Virtual Onboarding: Construction Site Orientation for New Employees in a VR Environment

Construction site orientation, a.k.a. induction or "on-boarding," is an essential process for new or inexperienced construction employees to familiarize themselves with site logistics, safety precautions, and management teams. However, traditional site orientations are often time-consuming and need human resources who conduct these in person. To address these issues, this study aims to design and develop a digital replica of a large commercial construction project in the form of a virtual construction site that can be used to provide general site orientations to all construction workers. The necessary orientation components were identified and validated by an expert panel consisting of construction professionals, and a virtual site was developed that included the identified components and key locations. This study provides a potential solution to the issues associated with traditional construction site orientations and offers an engaging and efficient way to provide important information to newcomers of construction sites.