“Increasing safety through skilfulness and fun” was the motto behind management consultant Roland Haagen’s idea to develop the game. To create the game he got four experts in the construction field involved – ALPINE, Palfinger, doka and Skylotec – and a developer team from the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. The game is designed for touchscreens on iPads, iPhones and Android phones and works using crowd control. Construction workers, that are independently working on the virtual construction site, are provided safety equipment from the player in the role of the foreman. Workers need to learn and understand how to use the equipment beforehand.

The game concept was realized by project leader Stefan Randelshofer, research associate at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, and six students specialising in Multimedia Art and Multimedia Technology. The conceptual design stage took roughly six weeks and included numerous brainstorming activities – Randelshofer also got Josef Schinwald, Head of the Animation department and instructor for Game Design, involved to help with the complex design of the game.

After an intense development phase that lasted about four months, the basic concept was presented to customers; detailed graphics and the final sound design were still missing. Approval followed, and then two students familiar with 2D and 3D design, a sound designer and three programmers took it from there. They worked in the computer labs at the architecturally aesthetic glass/concrete building in Urstein, making detailed graphics, testing the sound design and programming the game elements.

As they developed the app they used an unconventional project management tool called the “scrum method”, which is based on the idea that most development projects are too complex to be planned with precision from the beginning. Three principles – transparency, verification, and adaptation – help to minimize complexity. This method requires many meetings – five to ten a day – and demands that project members be present at all times. “This project management method is usually only used by major software developers such as Adobe, Microsoft or the big game studios,” says Stefan Randelshofer, explaining this unconventional approach.

After nine months of intense development work, the game was presented at the construction site of the Salzburg exhibition hall, being built by ALPINE. ALPINE employee Johann Motschnig, currently working on the construction of the new exhibition hall, was the first user to test the game outside of the lab: “I think it’s great,” he said, “It’s important to be repeatedly reminded about safety. If I said nothing had ever happened to me, I’d be lying.”

ALPINE takes the safety of employees very seriously. The company offers many different internal courses on the topic of work safety, some of which train workers how to secure themselves (e.g. connecting and disconnecting safety ropes) in real situations.

Download “Don´t Drop” ALPINE Version

How to install Don’t Drop! for Android

• Download Don’t Drop! to your phone (the file is saved to the internal memory or SD card).
• Use the file manager to locate the file (Name.apk) and open it.
• The app icon and name appear on the top of the screen and you will be asked if you want to install the application.
• Confirm the installation. When the installation is complete you will find Don’t Drop! with your other apps and you will asked if you want to start it right away.

www.fh-salzburg.ac.at
www.doka.at
www.palfinger.at
www.skylotec.at