Lab Safety Game

The Challenge

Safety is paramount in pharma labs and accidents are usually the result of human error as people get lax about how they gown, clean and dispose waste. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) training is all-too-frequently an exercise in reading a large number of documents and checking a box to confirm receipt of information – which satisfies Compliance but doesn’t assure that the knowledge is actually internalized. A leading pharma client challenged the Gronstedt Group to improve lab safety with a fun-filled game that lab technicians can play over and over to reinforce critical safety behaviors.

The Solution

“Guardian of the Laboratory” is a safety game that gives laboratory professionals the opportunity to practice safety protocols. Set within a top-down view of a stylized lab facility, the browser-based game borrows inspiration from 2D consumer games like Diner Dash (for elements such as art style, user interface, mechanics, repetitive actions, pacing and intuitive user controls). Players make time-constrained decisions regarding common safety scenarios, where their role is to help game characters follow correct protocols. Just-in-time feedback helps shape correct decision-making and behavior. All player decisions are scored and roll up to a final score for each game level. When a player meets or exceeds the scoring threshold set for "winning" a level, the next level (there are seven) is unlocked. The tasks include:

Donning and doffing personal protection equipment
Labeling chemicals
Disposing various types of lab waste
Responding to chemical spills
Proper clean-up

The Results

Feedback on the game has been extremely positive:

80% of users feel prepared to handle similar situations in real life
93% would recommend the game to colleagues
95% felt engaged playing it
90% enjoyed playing the game more than typical training
93% thought the game represents on-the-job scenarios
88% think playing a game can be an effective way to learn lab safety procedures

A game fun enough to be re-played fosters development of the "muscle memory" required to internalize correct decisions.