• Suspended Stair Towers • Heavy Duty Overhead Protection • Edge Protection/ Fencing CustomizedAccess Scaffold Solutions 65 Hymus Road, Toronto, Ontario M1L 2C6 Tel: 416.285.5222 • Fax: 416.285.7647 Toll Free: 1.866.872.9431 www.donfryscaffold.com • Shoring • Material Hoists • Pool Spans • Debris Chutes VIRTUAL REALITY (VR)/AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) Virtual Reality (VR) isn’t only for entertainment. The immersive technology is being used by construction firms to share ideas, test designs and communicate plans to their partners in a hands-on and interactive way. “Using VR, we’ve been able to visualize the project like never before, allowing the client to view their own facility at the beginning of a project, and giving them the opportunity to make decisions early on helps set the project up for success from the early stages,” explains Thompson, adding, “Using VR for communicating with the workforce allows them to get a better understanding of what they’re actually VR ALLOWS USERS TO EXPLORE CONCEPTS AND DESIGNS IN A VIRTUAL SPACE. USING AN IMMERSIVE HEADSET AND INTUITIVE HANDHELD CONTROLS,VR USERS CAN EXPLORE AND MANIPULATE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS. building, rather than trying to picture it in their heads.” Augmented Reality is also gaining traction in the field. With the ability to overlay virtual elements onto a real environment, Thompson says it enables project leaders to “bring the office to the jobsite,” noting, “Using the headsets on site gives them access to model information there and then. As we become more confident in building from the models, these tools will become ever more valuable.” ACCESS CANADA WINTER 2018 23