The National Safety Council (NSC) and Industrial Training International (ITI) have partnered to bring their hazard awareness virtual reality experience and certification to the construction industry. The objective is to facilitate a universal benchmark for all construction workers to safely identify potential hazards at a jobsite. The exam is to be administered via a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, with desktop computer administration on the horizon. Applicants who successfully complete the exam with a passing score will be awarded the Hazard Awareness Certification – a five-year credential.

In a January 2020 survey conducted by ITI, with 184 respondents, 67% of all respondents said that their organization would likely rely on a three to five-year construction safety certification based on a VR exam, and 75% of managers and owners saw a positive benefit from such a certification.

The Hazard Awareness Certification was developed with the participation of the NSC, Bechtel, DPR Construction, GLY Construction, Kiewit, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and United Rentals. The VR experience challenges candidates to inspect a jobsite and identify several risk domains including hand tools, lock out/tag out, lifting and rigging, dropped objects, and more.

“When we originally created this VR experience with Bechtel and DPR’s innovation teams, there was immediately interest in having successful candidates receive a portable certification. Once we decided to pursue it, we wanted to find a broadly accepted, market leader in construction safety to represent the certification. NSC was at the top of our list and after a quick introduction from one of our Program Advisors to the NSC team, we knew we had a great partnership in the making,” reflected Zack Parnell, CEO of ITI.

“ITI is an innovator in the hoisting and material handling space. This partnership reflects our desire to collaborate with organizations that share NSC values and our ongoing advocacy for worker safety,” comments Nick Smith, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Strategy Officer, National Safety Council.

The Hazard Awareness Certification will debut at the upcoming NSC Safety Congress & Expo scheduled to take place October 11-13, 2021, in Orlando, Florida.