There’s More to Murphy; Virtual Reality in the Construction Sector

Abstract

A leading engineering and construction company, J Murphy and Sons Ltd., successfully developed and implemented a virtual reality training module with the assistance of Clicks and Links. This system allows Murphy to deliver engaging, emotive and safety critical content in a manner that improves knowledge retention and drives positive behavioural change across the business.

1 Company Description

J Murphy and Sons Ltd. is a leading global, multi-disciplined engineering and construction company founded in 1951. Murphy is passionate about improving lives by delivering world-class infrastructure.

Operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada, Murphy provides a range of construction services to infrastructure sectors including rail, water, power and natural resources. Headquartered in London, Murphy also boast a number of related businesses; Construction, Development & Property Services, Pipeline Testing Services, Ground Engineering, Utility Connections, Murphy Plant, and Urban Realm.

Murphy directly employs more than 3000 engineers, professionals and skilled operatives around the world. The company has skilled expertise in delivering pipelines, process engineering, design, marine, tunnelling, fabrication, bridges and piling. Murphy also invest heavily in their substantial holding of plant, equipment and facilities. As an infrastructure specialist, Murphy is able to respond to the challenges of any project while making sure to provide clients with a consistently high quality service.

Murphy’s self-delivery model gives clients the assurance that the company can provide a safe, reliable and cost-effective service. Murphy make significant investments in plant and people, so as to offer a highly-skilled, experienced workforce who use modern and well-maintained equipment. This means Murphy effectively offer a ‘one stop shop’ service for clients on complex projects and can be on site and ready to work at the drop of a hat.

Murphy is able to offer a speedy and valued response to clients’ emergencies and is the contractor of choice for many when unforeseen problems arise. The company actively encourages employees to share their ideas wherever they can, whether they work on site or in an office. These ideas have been put into good use on projects, helping to make Murphy’s services safer and more efficient.

Murphy’s ability to deliver projects in this way helps build and maintain strong relationships with clients. Murphy staff work hard to develop excellent personal relationships, listening to and understanding clients’ requirements. They and their customers are at the heart of everything Murphy do.

2 Project Summary

Alongside Clicks and Links, Murphy’s expert Culture & Engagement team have developed and implemented a virtual reality training module to supplement the delivery of a mandatory safety-oriented behavioural training module.

3 Project Details

3.1 Challenge

In order for Murphy to guarantee they are delivering world class infrastructure for their clients, the company must ensure the workforce are fully trained and competent in the work they are undertaking. Some of that training and experience occurs on live construction sites where there are multiple hazards (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1

Example of a complex construction site; Plumstead Tunnel with Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) on Crossrail Thames Tunnel Project

Large scale construction projects are dynamic and complex, and the combination of a range of hazards and variables on site results in an environment that changes quickly. This fluctuation in hazards and risks can put the most experienced workers in harm’s way, as factors like weather, location and nearby work activities can change rapidly and combine to pose a serious threat. For individuals that are inexperienced in this field, there is no “one size fits all” approach to hazard awareness and risk management. The existence, location, nature, severity and potential consequence of any hazard can change an almost infinite number of times daily, therefore a habitual and subconscious risk perception approach is paramount to ensuring the safety of construction workers.

3.2 Solution

The solution to delivering safety information about a high risk environment? A fully immersive digital twin of a standard construction project, programmed with common yet variable hazards that may be encountered when on site.

The VR programme puts participants through their paces in a mock trip to site where they are asked to spot potential hazards. After putting on the headset, participants are transported to Murphy’s reception in Kentish Town, before heading out to site.

The production of this model and the hazards therein draw upon Murphy’s well documented historical safety performance. By reviewing the most pertinent risks and hazards across the business throughout the years, Murphy has developed a model that reflects and seeks to counteract known areas of poor safety performance. This tool allows the team to deliver “hazard awareness” content to the workforce and train their ability to recognise and mitigate risks on site.

The output from the session will inform users on where they performed well, plus highlight areas of their personal risk perception that need improvement. The tool works on a fix/consequence basis, as hazards that are correctly addressed will revert from the “risky” state to a safe state. Conversely, hazards that are not addressed will demonstrate to the user the serious consequences of lack of intervention. For example, there is an excavator located dangerously close to high voltage overhead power lines – if the users fails to spot this, the Culture and Engagement team will bring them back to the point and it will show the excavator touching the lines with sparks and smoke emanating from the machine. Data gathered throughout this task can be used to give the business more information about what training is required and where (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2

Screenshot of virtual reality model including dynamic hazard spotting

This solution was developed as an alternative to standard virtual reality training modules, as they operate on a multiple choice basis that prompts the user to select a response at predetermined point in the model—this is not representative of a construction site and would not provide Murphy’s workforce with adequate training and preparation. Instead, Murphy opted for a more natural approach that would better test the risk perception of its workforce, incorporating dynamic and randomised scenes that emulate real life conditions.

The system is also used to give people in an office a better understanding of site environments and risks even if they’ve never been on site before—optimising workflows between different functions and teams.

3.3 Benefits

A reduction in staff on site results in a reduction in risk. By exposing the workforce to a lower level of risk, Murphy can keep on living true to the company’s ‘Never Harm’ value and its ‘Fit to Start’ strategic driver; making sure everyone is comfortable and proficient in their ability to question and action on site risks. This work ensures that the entire workforce, both existing and new, is aligned to the strategic direction of the company (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3

Virtual Reality training system in use by Murphy workforce

The immersive nature of the VR system means that the users are absorbing more information about site hazards, better preparing them for the real thing. It is a safe environment in which to experience and explore the hazardous world of construction, allowing Murphy to fully brief and train its workforce from the safety of an office, eliminating the risk of on-site exposure to hazards. In accordance with the challenges outlined in the UK Government’s Sector Deal and the Industrial Strategy, Murphy is actively investing in its staff to improve productivity, upskill the workforce and guarantee them a higher earning power.

4 Feedback from End Users

Following a successful nationwide pilot programme, there is excitement within Murphy as the business is leveraging modern day technology to an even greater extent. Users of the system have remarked upon the realisation that the system has highlighted their “factory blindness”. For some experienced staff, a lifetime of working in high risk environments has bred in a level of complacency. This is actively challenged, identified and rectified through the use of the system.

Derek Stringer, Rail Supervisor, said “I thought the interaction with the VR was spot on, a total game changer. It really sets us apart on our training days. It really gives you something different to think about, seeing issues in real time and trying to get an understanding of what we should and shouldn’t see out onsite.

I think VR has a big future in our industry, I don’t see a reason why you can’t use it to promote all the good things we do to our clients and even use it as a walkthrough of how future projects will look when complete.

A definite positive tick in the box for me.”

Over 50% of the users would not usually come into contact with such advanced technology—due to either job role, reluctance or in some cases fear. The feedback from the majority of users has been that the system provides a user friendly and truly memorable introduction to some of the most advanced hardware and software currently in use within the industry. Feedback has shown that the use of this system has effectively helped reduce the reluctance and fear to embrace new technology.

The introduction of this system has sparked a wave of creativity and innovative thinking across the diverse Murphy family. The VR system is novel for most, and engagement with it has inspired the majority of users to challenge their own working processes in terms of safety, sustainability and efficiency, in turn driving the business and the industry forwards.

Karen Hartley, Rail Team Organiser, said “A great piece of kit that give you a realistic experience of navigating the dangers on site without being in any real danger, and great fun to use!”

5 Future Outlook/Roadmap

In the future, this technology could be used by Murphy as a standard response to safety incidents across the business, and the wider industry. By supplying the workforce with cheap “cardboard” type units, Murphy will be able to distribute highly engaging and emotive content around safety alerts and site inductions effectively, easily recording engagement and view count.

It could also assist in incident reporting as teams will be able to explore mock-ups of incidents, allowing a thorough root cause analysis to be undertaken and appropriate mitigations implemented.

Now that Murphy is using advanced virtual reality models with dynamic construction sites, the scope for future opportunities is vast. There are a plethora of potential applications within the design and engineering functions, including collaborative remote design review meetings, construction sequencing, and planning and logistics. Many designers are now adapting their workflows to use the virtual reality systems as their main design tools, meaning that future projects could be built entirely from within a virtual model with a greater level of speed and quality.

There is also an opportunity for Murphy to begin to generate 3D content within other functions such as safety, procurement, environmental, quality, operations—all of which can exploit the system to access contextual and relevant content in a much more engaging way.

Murphy continues to develop its ability to capture, analyse and interrogate data from a variety of sources. Going forwards, more opportunities will arise to integrate this system into existing workflows to improve the way that Murphy staff interact with the data they generate.

6 Conclusion

This project represents a positive step for Murphy, and is an exciting move towards a safer industry. The solution deployed by Murphy in response to training challenges, and to make sure staff are always fit to start, paves the way for further work in the virtual reality realm, bringing with it exciting new prospects concerning design, engineering, planning, logistics—all of which could see a step change in culture, collaboration and capability as a result.

Murphy’s purpose, to improve life by delivering world class infrastructure, has been achieved through the successful implementation of this system. The VR training module both improves and sustains life of the workforce, their families, and the communities that Murphy operate in through an increased hazard perception and mitigation capability.

World class people deliver world class infrastructure; by investing in and improving the capability of its workforce, Murphy ensures that construction teams are operating in the safest manner possible. This minimises accidents, incidents, stand-down time/waiting and programme delays, guaranteeing world class delivery every time.