Enhancing safety training and hazard identification in construction projects using 360-degree panoramic images

Accidents in the Egyptian construction industry are rising due to insufficient worker safety knowledge. While traditional safety training methods are widely used, they are often ineffective and uninspiring. This research presents the first immersive, game-based safety training platform specifically tailored to the Egyptian construction industry, integrating augmented 360-degree panoramic images captured from real local job sites. The methodology comprises of three stages: 1) identifying safety practices, 2) platform development, and 3) platform evaluation and statistical analysis. In the first stage, safety experts were interviewed to identify current safety practices and the most frequent hazards in Egyptian construction sites. In the second stage, Platform Development, started with capturing 360-degree images from construction sites, identifying the safety hazards in the captured images, and identifying the associated OSHA standards with safety experts for game development. A game platform was developed using Unity 3D, featuring four interactive scenes: Educational, Assessment, Explanation, and Hazard Controls. The platform integrates Unity’s built-in features and C# scripting to create an interactive and immersive experience. In the final stage, 30 construction practitioners from two construction sites in Egypt tested the platform, evaluated its user interface, and assessed the quality of the 360-degree images. Feedback was collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using statistical analysis. Results showed that 92% of participants positively rated the user interface, and 97% recommended the platform as a safety training tool. This research offers a first-of-its-kind digital solution that addresses the gap in immersive safety training in Egypt, enhancing hazard recognition and knowledge retention through real-world simulation.