Design and Implementation of a Virtual Reality Environment for Safety Training in Key Stages of the Brewing Industrial Process ^†

Abstract

This article addresses the need to modernize industrial safety training in production plants, as traditional methods have proven to be ineffective and tedious. An immersive virtual environment was developed using Unreal Engine 5, based on 3D reconstructions, allowing users to interact with simulated hazards in a virtualized industrial space. The system was validated through surveys conducted with operational personnel, obtaining 100% acceptance and recommendation for implementation. The results show a high perception of realism and usefulness, positioning the environment as a viable alternative to traditional safety training methodologies.

1. Introduction

One of the main concerns of modern industries is ensuring the safety of their workers while maintaining uninterrupted production processes. For this reason, companies continuously invest financial and technological resources in training personnel to comply with safety procedures and guidelines [1,2].

Virtual reality (VR) is defined as an environment that appears realistic and allows user interaction, even though it is artificially generated through computational tools [1,3], to digital transformation of industrial environments has significantly reshaped the way safety, efficiency, and risk management are approached across various industries. In complex environments such as brewing facilities, where thermal, electrical, chemical, biological and mechanical processes converge, maintaining safety and operational continuity remains an exhausting challenge [4,5,6]. These industrial spaces are particularly required to maintain hazards keeping on low levels, ranging from any risk exposure, necessitating strict adherence to international safety standards such as ISO 3864 [7] and ISO 7010 [8].

Traditional training methods present several disadvantages, such as the need to halt production processes and the exposure of workers to potentially hazardous industrial environments. For this reason, in recent years, and within Industry 4.0, there has been a growing effort to integrate technology on a larger scale into production processes, as described in [4]. The industries that have made the most progress in adopting virtual reality for this aim are the construction and chemical sectors. However, other industries have shown very limited adoption of such technologies for safety training purposes [2,3]. The pursuit of integrating virtual reality technology into industrial safety training, within an industry of great economic importance in Ecuador and for which the reviewed studies provide insufficient information, underpins the development of the present work.

This document presents the integration of these technologies for the development, testing, and validation of a functional, interactive, and user-friendly system aimed at training many personnel in industrial safety protocols. The system is designed to facilitate proper performance within real industrial environments, which have been virtualized for this purpose. Demonstrating virtual reality applications has also gained relevance in industrial personnel training [1,9,10,11,12,13].

2. Materials and Methods

This paper outlines the methodological process undertaken—from problem analysis to final product validation—structured into a series of sequential phases, as illustrated in Figure 1.

2.1. Participants

The study involved a total of 13 participants, with ages ranging from 27 to 40 years. All participants were professionals working in this facility, where safety and continuous training are essential. Given that they are constantly seeking opportunities for professional development, the adoption of new technological tools is of particular interest to them. Virtual reality offered a safe environment in which they could acquire new knowledge and practice procedures without being exposed to real risks, aligning with the emphasis on industrial safety standards.

2.2. Three-Dimensional Reconstruction and Modeling

Aerial photogrammetry was conducted using a DJI Mini 2 drone and Agisoft Metashape 2.1.1 software, which enabled the processing of aerial images to generate a 3D reconstruction of the environment as looking in Figure 2. Manual 3D modeling was performed based on technical schematics and direct on-site observations to achieve accurate interior reconstruction and detailed geometric definition. Autodesk Inventor and Blender were used for detailed modeling and mesh optimization [14,15,16].

2.3. Environment Virtualization in UE5

Once the 3D industrial equipment and components were assembled in Autodesk Inventor and required reconstructions were completed, Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) was selected as the development environment due to its key features: real-time rendering engine, robust scripting based on Blueprints, and cross-platform compatibility. To enhance visual realism, 3D assets were refined with Blender [16], and physically based materials were made in blueprint coding. The virtual environment featured an interactive avatar, equipped with industrial personal protective equipment (PPE), which allowed users to explore the facility. As shown in Figure 3, the avatar was programmed to walk through corridors, ascend stairs, and interact with hazardous areas, simulating realistic movement within the industrial facility [17,18,19,20].

Interactive events were programmed to activate when the user walks into the predefined hazardous area. Each of these areas included a trigger box that launched pop-up windows containing detailed information about the specific hazard, its standardized safety pictogram, and an instructional illustration. The interaction system was adapted to the user’s pace, supporting both guided sessions led by a trainer and autonomous exploration modes [21].

It is important to clarify that the system was not implemented through head-mounted VR devices, but rather in a desktop computer. The virtual environment was experienced on a conventional computer screen, with navigation and interaction controlled via keyboard and mouse inputs with an Avatar, wich is visualized in Figure 3. This approach maintained accessibility for all participants, reduced hardware requirements, and avoided possible discomfort related to VR headsets, while still providing a realistic and interactive industrial training environment. The environment was configured so that interaction with “trigger boxes” enables context-specific engagement with the associated hazard or resource shown as Figure 4, interaction prompts only appear when the user approaches an interactive object.

2.4. Programing and Configuration of the Virtual Environment

The environment allows the user to navigate freely from the starting point, located in the Industrial Safety office of the virtualized industrial facility, to points of interest within the cooking/fermentation area. The system is designed to operate in both individual and group modes. A third-person camera helps maintain the user’s spatial awareness, reinforcing the connection between virtual signage and the user’s physical position within the environment. Red “X” marks on the user’s hands indicate zones or actions of potential hazard, enhancing visual feedback on risk exposure. In addition to hazards, safety elements such as fire extinguishers, evacuation routes, and emergency cabinets were integrated. The character is restricted from entering prohibited areas, reinforcing training in industrial traffic regulations.

3. Results

The result is an optimized software application compatible with Windows 10 or latest versions. It constitutes a 3D learning environment currently used for training personnel, contractors, and external staff entering the industrial production facility. This system allows users to explore the industrial environment and become familiar with it while dynamically interacting with the hazards areas and resources specific to each area. As illustrated in Figure 5 and Figure 6, a comparative visualization between the real industrial environment and the virtual reality environment is presented.

An instructor guides the training at the user’s pace, emphasizing the most relevant topics, maintaining user engagement, and maximizing immersive training as looking in Figure 5. To validate the system, tests were conducted with plant operators, including newly hired personnel. The evaluation focused on visual realism which visualized in Figure 6, information clarity, technical performance, and instructional applicability. These parameters were assessed using quantitative surveys with questions targeting each of the evaluated aspects, as shown in

Table 1. Quantitative environment validation questions.

#	Questions	Parameter
1	The virtual environment replicates the layout of the elements and structures of the real plant.	Realism of the virtual environment
2	The virtual environment clearly enables the identification of the risks and resources present in the plant.	Realism of the virtual environment
3	The lighting, textures, and details of the virtual environment are realistic and contribute to the understanding of the environment.	Applicability of the virtual environment
4	The experience in the virtual environment is immersive enough to maintain focus during training.	Usability and interface intuitiveness
5	The interaction with objects, elements, and the character within the environment is smooth and realistic.	Usability and interface intuitiveness
6	The interface of the virtual environment is intuitive and easy to use.	Applicability of the virtual environment
7	The experience in the virtual environment enhanced my understanding of industrial risks and safety measures.	Key components of training effectiveness

for the external environment and

Table 2. Qualitative environment validation questions.

#	Questions	Parameter
8	Would you recommend the use of this 3D virtualization as a training tool for workers involved in the cooking process?	Clarity and effectiveness of information delivery
9	The 3D virtualization allows users to provide suggestions and ideas for improvement.	Feedback/Open-ended suggestions

for the internal environment. For the quantitative questions, respondents were asked to rate each statement on a scale where 5 meant ‘Strongly agree’, 4 ‘Agree’, 3 ‘Neutral’, 2 ‘Disagree’, and 1 ‘Strongly disagree’. Additionally, the survey included close questions with ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. Finally, an open-ended question was included at the end of each survey to gather insights into future improvements, with responses analyzed in the Discussion section.

The surveys yielded the following results in Figure 7, the implications of which are analyzed in the Discussion section.

4. Discussion

Industrial safety training is essential for preventing accidents and protecting personnel in workplace environments. However, traditional methods often based on theoretical presentations or repetitive in-person instructions tend to be ineffective, as they are typically monotonous, disengaging, and hinder the understanding and retention of information. In this context, the present work proposes a solution aligned with the principles of Industry 4.0 through the development of an interactive virtual learning environment that digitalizes and modernizes the industrial safety training process. This tool not only enables the safe simulation of risk scenarios but also enhances the learning experience by increasing user attention, engagement, and information retention [4,5].

The system developed stands out from previous proposals [1,2,3,4,5,6] as it is a virtual environment based on a real industrial setting and designed for application within that same context, specifically in a nationally recognized brewery production plant. It enables the training of both new personnel and experienced operators. The realistic and interactive system complements training through expert guidance, allowing users to engage with the actual risks present in the industrial environment at their own pace. This significantly enhances concentration, information retention, and other key aspects of the learning process. As a result, personnel trained using this new system who had previously undergone traditional training methods evaluated the experience positively and strongly recommended its implementation, as evidenced by the results obtained. The developed system can also be defined as a low-cost, high-benefit solution, since its integration requires only elements and resources commonly available in any industry, namely a computer with basic processing capabilities and limited resources, without the need to acquire additional equipment such as virtual reality glasses or other devices that would increase the implementation cost. Thus, the presented work constitutes a solution applicable to any industry without requiring significant investment.

To validate the effectiveness of the virtual environment, a structured questionnaire (Table 1) was administered to the personnel who underwent training using the developed system. The aggregated results illustrated in Figure 7, reveal a consistently positive perception across key evaluation criteria such as visual realism, user interaction, system usability, and overall applicability for safety training. Notably, more than 90% of participants responded with “Agree” or “Strongly Agree” to all assessed items, indicating a high level of acceptance and alignment with the intended learning objectives. These outcomes suggest that the virtual environment not only meets the functional and pedagogical requirements defined at the outset but also holds significant potential for integration into real-world industrial safety programs.

5. Conclusions

The selection of the different software tools used in this project such as Agisoft Metashape, Unreal Engine 5, Blender, and 3D design software was based on an analysis of the specific needs for realism, levels of interaction, level of detail, and their suitability for real-world application in industrial safety training within an actual beer production plant.

The implementation of this system proved to be an innovative tool for industrial safety training, as it provides immersive experience that significantly enhances the understanding and retention of key concepts. The use of virtual reality technology for safety training represents a step forward in modernizing the learning process within the framework of Industry 4.0.

The work carried out, as can be seen from the results, represents a solution that integrates virtual reality technology to optimize personnel training by incorporating industrial safety within the framework of Industry 4.0, in a production process where previous studies, as described in [1,2], had not ventured. However, the results demonstrate the applicability of the proposal and show levels of acceptance similar to those reported in earlier studies.

This virtual learning environment represents a digital tool that directly addresses the challenges of Industry 4.0: smart training, process digitalization, continuous improvement, and a preventive safety culture. It functions as a partial digital twin that replicates operational reality and enables the simulation of actions without affecting the physical process. It contributes to the automation of training and reduces the need for physical presence in hazardous areas

Another key indicator to validate the applicability of the virtual environment was the level of acceptance by the personnel who tested it. This aspect was evaluated through question 8 (Table 2), which directly asked participants whether they would recommend the use of the virtual environment for industrial safety training processes. In this question, 100% of the respondents who interacted with the system expressed their approval and recommended its implementation in future training sessions. This unanimous acceptance reinforces the technical functionality and instructional application of the tool and also demonstrates its perceived usefulness and positive impact from the end user’s perspective. The favorable response highlights the system’s potential to be adopted as an alternative method to traditional industrial safety training approaches.

6. Recommendations

Based on the responses obtained from the open-ended questions in the survey, a large percentage of respondents consider it important to increase the level of user immersion within the virtual environment. Therefore, as future work, it is proposed to leverage technological advancements to create a virtual reality environment that enhances user immersion with the support of devices such as virtual reality headsets and haptic feedback peripherals.