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.

VR safety training – Working at Heights

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.

Immersive Environment

Enter a realistic work-at-heights environment modelled on real industrial/petroleum infrastructure

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Real-time Feedback

Trainees receive real-time feedback when they make unsafe choices, resulting in stronger hazard recognition
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Safe Controlled Training

Perform tasks such as harness checking, tethering, ladder climbing, scaffold access, and walkway navigation

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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

1. Define Your Training Outcome

We identify your training objectives: onboarding workers, refreshing existing teams, upskilling contractors, or closing specific risk gaps.

2. Set Up VR at Your Site or Ours

PetroENG can deploy VR equipment on-site or host your teams at a PetroENG partner facility. We handle the setup.

3. Run VR Training Sessions

Trainees complete the VR Working at Heights module under the supervision of a facilitator or safety officer.

4. Guided Debrief & Coaching

After each session, we review actions taken in VR:

  • What they did correctly
  • Where they were at risk
  • How to improve behaviour on real sites

5. Records & Certification

Attendance and participation are logged. VR training can be integrated into your Higher Safety Training Programme and internal HSEQ records.

6. Optional: Ongoing Programme Roll-Out

We help you embed VR as part of induction, annual refresher training, or contractor onboarding.

Service Station Fuel Infrastructure

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 PetroENG 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.

Engen - Client of Petro

ENGEN PETROLEUM ACCREDITATION

Petroleum Maintenance and Installations | BP Garage

BP ACCREDITATION CERTIFICATE

Petroleum Maintenance and Installations | Transnet

NATIONAL PORTS AUTHORITY

Petroleum Maintenance and Installations | Home Affairs

ENTRANCE & OPERATIONS PERMIT

Petroleum Maintenance and Installations | Environmental Affairs

WASTE TRANSPORTER LICENSE

Petroleum Maintenance and Installations | Avetta

AVETTA CONSORTIUM MEMBERSHIP

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.

Who is this service for?

  • 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.

Turn your working-at-heights training into a powerful, immersive experience – without exposing anyone to real danger.

Let PetroENG's VR Safety – Working at Heights (Module 1) become the new standard for your high-risk training.

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