Immersive VR safety training – Working at Heights
Realistic, risk-free training for one of the most dangerous tasks on site.
PetroENG VR Safety – Working at Heights (Module 1) places learners inside a fully immersive 3D environment that simulates real-world petroleum and industrial sites. Trainees practise harness use, anchoring, ladder work, and fall-arrest procedures in VR – without putting a single person at risk.
The Problem: Heights Are High-Risk
Working at heights remains one of the leading causes of serious incidents in industrial and petroleum environments.
Typical challenges include:
- Workers trained in classrooms but unprepared for real-world height exposure
- Incorrect harness use, poor anchoring, and unsafe ladder practices
- Limited opportunities for realistic practice due to risk and logistics
- Near-misses and incidents not translating into changed behaviour
- Safety induction that ticks boxes, but doesn’t truly change how people act
Traditional safety training alone often isn’t enough. People learn best by doing – but doing real work at heights is risky.
VR changes that.
Service Overview
PetroENG VR Safety – Working at Heights (Module 1) is an immersive training solution that lets learners experience real hazards at height in a controlled, virtual space.
The result: safer behaviour, stronger hazard recognition, and a deeper respect for working-at-heights procedures – long before they set foot on a real platform.
VR Training Scenarios & Modules
- Inspecting harness components and connections
- Correct fitting and adjustment
- Identifying defective or unsafe gear
- Confirming tie-in points before moving to height
- Selecting suitable anchor points
- Correct lanyard attachment and positioning
- Avoiding sharp edges and unsafe anchor locations
- Maintaining safe fall distances and clearance
- Pre-use ladder checks
- Correct ladder angle and securing
- Maintaining three points of contact
- Climbing while remaining tethered
- Safe access and egress
- Moving along platforms and catwalks while tethered
- Recognising incomplete or unsafe scaffold setups
- Managing tools and equipment at height
- Identifying trip hazards, open edges, and unstable surfaces
- Safe behaviour near exposed edges and unguarded areas
- Responding to warning signs and unsafe conditions
- Simulated fall events (visual and controlled)
- Understanding consequences of unsafe actions
- Guided debrief with an instructor after the session
How It Works
SAFETY, COMPLIANCE, & QUALITY
PetroENG VR Safety is designed to support and enhance your existing safety framework, not replace it.
- Aligns with working-at-heights best practice and OHS principles
- Integrates with PetroENGÂ Higher Safety Training Programmes
- Allows supervisors to observe decision-making in a safe environment
- Reduces exposure to real hazards during early training phases
VR gives your HSEQ team a powerful new tool: they can see how people behave before they go up.
Example Use Cases
INDUCTION
- New employees complete VR Working at Heights as part of induction
- Supervisors identify unsafe tendencies early
- Fewer unsafe behaviours observed during on-site work
CONTRACTOR PRE-QUALIFICATION
- Contractors required to pass the VR module before site access
- Objective behavioural assessment in a standardised environment
- Reduced near-miss incidents around elevated structures
ANNUAL SAFETY RERESH
- Existing teams complete a refresher VR session
- Focus on bad habits and complacency
- Safety culture strengthened through practical immersion
Technical & Deployment Details
Hardware
- Standalone VR headsets (e.g. Meta Quest class)
- Optional casting to TV/monitor for group observation
- On-site mobile kit supplied by PetroENG or client-owned hardware
Module Characteristics
- Duration: ±20–30 minutes per learner
- Single-user VR experience with supervisor/facilitator
- Configurable difficulty and scenario sequence in future phases
Data & Analytics (Phase Roadmap)
- Session tracking (time, completion)
- Key risk behaviours flagged (e.g. missed tether, unsafe anchor)
- Aggregated reporting for HSEQ teams (Phase 2+ option)
Our Projects section contains detailed case studies with more information about safety related engagements.
- Petroleum depots & terminals
- Industrial and manufacturing facilities
- Engineering & maintenance contractors
- Logistics and fleet yards with work-at-heights risks
- HSEQ managers and training coordinators
- Organisations upgrading from basic classroom training to modern, immersive safety programmes
Not necessarily. PetroENG can supply hardware for on-site sessions, or we can help you specify suitable equipment if you want your own VR units.
No. It’s a powerful supplement. VR boosts hazard recognition and behaviour change but must sit alongside proper theoretical and practical training, equipment checks, and on-site supervision.
Because each session is 20–30 minutes, a single VR unit can train multiple learners in one day. With multiple headsets, we can scale throughput.
The base module simulates generic industrial/petroleum environments. Future phases can include tailored layouts, branding, or site-specific risks.
No. The environment is virtual. We also maintain a clear physical space around the learner, and a facilitator is always present.
