As dawn broke on a crisp Monday morning in 2025, B&L Construction’s crew assembled with an air of curiosity, interested to hear about the innovative approach their safety manager was about to introduce, promising to reinvigorate their daily operations. In the wake of an unfortunate string of accidents, the company had decided to experiment with virtual reality for safety training.
The team was introduced to a new era of construction safety training — a VR safety training module, coupled with an innovative construction site safety app called Scratchie. With this strategic blend of immersive VR experiences and Scratchie’s unique safety rewards, B&L Construction had embarked on a journey to redefine their safety culture.
Embracing Virtual Reality Safety Training
With VR headsets ready, the team underwent their first session of virtual reality safety training. This immersive technology transformed safety training into an interactive experience, allowing workers to navigate virtual job sites designed to mirror their own. Here, they faced potential hazards and honed their skills to navigate them safely, all without the risks of a real construction site.
The result was a visible increase in the engagement level of the workers during training sessions, something that traditional safety training videos or manuals had failed to achieve. The training seemed promising, aligning with a study by the University of Southern California, which indicated that VR training could enhance safety knowledge and skills by up to 40%.1
Scratchie: The Bridge Between Training and Real-World Application
Despite the initial success of VR safety training, B&L Construction knew that training alone wouldn’t suffice. The safe behaviours practised in the virtual world needed to translate to their construction sites. That’s where Scratchie came into play, connecting the dots between the VR training module and the actual job site.
Scratchie’s uniqueness lies in its approach to fostering a safety culture. It gamifies safety, issuing on-the-spot rewards for safe behaviours. These rewards, categorised by specific safety activities, served as immediate reinforcement for the workers. Behaviour such as identifying fall hazards, following the safe working procedures, or as basic as wearing the correct PPE, didn’t go unnoticed.
These rewards, given right after the desired behaviour, resonated with what psychologists term as “temporal adjacency,” leading to a more effective positive reinforcement strategy. It worked so well that safety, which had been considered a “necessary evil” for decades, started being viewed as a rewarding and positive experience.
Construction Safety Technology at Its Best: The Integration of VR and Scratchie
With Scratchie incorporated into their construction safety technology ecosystem, the synergy between the VR safety training and Scratchie's safety rewards began to unfold. The app served as a bridge, seamlessly connecting the knowledge and skills gained from VR training to real-world behaviours on the construction site.
Moreover, Scratchie’s ability to record who was awarded, for what behaviour, and when, provided the management with compelling lead-indicator data. This data served as a valuable tool for decision-makers to identify trends, monitor improvements, and make informed decisions about their safety management strategies.
Through this synergistic approach, the workers at B&L Construction weren't just learning about safety; they were living it, day in and day out. The VR safety training offered them the knowledge and skills, and Scratchie gave them a rewarding reason to apply those lessons. This strategy soon started paying off, as the number of on-site accidents began to dwindle, proving the efficacy of their innovative approach.
Tracking Progress and Impact
As B&L Construction continued with the VR safety training and Scratchie's safety rewards, the positive impact of this initiative began to emerge. Incidents on the site started to decrease, and overall safety awareness among workers visibly increased. But perhaps most telling was the shift in the workers' attitudes towards safety. With Scratchie's immediate, on-the-spot rewards, safety was no longer viewed as a necessary burden but a rewarding activity that was intrinsically motivating.
An invaluable tool, Scratchie also provided a wealth of data for the safety managers at B&L Construction. The construction site safety app tracked who was being rewarded, for what behaviour, by whom, and when. This granular data enabled management to identify trends, recognise safety champions, and tailor safety management strategies based on individual and team behaviours.
Driving Engagement and Culture Shift
Yet, the most transformative aspect of this innovative approach was the cultural shift within the company. Safety wasn’t just a top-down directive anymore; it was ingrained in every worker’s daily routine. The crew felt more engaged and empowered, knowing that their safe behaviours were being recognised and rewarded. And the more they used the VR training and Scratchie app, the more their safety knowledge, skills, and attitudes were reinforced, fostering a long-lasting, positive safety culture within the company.
In this new safety culture, the use of VR training for knowledge acquisition and skills development was only half of the equation. The other half was Scratchie, driving safety motivation and engagement through its innovative rewards system. This combination of training and rewards showed that the integration of VR and Scratchie was not just additive, but synergistic.
Expanding the Scope of Safety Training
This novel approach to safety training wasn’t restricted to just the job site. B&L Construction saw the potential of this combination to train for scenarios that were risky, costly, or impossible to recreate in real life, such as the manufacturing facilities making pre-manufactured components. The VR training modules could simulate high-risk tasks like working at heights or handling hazardous materials. Through VR, workers could learn and practice safe procedures in a risk-free environment, which then translated to safer behaviours on the site, reinforced by Scratchie's reward system.
Moreover, the data collected through Scratchie provided invaluable insights into how these training modules were impacting safety behaviours on the ground. The ability to link specific VR modules to particular safe behaviours (and subsequent Scratchie rewards) allowed B&L Construction to fine-tune their training programs to better address the unique needs and challenges of their sites.
The journey that began as an experiment to reduce accidents had transformed into a sustainable, data-driven, and rewarding safety management strategy, paving the way for safer and more productive construction sites. This innovative approach to safety management promised a brighter future for the construction industry, all thanks to the power of virtual reality in construction safety and Scratchie's safety rewards.
The Power of Collaboration: VR Safety Training Meets Scratchie's Safety Rewards
The story of B&L Construction's safety transformation isn't just a testament to the power of modern construction safety technology. It's a testament to the power of collaboration. Through their integration of VR safety training and Scratchie, B&L Construction set a new standard for safety management that other construction companies can follow.
By leveraging Scratchie's gamification and rewards system, B&L Construction was able to bridge the gap between VR training and real-life application. VR provided the platform for knowledge and skills acquisition while Scratchie offered an engaging way to reinforce these learned behaviours on site. This symbiotic relationship, reinforced by Scratchie's integration with various safety platforms, maximized the impact of each individual component, leading to impressive safety improvements.
A New Standard for Construction Safety Training
The adoption of virtual reality for safety training and Scratchie has also set a precedent for the construction industry. It's shown how modern technology can be effectively used to engage workers, improve safety, and even shift company culture. It is a clear demonstration that safety management is not just about rules and regulations, but also about creating a positive environment where everyone is encouraged to play an active role in maintaining safety.
This new era of safety management acknowledges the complexity of human behaviour and addresses it by engaging the workforce in a meaningful way. By combining the immersive, practical learning of VR with Scratchie's reward system, construction companies can tackle safety training from both a skills and motivation standpoint.
Towards a Safer Construction Industry
The partnership between VR safety training and Scratchie rewards is more than a fusion of technology and psychology. It is a stepping stone towards a safer construction industry. Safety managers and professionals can now access powerful tools that not only help reduce accidents but also promote a safety-first culture in their workforce.
Moreover, the data collected via Scratchie can be used to continually improve safety strategies and training, making safety management a dynamic and evolving process. This goes beyond compliance with safety regulations, creating an environment where safety is valued, practiced, and rewarded.
Making Safety Rewarding
The potential of this combination is immense. It can help construction companies turn the tide on workplace accidents, boost morale among workers, and ultimately, save lives. As we look towards the future, the union of VR safety and Scratchie's safety rewards promises a construction industry where safety isn't just a priority; it's a way of life.
In closing, B&L Construction's story demonstrates how effectively VR training and Scratchie's rewards can combine to create a safer and more positive work environment. A simple but transformative shift that has made safety not just an obligation, but a rewarding experience for all. It's an exciting time for the construction industry, and this is just the beginning! Let's create safer sites with virtual reality safety training and Scratchie. Let's make safety rewarding!
FAQ
1. How does Scratchie's safety rewards system work in conjunction with VR safety training?
Scratchie's rewards system and VR safety training complement each other excellently. VR provides an immersive, realistic training environment where workers gain safety knowledge and skills. Scratchie enhances this by reinforcing positive safety behaviours learned and practised in VR through immediate, on-the-spot rewards.
2. Does VR safety training require specific hardware or software?
Yes, VR safety training does require specific hardware (like a VR headset) and software (training programs). The requirements can vary depending on the complexity of the training. Some solutions are more sophisticated and offer a fully immersive environment, while others might be more basic and work with simpler devices like a smartphone and a basic VR viewer.
3. How does Scratchie integrate with other safety platforms in the construction industry?
Scratchie is integrating with industry-leading construction safety platforms such as Procore and Hammertech. This allows decision-makers within those platforms to issue rewards through the Scratchie app. Essentially, this seamless integration means the rewards system can be "powered by Scratchie," enhancing existing safety procedures with incentivized behaviour reinforcement.
4. What kind of rewards can be issued with Scratchie?
Scratchie allows for categorised rewards based on specific safety activities. This enables decision-makers to target particular behaviours they wish to encourage. The rewards themselves can vary widely, from recognition within the team to tangible rewards, such as cash or bonus points.
5. How can Scratchie help to improve the safety culture on construction sites?
Scratchie's immediate, on-the-spot rewards system encourages a positive safety culture. By focusing on rewarding safe behaviours, it helps shift safety from being viewed as a 'necessary evil' to a motivating, beneficial aspect of the job. Over time, this can help to drive a significant shift in attitudes towards safety, fostering a more engaged and conscientious workforce.
1 Barak, A., Perlman, L. A., & Sacks, R. (2013). Virtual reality training in construction safety. Journal of Safety Research, 44(1), 1-8.
