A New Approach to Risk Management. The Role of Virtual Reality in Electrical Substation Safety

Abstract In high-risk environments, such as electrical substations, operation and maintenance are complex and dangerous tasks, which is reflected in the high occupational accident rate in the energy sector. The need to improve worker training to reduce accidents is critical, especially in sectors where operational failures can have fatal consequences. This case study evaluates the effectiveness of immersive virtual reality (VR) versus traditional theoretical training in training electrical substation workers to react to electrical risk situations. The trial is developed in three phases, in the operational framework of an infrastructure and energy concessionaire company in Spain. In the first phase, both training approaches are compared by means of theoretical tests complemented by immersive simulations, which are tested in the real project environment. In the second, the knowledge obtained in the real project environment is evaluated, and in the third, participants are subjected to an emergency simulation in a controlled environment to measure their response capacity. The results obtained suggest that the incorporation of VR training into current theoretical training significantly improves knowledge retention, risk identification and decision making under pressure. Therefore, this research confirms the value of VR simulation as an effective training tool in high-risk environments, providing a safe and practical experience that reduces the incidence of occupational accidents in electrical substations.