Virtual reality (VR) is widely recognised as a promising technology for training emergency first responders and other safety–critical workers. It is uniquely able to immerse trainees in extreme situations that are too risky or dangerous to be examined in traditional real-world safety training. Most organisations seeking to implement VR safety training often limit their decisions to financial and technological factors. However, in this paper, we argue that a socio-technical systems approach is required to better appreciate the social costs and benefits of VR training, which are important for a successful implementation. The paper also reports our own research on a real-world implementation of VR safety training for the Mine Rescue Brigades in New South Wales, Australia. The training—conducted in both fully immersive (360 VR) and non-immersive (Desktop VR) virtual reality—involved a search and rescue operation which was necessitated by an underground fire at the bottom of the transport drift in a coal mine. Following this training, the 368 trainees not only completed a post-training questionnaire, but also were interviewed, to assess their training experiences in the VR environment. The findings provide a comprehensive account of the social costs and benefits of adopting VR as a safety training tool. Overall, the trainees perceived the benefits to far outweigh the costs, with an overall high inclination to recommend the VR training to other colleagues. Desktop VR was found to be as fit for delivering successful training as the more immersive 360 VR. However, this Desktop VR generated considerably less motion sickness in trainees. These findings should help organisations and training providers decide on: (1) whether or not to invest in VR safety training solutions; (2) which type technology/method of delivery to use.

虚拟现实（VR）被广泛认为是培训急救人员和其他对安全至关重要的工作人员的有前途的技术。它具有独特的能力，可以使受训者沉浸在过于危险或危险而无法在传统的现实世界安全培训中进行检查的极端情况下。大多数寻求实施VR安全培训的组织通常将其决策限于财务和技术因素。但是，在本文中，我们认为需要一种社会技术系统方法来更好地理解VR培训的社会成本和收益，这对于成功实施VR培训至关重要。该文件还报告了我们自己在澳大利亚新南威尔士州的Mine Rescue Brisdes实施VR安全培训的研究。该培训在完全沉浸式（360 VR）和非沉浸式（Desktop VR）虚拟现实中进行，涉及搜索和营救行动，这是煤矿运输漂移底部的地下火灾所必需的。接受培训后，这368名受训人员不仅完成了培训后调查问卷，还接受了访谈，以评估他们在VR环境中的培训经验。研究结果全面介绍了将VR用作安全培训工具的社会成本和收益。总体而言，受训人员认为，收益远远超过成本，并且倾向于将VR培训推荐给其他同事。发现台式机VR与身临其境的360 VR一样适合提供成功的培训。然而，这款台式机VR在受训人员中产生的晕动病大大减少。这些发现应有助于组织和培训提供者做出以下决定：（1）是否投资于VR安全培训解决方案；（2）使用哪种类型的技术/交付方法。