VR and Confined Spaces: Training for Oxygen-Deficient and Toxic Environments

Confined spaces — tanks, silos, wells, cisterns, pits, tunnels — are among the deadliest environments at work. In Italy, work in confined or potentially contaminated spaces is governed by Presidential Decree 177/2011 and by Article 66 and Annex IV of Legislative Decree 81/08, requiring company qualification, detailed work procedures and trained personnel. The catch is that training for real in these places is dangerous: atmospheres can be oxygen-deficient, toxic or explosive. This is where virtual reality (VR) changes the game.

Why VR fits confined spaces

Immersive VR recreates the confined environment in detail: the cramped space, poor visibility, noise, the need to stay in contact with the outside. The trainee puts on the headset and works through the real sequence — checking work permits, measuring the atmosphere, donning PPE, supervised entry, exit — without ever facing physical risk. A mistake that would be fatal in reality becomes a learning moment.

The scientific evidence is encouraging. A study in Safety Science assessed the effectiveness of immersive VR training on safety behaviours in confined spaces using the Kirkpatrick model, measuring reaction, learning, behaviour and results. Another study, on a confined-space rescue training prototype built as an immersive VR serious game, found that the VR-trained group outperformed the group taught with traditional e-lectures when executing rescue tasks in real scenarios.

What you practise in VR

Immersive training lets you repeat and consolidate the critical steps:

• Reading the work permit and verifying entry conditions;
• Atmospheric monitoring (oxygen, toxic gases, explosivity) and interpreting alarms;
• Team roles: who enters, who attends from outside, who coordinates;
• Constant communication between the entrant and the attendant;
• Emergency and rescue procedures, by far the riskiest phase, because most confined-space fatalities are would-be rescuers.

The value of risk-free repetition

Research on immersive learning shows that being able to fail safely improves retention. A randomised study of 74 participants, published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (2024), compared two VR instructional designs and found that a "productive failure" approach — letting the person try, err, then receive the explanation — supported knowledge acquisition and retention. In confined spaces, where there is no second chance, drilling the correct response until it becomes automatic is exactly what is needed.

An enhancement, not a shortcut

It is important to be honest about the limits. VR does not replace the obligations of Decree 177/2011 or hands-on training with real equipment (harnesses, retrieval devices, breathing apparatus). Headsets still do not perfectly reproduce physical exertion, the weight of PPE or genuine claustrophobia. VR therefore belongs in a blended path: theory, immersive simulation and real supervised practice. Used this way, it reduces the number of high-risk live drills required and lets people reach the real exercise already prepared.

Fitting it into the programme

A good path combines VR with other experiential methods. Immersive simulation pairs well with the techniques described for evacuation and emergency simulation and with the 360° environments we discuss in realta-virtuale-formazione-sicurezza-360. Those already using VR for working-at-height training will find many synergies: both scenarios aim to manage fear and error under controlled conditions. For plant-related risks, the same experiential logic appears in the escape room on electrical risk.

In short

Confined spaces are unforgiving. Virtual reality offers a way to rehearse procedures, roles and emergency reactions as many times as needed, without exposing anyone. Scientific evidence indicates that immersive training improves behaviour and retention over lectures alone. As long as regulatory obligations are respected and training is completed with real practice, VR is today one of the most promising tools for making one of the most dangerous activities safe.