Lab Safety Training through gamification

In pharmaceutical labs, safety is paramount, and accidents often result from human error due to complacency in gowning, cleaning, and waste disposal. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) training is often seen as a mere checkbox for compliance, lacking in ensuring knowledge internalization. To address this, a leading pharmaceutical client tasked the Gronstedt Group with creating a game to improve lab safety, focusing on reinforcing critical safety behaviors through an engaging and repeatable experience.

The result is "Guardian of the Laboratory," a browser-based safety game designed for laboratory professionals to practice safety protocols. The game, inspired by 2D consumer games like Diner Dash, features a stylized lab facility where players must make time-constrained decisions on safety scenarios. Feedback is provided in real-time to shape correct decision-making, with all decisions contributing to a final score for each of the game's seven levels. Successful completion of a level unlocks the next one.

The tasks in the game include donning and doffing personal protection equipment, labeling chemicals, disposing of various types of lab waste, responding to chemical spills, and proper clean-up. Feedback from users has been overwhelmingly positive, with high levels of preparedness, engagement, and enjoyment reported. The game's replayability helps develop the "muscle memory" necessary to internalize correct safety decisions, making it an effective tool for learning lab safety procedures.

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