Heuristics and ontologies as keys to enter complex organisational systems : virtual reality (VR) applications to improve industrial safety

International audienceA major issue in industrial safety is that different stakeholders, namely those involved in the generation, mitigation and monitoring of industrial risks (both occupational and of major accidents), develop different perceptions of what industrial safety is, or how it should be achieved. Because they differ, these representations generate likewise different analyses and assessments of industrial safety features and levels. When diverging, such risk perceptions can be detrimental to an optimal ownership, and hence successful implementation, of safety management systems in industrial systems (facilities, plants and organisations). It is therefore a challenge for risk managers, both within industrial facilities and from research and consultancy institutions, to adequately seize the nature of these representations, and how they materialise, both at individual (worker's, manager's) and collective (group's) level. In this respect, the involvement of these stakeholders is a major asset to understand the construction process of these representations. Ontologies of industrial activities and related risks appear as a key concept to reconstruct industrial safety in a participatory, user-based manner. Based on a the observation of real-life cases and related interview material, some of which conducted in the framework of the EU -funded VIRTHUALIS project, this communication presents a virtual reality (VR) application of the ontological approach to design interactive tools enhancing industrial safety