Aqua Flanders, a federation of Flemish water and sewage companies, is an organisation committed to advancing modern, sustainable water management practices. A key component of this mission involves ensuring high standards of training for the inspectors who are responsible for indoor water installations and sewage systems, and their accreditation.

As Rhinox, we have contributed to Aqua Flanders' training initiatives by developing a cutting-edge virtual training program focused on locating faulty rainwater and sewage drainage systems. These systems, when improperly installed, can pose significant risks to both individuals and the environment.

The beauty of Virtual Reality - and where its power lies - is in its ability to go beyond geographical limitations, and provide trainees immersive experiences that mirror scenarios from the real world by simulating the conditions in the field. This way, students can practice their skills in a controlled and safe environment where mistakes can be made and corrected without major consequences.
This allows students to practice repeatedly and refine their techniques, which ultimately increases the proficiency of the budding inspectors.

A student enters the world in an urban street. In front of them stands a perfectly ordinary house, with the covers of the dry weather flow (DWA) and wet weather flow (RWA) removed beforehand for inspection.

At the back of the house, in the garden, the rain water collection cistern has been excavated and the top slab removed, creating a safe environment for the budding inspector to walk around and descend into. Here, they can insert the nozzle of their smoke machine into the pipes, and adjust the flow of the smoke to their needs.

Once the machine has been turned on, they can see if the pipes have been installed correctly, and even detect large-scale leaks if there are any, as the smoke finds its way to the open air.

In this case, due to the training being about rainwater, no smoke should come out of the dry weather flow pipe, and smoke should come out of the rain gutters at the sides of the house, if the pipes are correctly installed.

In the meantime, the student's teacher can watch the procedure via a separate viewer, and can make immediate corrections to the student's actions if necessary, or take notes and educate the student on their mistakes afterwards. It would even be possible to record the session and watch it at a different time, as the VR aspect means that even the newest students don't need to be supervised continuously.

We are proud of having played a beneficial role in supporting Aqua Flanders' commitment to excellence in water management.

By helping to equip inspectors with the necessary knowledge and skills, we're confident that this project will contribute to a more sustainable water infrastructure for the future.

Additionally, we look forward to seeing future water inspection projects blossom as our partnership with Aqua Flanders continues to develop, so we can use our skills and expertise to the benefit of communities across Flanders.