A specific workplace entails specific safety incidents. Only by diving sufficiently deep into it, safety trainings will generate the impact that is needed. AB InBev’s Learning & Development Manager Marc Maris knows this to be true. The search for an effective training course led the company to Play it's game-based learning or G-learning in short.
With more than 900 employees and a number of specific safety risks, AB InBev places strong emphasis on safety training. With this focus in mind, AB InBev’s Learning & Development Manager Marc Maris is constantly on the lookout for new and better ways of training. “The traditional PowerPoint slides or paper courses are boring and struggle to keep employees interested,” he says. “It's quite challenging to find alternatives that will keep employees motivated and that will keep their knowledge and skills up to date in the long term.”
Request for a customised environment
Online research led Marc Maris to G-learning as a new training tool. The fact that its efficiency and effectiveness had been scientifically proven was a bonus. AB InBev contacted Play it to develop a safety training programme. Some 50 employees in different age categories formed the test audience for the pilot project.
“The findings were positive,” says Maris. “Around 85% of the players found the game enjoyable. Initially, the feedback stated that the environment was too general. The setting was not recognisable enough, so we asked Play it to recreate our brewery as the game setting.”
A first during Safety Days
The golden rules that characterise the AB InBev workplace were introduced into the game and the new training tool premiered during the company’s Safety Days. The modified game environment quickly gathered appreciation. Great attention was paid to the LOTOTO safety procedure – for protecting employees who work on machines, installations, or equipment – and to the challenges of internal traffic, making the game an instantly effective solution.
Marc Maris explains, “The main risks are very well represented in the game. What view do you have of different areas in the brewery from your forklift truck? What blind spots do you have to take into account? The virtual cabin gives you a highly realistic picture, and it stays with you for a long time.”
About 200 of the 950 employees have now played the learning game. For now, this is done during working hours, within the company building, and in an organised fashion. In time, AB InBev wants to make the gaming platform available to all employees, whenever and wherever they want. This way, the game will reach its full potential within the organisation.
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