Case study
Marlborough Lines: one language for what can kill
The full energy-based safety programme, VR in every workshop.
The challenge
An electricity lines company put its general manager, HSEQ manager, operations managers and team leaders through the full energy-based safety programme, VR in every workshop. Lines work is high-energy work: electricity, gravity, vehicles, tension.
- 4 in 10of the leadership group believed, before the programme, that every injury involves contact with energy.
- Two-thirdssaid control assessments were inconsistent across people and teams.
Ask them what the stuff that kills you was and the answers ranged from "over 1,500 joules" to "the bad stuff" to "not a lot". Experienced, committed people, without a shared test.
What we did
All four workshops at Marlborough Lines Field Services, December 2025 to January 2026.
- Hazard recognition and the Energy Wheel.
- High-energy hazards and Direct Controls.
- Control assessment.
- Assessor calibration.
VR scenarios in every session, on a closed network in the room, with results on the facilitator's screen. Facilitated with BetterWorx. Management and field leaders in the same room, arguing the same scenarios.
The results
| What participants reported | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Confidence spotting the hazards you usually miss | 5 / 10 | 7 / 10 |
| Confidence telling a Direct Control from an alternative | 6.5 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
| Clear on what a high-energy hazard is | 1 in 10 | 8 in 9 |
| Confidence applying the control assessment rules | 5 / 10 | 7 / 10 |
- 8 of 8
who answered would recommend the workshops to others in the organisation.
- 5 / 5
facilitator rating, unanimous.
- 9 / 10
VR for practising assessment and calibration.
Results are participants' own ratings from pre and post surveys, nine to fifteen respondents per survey.
After the programme, the definitions of the stuff that kills you were consistent and precise: "a high energy hazard defined as 1,500 joules, that can seriously injure or kill someone if that energy is released in an uncontrolled manner".
“Having management to field-based staff on same page is key.”
Another participant: “There's a lot of information to get across and having a credible, engaging facilitator who is an excellent communicator is important.” On the VR: “well constructed with the moving objects and not just static images”, and a scene that “looked NZ based and typical to a NZ work site”.
What they are doing with it
- Writing the stuff that kills you into their new risk-based traffic management planning.
- Taking the material to field teams "as an aid or helper, not a burden".
- Asking field staff more curious questions about hazards and controls.
- Focusing effort on energy and Direct Controls rather than signage and hi-vis.
What they asked for next
More time in VR, and scenarios built on lines work. We build client-specific environments for exactly this reason, including lines and rail scenes.
Your crews next.