'A second chance' 3-D training helps workers learn Published Dec. 7, 2007 By Amanda Creel 78th ABW/PA Robins AFB, Ga. -- Seeing the impact of bad decisions was just the prescription needed to help members of Team Robins remedy their careless actions and make safer choices. Many Robins workers had the opportunity to learn about the consequences of bad choices during the "A Second Chance" 3-D Safety Training Program held Nov. 26-30 and Dec. 3 through today. During the training session, the participants discussed how many workers don't appreciate the significance of accident avoidance or its value in the workplace until someone gets hurt. The trainees agreed the video was a great tool because it allowed them and their coworkers to see the consequences of their actions without suffering the fate of the actions. "I think it was really effective. It helps you get more into the situation. It's more realistic," said Mark Fisher, electronics engineer with the 542nd Combat Sustainment Wing. During the training seminar, a 3-D training facility was temporarily erected in the Robins NCO Academy and Bldg. 207 equipped with camping chairs and 3-D headsets utilizing stereoscopic video and binaural audio. "It's not the paper glasses type of 3-D," said Annette Tindall, a facilitator for the course with 3-D Experiential Training Company, who produced the training video and instructs the training seminars. The two technologies together provide trainees with an opportunity to participate in a training course that gives the impression they could walk right into the picture and captures sound the way they are heard. "It feels more interactive. You get the feeling you are participating, not just listening," said Patrick Benoit, a human resource specialist at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center. Ms. Tindall said the experience was similar to using a View-Master except better because the pictures are moving. The video focuses on helping workers realize they need to be aware of their surroundings, try to reduce stress, realize their own value and how they are important to the mission of the base, staying focused on the present and avoid feeling rushed to complete a task. The goal of this safety course is different than many traditional safety courses. Instead of being designed to show you how to use your personal protection equipment, its intent is to inspire the person to use their personal protectionequipment everyday to avoid safety mishaps, Ms. Tindall said. She added one of the many benefits of this training class was the way it was presented. "This is not death by PowerPoint," Ms. Tindall said. The reason the scenarios in the video related so well with workers at Robins is attributed to the fact the video was filmed here, using members of the Robins community as background footage and parts of Robins facilities as the setting for the storyline. Some of the ways the workers were encouraged to reach the safety goals presented in the video was to always remind yourself to make safe choices, take a stand for safety when needed and make safety your personal priority. Robins is one of four Department of Defense locations and the sole Air Force location participating in the training program. Other DOD sites that will have the opportunity to view the video include Anniston Army Depot, Ala., Pentagon Reservation and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Wash. Employees, who completed the training course were given a DVD of the 3-D video to share with friends and family to help encourage them to make safer choices in their own lives. Along with the DVD, trainees were given two pairs of 3-D glasses and a 3-D comic book to help spread the safety message throughout the Robins community both in the work place and beyond. The safety film project is being funded by the Department of Defense's Defense Safety Oversight Council in an effort to reduce accidents involving DOD employees and improve employees' safety behaviors. For members of Team Robins who missed the opportunity to experience the 3-D training course, the team from 3-D ETC will return in March for another two-week series of training sessions. To sign up for the March training sessions, employees should contact the training manager for their organization.