Prevention Through Innovation: Innovative method and tools for the effectiveness of experiential training for workers working in confined spaces

Abstract: Examination of several accidents involving operators working in confined spaces has shown that the number of accidents is lower than the number of injured or that, for each cause of accident, more people are killed or injured. In the case of the injured, if there has been contact with toxic products or the operator has remained too long without oxygen, it is very likely that the resulting damage remains permanent. The required performance of these workers and the safety compliances are very strict when it comes to confined spaces. In the analysis of which factors can influence the effectiveness of an operation in these spaces, not negligible human factors also come into play, psychological and specific to the individual, such as motivation, personal and interpersonal qualities, and tolerance for the mission. Education and training, in this sense, can reduce the negative impact of these factors through experience and knowledge of the operating modes, in order to manage not only the ordinary activity in these spaces, but also the management of high-risks and emergency situations for the individual. In light of these considerations, the idea has been consolidated that an experiential training, based on “learning by doing”, that takes into account the psychophysical aptitude required to workers, is essential for the proper management of their own safety and that of their co-workers. Therefore, to meet the above, INAIL (National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work) researchers, in a logic of prevention through innovation, designed and built a physical simulator in order to replicate in a protected and effective way all types of risks to workers operating in these environments. The simulator has been designed to alter the cognitive conditions of those who use it, making them experience situations of danger and consequent extremely realistic risk, typical of confined environments (poor visibility, cramped spaces, communication difficulties, poor ventilation and emergency rescue difficulties, etc.). The activity with the INAIL simulator, in Italy, is carried out throughout the national territory and there are agreements with the Italian firefighters that often participate in education and training activities, bringing the contribution of their direct experiences to the workers, in tegrating them with those of INAIL researchers. So far – data updated to July 2024 - 743 workers have been educated and 548 of them have also been trained using the simulator. In the article that follows some statistical data on the results of the training activities carried out through the use of the simulator are reported.

Keywords: Training, Injuries at work, Simulation

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005802

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