A research on virtual reality applications in occupational health and safety trainings for ground service employees in aviation sector

The aviation industry is divided into two main categories, military and civil aviation. In both categories, the aviation industry provides services on a 24-hour basis. Air transport has become one of the most preferred means of transport, especially because it saves time and is the means of transportation with the lowest risk of accident. As the usage network expands, the number of employees in the sector is also increasing. Starting with the understanding of "there are no new mistakes, there are new personnel who make mistakes" in the aviation industry, it is seen that most of the mistakes made are human-induced. Therefore, it is necessary to create an effective Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) system that puts people at its center. In this study, the risks faced by ground handling workers in the aviation industry and the precautions to be taken to eliminate these risks at the source are stated. For this, first of all, the importance of OHS trainings was emphasized, and considering the technological developments, the advantages and disadvantages of providing these trainings with Virtual Reality-VR technology were stated. As a result, the necessity of this technology, which is highly memorable by providing experience close to real life, was emphasized. There have been many studies on virtual reality technology in the literature, but this first research made specifically for aviation sector ground handling workers will make a great contribution to the literature and the sector. It will be ensured that the employees receive this training with pleasure and that they repeat the mistakes they will make in the training again and again without causing any harm, and time-cost-labor loss will be prevented with an effective and permanent training. Providing OHS trainings using virtual reality technology is considered to reduce work accidents and occupational diseases in ground handling services. In addition, What-İf and Check-List methods were used, considering the risks and dangers that may occur while giving virtual reality training.