South Africa’s first safety escape room for hands-on health and safety training

South Africa's first safety escape room was set up at Phalaborwa Mining Company (PMC) in November last year by health and safety solutions provider KBC.

“We required a fresh approach to training,” said Mabore Macheru, Manager in Training Development and Contractor Management at PMC. “This offers 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 experience to safety training.”

Developed initially to meet the specific needs of PMC, KBC has since integrated the safety escape room as a customisable offering for various industrial environments, from open-cast and underground mining to Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) settings across different industries.

A place waiting for a (theoretical) accident to happen…KBC’s safety escape room at Phalaborwa Mining Company.

The 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 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 Ruan Janse van Rensburg, Partner: Corporate Accounts at KBC. “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. This 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.

KBC plans to expand the safety escape room in 2025, offering more organisations an engaging, memorable approach to essential safety training.