Assessment of Competency and Safety Behaviour of Crane Operator Trainees: A Case Study on Conventional and Immersive (VR) Crane Operation Training

Abstract

Crane operation is a crucial profession, which requires extensive technical knowledge along with situational awareness. Specifically, overhead crane operation requires knowledge of hazard identification, special attention to safety, and spatial awareness due to the nature of safety-critical lifting inside a facility. This case study involves the crane operator trainees who have undergone three kinds of training: attending a theory class related to overhead crane operation, followed by operating a real crane, and finally, participating in a virtual reality-based immersive training inside a simulated environment that resembles the real scenario. A “Hermippe Crane Training Questionnaire” consisting of 62 questions was developed and filled out by the 13 training participants. This questionnaire serves as an assessment tool and judges participants' competency and safety knowledge based on the following seven criteria: Regulations and Technical Knowledge, Maintenance and Inspection Competence, Safety Behaviour and Compliance, Operational Skills and Load Handling, Hazard Awareness and Situational Awareness, Communication and Team Coordination, and Confidence and Learning Orientation. Item- and subscale-level descriptive statistical analyses were conducted to analyze the participants' responses in order to identify the participants' competence level after the training. This study offers practical advice regarding the future curriculum development for crane operation training by identifying strengths and gaps in the operators’ competence development. It also provides evidence of the importance of a mixed training method that combines theory, immersive- and hands-on training rather than just stand-alone traditional approaches.

Keywords: Overhead Crane Operation, Crane Operation Training, Competency, Safety Knowledge

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007648