Simkult: Ein Serious Game zur Förderung der Sicherheit und Gesundheit bei der Arbeit

Abstract

Simkult: A serious game for the promotion of health and safety at work Objective: This article describes the serious game Simkult: an innovative approach to prevention in occupational health and safety. The game Simkult imparts knowledge of topics such as working atmosphere, leadership, participation and their impact on health and safety and serves as a starting point for reflection and further development of one’s own prevention culture. Method: The serious game was developed together with employees, managers and game designers. It consists of a management simulation for 5-20 players. Within the game players have to manage their own restaurant over the course of several rounds. They are responsible for productivity as well as safety and health. An early version of the game was used to evaluate to what extent the game can serve as a starting point for further discussion of prevention issues in a work context. A total of 48 people played the Simkult digital prototype. In addition to the game, they had access to a digital learning environment on the topics of leadership, participation, working atmosphere, culture to deal with errors, health management and communication. Results: The result of playing Simkult was to increase knowledge of the subject and the motivation to deal with the issue of safety and health. Conclusion: Simkult provides an opportunity to illustrate the relationships between work processes (e.g. communication, participation) and productivity, and hence safety and health. It offers a good starting point for working as a team on one’s own prevention culture. Initial evaluation results suggest that the game, together with accompanying material, has the potential to address the topic of safety and health in a holistic manner. Keywords: safety and health - prevention culture - serious games