Pictured above, from left: SFM Loss Prevention Specialist Jason Clausen; Sarah Allender, Senior Safety and Loss Control Specialist with True North Companies; and (in VR gear) SFM Loss Prevention Specialist Toby Tortorilla.

SFM recently participated in the Midwest Women in Safety Conference 2024, presenting information on virtual reality (VR) and safety training.

Held at the Kirkwood Linn County Regional Center in Iowa, the event included several safety-related sessions, with SFM Loss Prevention Specialists Jason Clausen and Toby Tortorilla discussing safety technology they are exploring.

“The implications of virtual reality’s use in safety training are certainly exciting,” Clausen said. “There have been remarkable advancements in VR in recent years, and we hope it can help employers keep workers safe in a number of ways.”

Specifically, they talked about:

• SFM’s hopes for virtual reality training
• Training methods
• Exploring virtual reality training benefits
• Virtual reality training demonstration

“VR is yet another tool employers can utilize to create a safe work environment,” Tortorilla said. “It provides the opportunity to mirror an actual workplace, track progress, engage employees and foster an open learning environment regarding safety.”

The benefits of VR safety training include:

• Training for hazardous work, such as fall protection
• Training that is normally very expensive and time consuming, excavation for example
• Training for locations that do not yet exist
• Training where errors have a large impact, such as Lockout/Tagout

“We were happy to be able to show the benefits of VR safety training at the Midwest Women in Safety Conference,” Tortorilla said. “It was a great chance to meet others in the industry and learn more about the latest developments in safety.”

Tortorilla also participated in a panel discussion relating to the future of artificial intelligence (AI) in relation to the safety field. He was able to provide findings from the research that he, and a team of SFM Loss Prevention personnel, were involved in recently.

“AI can be used in many ways to assist us as safety leaders,” he said. “AI can help create safety programs and policies, assist with ergonomic assessments, perform compliance and behavioral based assessments and bring attention to real-time hazards through wearables, telematics and other electronic devices. The capabilities are truly limitless.”

Most attendees had not utilized VR or AI in the safety realm and were not familiar with the opportunities both could provide, Tortorilla said. “I was glad to be a part of this conference, to help spread the word.”