Virtual construction site to help build people management skills

From  Housing

       The macho world of construction isn’t the most obvious place to look for a new approach to people skills training. Yet ‘soft skills’ such as the ability to communicate clearly and inspire a team are as critical to the success of any building project as technical expertise.
       A new construction training centre set to open in Coventry in September 2009 will help construction managers develop their people management skills and enable them to fully develop their potential through a pioneering combination of virtual reality computer techniques and the use of professional actors. 
       Managing a construction project is hugely challenging, alongside technical knowledge of the build process, site managers need excellent people skills in order to manage subcontractors and other site staff. In addition, they have to work with clients, other consultants who might be involved in the project, such as architects as well as handling relationships with residents and the local community. Having the ability to interact effectively with all these different people is essential to completing a project on time and in budget.


      The simulation concept is based on an idea from maritime simulation training and has similarities with the aviation simulators used to train airline pilots although this system is more about human interaction.
The training facility will recreate, in precise detail, an actual construction site using virtual reality. The three-dimensional computer simulation of the construction project is projected on to a 12-metre panoramic screen in the Simulation Centre. Trainees use a control stick to ‘walk round’ the site and view the construction work in close-up, down to individual nuts and bolts.
      Trainees work in fully-equipped site cabins of the kind found on any building site. They are then presented with challenging site management scenarios – based on real-life situations – with site personnel, colleagues, and members of the public played by professional actors. Supervisors observe their behavior via cameras and then work with trainees to give feedback and pinpoint areas for development.
      The simulated scenarios are all based on the kind of situation that site managers regularly face, such as having to lay off a member of staff, talk to an angry resident or reason with a subcontractor threatening to walk off the job. The depth and detail of the simulation means that the experience goes beyond mere role playing and allows trainees to test them fully in a safe, controlled environment. Actually people very quickly forget they are taking part in a simulation because they become so wrapped up in the experience.
      The system’s potential to enable companies to develop and uncover the talent of their people is also attracting interest from other industries, including companies in the transport and building services sectors.

Tags: construction,simulation,virtual reality