Learning game for improving forklift drivers’ safety awareness

Esko Lehtonen*, Pia Perttula, Ida Maasalo, Kaisa Reuna, Henriikka Kannisto, Vuokko Puro, Maria Hirvonen

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    11 Citations (Scopus)
    86 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Forklift drivers in in-house logistics are at a high risk of occupational injuries. This study piloted a video-based learning game for forklift drivers, designed to increase their safety awareness in their highly dynamic operating environment. The game consisted of video clips filmed from the driver’s perspective. Each video clip was stopped and masked at a point where a safety-relevant item or hazard appeared. Two locations were marked on the screen, one with the hazard and the other with no hazard. The players had to choose the location with the hazard while the screen was masked and received feedback on their choice. Eighty-one professional forklift drivers played the game at their workplaces during the 3–4 month intervention. In addition, forklift registered hard shocks were recorded and compared to the game performance of 20 participants. Higher accuracy in the game correlated with a lower shock rate, suggesting that real-world forklift driving skills transferred to the game. However, accuracy improvement in the game did not decrease the vehicle registered hard shocks. During the intervention, 40% of the participants reported that they began to pay more attention to the hazards of their work environment. Overall, the results suggest that a gamified approach could be useful for demonstrating safety-relevant features at the workplace and supporting drivers’ safety-related self-reflection.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)743-753
    JournalCognition, Technology and Work
    Volume23
    Issue number4
    Early online date28 Aug 2020
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Nov 2021
    MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

    Funding

    The study was supported by the Finnish Work Environment Fund (Grant no. 116167), the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and Toyota Material Handling.

    Keywords

    • Accident risk
    • Digitalization
    • In-house logistics
    • Occupational risk
    • Safety
    • Situation awareness

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