong metric, motivating employees to pursue the wrong goals. Too strong a focus on the metrics associated with an incentive can cause employees to hide failures or misrepresent their performance. Incentives can also lead to negative competition, for example, by discouraging employees from providing help to coworkers if it would decrease their chance of earning a competitive reward. For these reasons, safety incentive programs must not be created in isolation from other incentives and motivators present in the workplace. Ideally, companies would design comprehensive performance management systems (PMS) that cover a variety of dimensions and support a high performance culture.

But even absent a PMS, a safety incentive program can be developed that fits into the organizational culture and aligns with the other kinds of incentives that are present. Here are some simple steps that can maximize the benefits of incentive programs and minimize the negative side effects.

Understanding the Environment

The first step is to understand the environment in which safety incentives will be applied. Some initial questions to investigate include:

  • Does the factory floor have a macho culture that rewards risk?

  • Are employees physically or mentally fatigued and tempted by shortcuts?

  • Are production requirements so tight that employees may ignore or hide hazards if dealing with them could cause a deadline to be missed?

If any of these factors are present, safety incentives may have a difficult time competing. You would be well served to work with the rest of the management team to resolve these issues first. If the safety incentive program fails—even if it is because of external factors outside your control—you may not get a second chance.

Selecting Your Metrics

Selecting your metrics is the most critical step of any incentive program. What are the critical behaviors that you want employees to follow? One of the most common mistakes is to select lagging indicators such as injury rates. Past injuries may reflect problems that have already been fixed. They are also not always due to workers’ intentional acts and are, therefore, hard to prevent through motivation. Cumulative-trauma-type injuries may be hard to link to specific acts. Instead, identify precursor behaviors that lead to unsafe acts and design the program to discourage them. For example, if the problem you want to solve is a high incidence of eye injuries, do not link the incentive to the absence of eye injuries, but instead to behavioral observations of proper use of eye protection and good housekeeping around eye hazards.
Another common mistake is to focus on a single metric that is politically attractive because of a salient incident. While this approach is tempting for short-term visibility, it may simply result in employees trading one unsafe behavior for another or sacrificing another important performance dimension such as quality. A more effective approach is to select a balanced set of metrics that work in concert. For example, I once consulted at a factory where poor housekeeping procedures in a machine shop led to a serious slip-and-fall injury. A contest was created that rewarded the cleanest shop during monthly inspections with a sizeable reward. The safety program became so focused on cleaning that other important procedures were ignored. It was no surprise that the facility saw an increase in injuries due to poor maintenance, including a serious injury caused by a dull saw blade.

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivators

The simplest safety incentives to use are extrinsic motivators that you can order from a safety catalog. But extrinsic motivators can be counterproductive. When workers are motivated by an extrinsic reward to be safe, the internal desire to be safe for its own sake is weakened. There is a fundamental shift from viewing safety in a social or personal frame of reference to an economic frame. Then when the reward goes away, so does the safe behavior. Or, if the employee feels the incentive is out of reach because of tough competition, s/he may not even bother. On the other hand, when safety becomes ingrained in the culture, it can become a permanent fixture. Intrinsic rewards are more effective in embedding safety as a cultural norm.

Another problem with extrinsic incentives is that employees are more likely to hide violations. This is particularly true if an employee is just short of the performance threshold that earns the incentive or if the violation could result in peer resentment over a lost team incentive. The larger the extrinsic reward’s value, the more likely this is to occur. But this does not happen with intrinsic rewards, in part because the value of the recognition would be canceled out by the knowledge that it was not deserved.

Team vs. Individual Incentives

Competition evaluates our own success relative to our peers, so creating a competitive environment is both easy and natural. But when competition is overemphasized, it can lead to counterproductive behaviors. Employees may be tempted to withhold help from a coworker if it increases their chances of earning a reward. I once worked with a hotel that encouraged its workers to ask each other for help with difficult lifting tasks. But coworkers were reluctant to provide that help because they had a performance incentive to finish their own tasks quickly.

One solution to this challenge is to measure performance for an entire team or across the facility. If a coworker’s unsafe act could jeopardize my own chance of earning a reward, I may be more likely to intervene. This creates peer pressure to act safely. But if the measure is defined too broadly, employees may not feel that they have enough control to make it worth the effort.

Short Term vs. Long Term

Another thing worth considering is how your incentive program will impact the longer term continuous improvement of safety in the workplace. Direct­ing employees toward compliance with individual safe behaviors can be an effective way to increase short-term safety. But employees are among the best resources to identify longer term hazards that may not yet be part of the behavioral safety system. If their perception of safety becomes exclusively focused on behavioral compliance, they can be less likely to notice and report overlooked or growing hazards that may be more important in the long run. It is good to supplement safety incentive programs with rewards for detecting and/or eliminating hazards that have not been officially identified.

Final Thoughts

Creating an effective safety incentive program can be more complicated than it first appears. Many programs start by linking extrinsic rewards with lagging safety outcomes and do not realize the significant negative consequences that can result. The strategies discussed in this article target some of the most critical challenges and will get you started on the right path. Try to take a comprehensive approach and do not be afraid to ask for help when you are uncertain.

Marc Resnick is president and senior consultant at Performance Solutions. He has spent the past 20 years providing assistance to companies seeking to increase employee performance through safety, ergonomics, incentive programs and other management systems. He can be reached at (305) 443-3765 or resnickm@fiu.edu.

Products

Safety Incentives

The STAR program from National Safety Incentives is available to companies in 49 states and is said to be cost-effective for the employer. The program is reportedly a tax write-off for employers and tax-free for employees. Employees who work safely and arrive on time for work for a set period earn points toward items. Employees can be placed into groups and can earn points through collective safety habits, encouraging teamwork. www.nationalsafetyincentives.com

Incentive Programs

Always In Mind Inc. offers a full selection of incentive programs, including 12 Weeks to Star for sites that participate in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs; EmPart, to increase employee participation; Learn for Life, which focuses on off-the-job safety; Lotto to Learn, a training aid based on scratch-off lottery tickets; Safety 365; Safety Punch; and Safety Raffle. www.aimforsafety.com

Safety Culture

KL&P Motivation is releasing its Safety Culture Management System to industries outside of construction and refinery. The program records and reports proactive safety habits including e-learning courses, good behavior and paperwork such as near-hit reports. Employees earn points they can redeem for brand-name merchandise. Online training courses can cover topics important to the employee and are customized for the site. Employees can access their accounts and track point totals or give awards to other employees through the website as well. www.klp.com

Customizable Program

Hinda Incentives has several customizable points-based programs tracked on the innergE online system. The company offers a large number of redeemable items—between 3,000 and 4,000—and items ship from the warehouse in about 24 hours. Companies can also schedule a Warehouse Dash for their top employees, where participants work with a partner to collect as much merchandise from the warehouse as possible in 60 seconds. www.hinda.com

Recognition System

Bill Sims Co. offers the SmartCard program, an automated, trackable behavior-based recognition system. Company selects 12 custom training topics and each month receives custom posters and cards with pictures of its employees demonstrating and explaining that training topic. Employees answer questions to demonstrate their knowledge gain and win prizes. Employees can also complete online and e-mail quizzes for another chance to win prizes. www.billsims.com

Scratch-Off Tickets

Distribution of the Safety Jackpot scratch-off tickets, available from Peavey Performance Systems, helps generate talk and excitement about safety. Employees scratch off the ticket to reveal a point total, which can be saved with other tickets to purchase brand-name goods. Tickets also hold a letter in the word jackpot and employees can trade with each other to spell the word and earn 1,000 bonus points and an entry into a national drawing with up to $1 million or a chance of vacations. www.safetyjackpot.com

Incentive Management

All Star Incentive Marketing offers PROPEL, an online incentive solution to help companies motivate and reward program participants. Customizeable interface can be used to improve driving performance, reduce liability costs, reinforce safe work practices, enhance training, reduce work-related accidents and injuries,
and enhance work conditions. www.incentiveusa.com

Safety Management

Safety Accountability for Employees (SAFE) software, from EHS Management Solutions Inc. offers companies a proactive approach to managing employee safety. System can be used to track and show employees their participation in safety training or reward a team for identify­ing a potential unsafe condition. Software is available as a single-site-license version, server-based application or web-based subscription service. www.ehsms.com