Grupo Ortiz trials VR training to cut electrical substation accident risk

Grupo Ortiz, a Spanish infrastructure and energy company that builds and operates photovoltaic plants and their electrical substations, ran a peer-reviewed case study evaluating immersive VR training against its existing classroom-based training for high-voltage substation risk prevention. A model of a real electrical substation was built in Autodesk Revit and deployed as an interactive Unreal Engine 5.3 application on Meta Quest 2 headsets, letting operation-and-maintenance technicians identify hazards, practice switching procedures and PPE use, and respond to simulated emergencies (electrical fires, panel faults) without real-world risk. Twenty Grupo Ortiz technicians were split into a VR-trained group and a traditionally-trained group and compared across three phases: theoretical knowledge tests, a walkthrough of a real substation construction site, and a controlled emergency-response simulation with heart-rate monitoring. The VR group scored higher on all three knowledge/skills tests (0.813 vs 0.707; 0.818 vs 0.763; 0.668 vs 0.564, each p<0.05) and reported higher training satisfaction (3.59 vs 3.31 out of 5, p<0.05), with physiological data also suggesting more stable stress responses during emergency drills. The exact city/site was withheld by the authors for confidentiality. The research was conducted by a Grupo Ortiz staff member in collaboration with Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.