Health and safety solutions provider KBC has introduced South Africa's first safety escape room at Phalaborwa Mining Company (PMC). Safety escape room training aims to offer an interactive and practical way to develop hazard awareness and enhance essential safety skills in an ‘on the job’ scenario, delivering a fun, immersive, game-like safety training experience.

Developed initially to meet the specific needs of PMC, this solution was designed to elevate safety skills through interactive, real-world scenarios. Following its success at PMC, KBC has since integrated the safety escape room as a customisable offering for various industrial environments, from opencast and underground mining to occupational safety and health (OSH) settings across different industries.

“We required a fresh approach to training and partnered with KBC to develop a flagship hazard identification solution tailored to their safety standards. This innovative solution was designed to integrate a practical, real-life element into training, allowing our staff to engage in a fun, hands-on experience while learning about critical risks specific to the mine,” says PMC training development and contractor management manager Mabore Macheru.

KBC’s safety escape room takes participants on an interactive journey through simulated, high-stakes safety challenges where, much like a game, they must work together to identify and mitigate potential hazards within a set time. By completing tasks under time constraints, teams can identify and manage potential hazards while practicing their decision-making, teamwork, leadership and problem-solving skills.

This experience goes beyond traditional classroom learning by providing participants with a direct, practical understanding of safety concepts that apply to their daily work. This game-like training format also allows the mine to identify leadership qualities in staff as well as strengths and possible weak points that can be addressed.

“The safety escape room transforms safety training from theory into practice,” says KBC corporate accounts partner Ruan Janse van Rensburg.

“It places participants in real-life scenarios where they actively engage with critical safety concepts, applying them on the spot. This immersive experience not only reinforces essential skills but also gives us a clear, real-time view of each team’s strengths and areas for improvement, allowing for more targeted and effective training.”

The safety escape room has now become a key component of KBC’s training suite and can be tailored to suit a range of OSH environments beyond mining. The adaptable offering allows clients to use the safety escape room as a standalone training experience or combine it with KBC’s Hazard Park training for a more comprehensive, hands-on safety programme across various industrial settings.

The safety escape room was officially launched at PMC on November 21 last year with an open day, where contractors, their support teams and senior management experienced the interactive safety challenges firsthand.

The open day’s success led to an additional 25 bookings for PMC employees and, following this positive reception, KBC plans to expand the safety escape room this year.