Evaluating the Effectiveness and Usability of AR-based OSH Application: HazHunt

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness and usability level of an augmented reality (AR) application called HazHunt to improve occupational safety and health (OSH) training. Previous research shows that AR has been growing in popularity as an innovative tool to enhance hazard identification courses. HazHunt, a marker-based AR app, was first developed using Vuforia software with OSH experts' guidance. Then, two online sessions of hazard identification course were conducted, where the experimental group's (EG) training was enhanced with the implementation of HazHunt. Analysis shows that the EG scores better (mean = 13.82, s = 3.38, n = 22) than the CG (mean = 13.41, s = 2.15, n = 22) in the post-quiz, but this difference is statistically non-significant, with t (21) = 0.48 and one-tail p = 0.32. Reduced Instructional Motivation Survey (RIMMS) shows that EG participants obtained higher confidence levels among the Attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction (ARCS) factors in learning motivation. The System Usability Scale (SUS) score of HazHunt recorded the maximum count of 'Good' rating (mean = 78.41, n = 8). It is concluded that HazHunt has positive impacts on enhancing OSH training in terms of effectiveness and motivational impact. HazHunt also scored a high SUS score among the EG.