Digital4OSH is pleased to announce that our article ‘Using Virtual Reality for Occupational Safety and Health in a UK tunnelling megaproject’ has been awarded the Charles Manby Prize 2025 by the UK Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE).
According to the ICE, this prize is awarded to articles recognised as being of exceptional quality and bringing unquestionable benefits to the civil engineering and construction community. The article discusses the lessons learnt during research carried out in partnership with one of the world's largest construction companies on an underground rail megaproject in London. This project used a tunneling machine for excavation and introduced a portable Virtual Reality and BIM system to optimise the training given to the equipment operators.
It turned out that this option proved to be extremely useful in ensuring more agile familiarisation with the work before it began, as well as a better and earlier perception of the risk. This has led to greater productivity, with a reduction in the time needed for training, as well as an estimated 10% reduction in accidents and near misses..