Summer Grilling Safety

The Challenge

As summer approaches, backyard grilling accidents spike dramatically across the country. From gas leaks and structural fires to personal injuries, these preventable incidents often result from simple unawareness of basic safety protocols. Our client recognized the need for a proactive safety campaign that would:

• Educate users on proper grilling placement and safe distances from structures
• Demonstrate correct procedures for gas line inspection and management
• Highlight personal safety considerations including appropriate clothing and hair management
• Prepare their audience before seasonal grilling activities began in earnest

Traditional safety bulletins and standard instructional materials historically generated minimal engagement and retention. With lives and property at stake, a more effective approach was needed to drive real behavioral change.

Our Solution

We developed "Summer Grilling," an interactive scenario-based learning experience that places users directly into decision-making situations they'll encounter when grilling at home. Rather than passively consuming safety information, learners actively participate in identifying risks and selecting appropriate actions.

Try It Yourself

Want to see this solution in practice? Click the play button below to begin.

Learning Experience

The training unfolds through a series of realistic grilling scenarios where:

• Learners observe detailed scenes with embedded safety hazards and proper practices
• Critical decision points prompt users to evaluate the situation and make safety judgments
• Each choice leads to immediate visual feedback as scenes transform to reflect the consequences
• Characters respond to safety decisions by changing their behavior or appearance
• Contextual explanations reinforce correct choices and explain the reasoning behind safety protocols

This decision-tree approach creates a personalized "choose your own adventure" learning path that helps users internalize safety principles through active application rather than memorization.

Technical Innovation

Developing this interactive experience required pushing the capabilities of Storyline in several key ways:

• Creating complex conditional states that dynamically alter scene elements based on user decisions
• Engineering responsive character models that visually transform in response to safety choices (such as changing from loose-fitting clothing to appropriate grilling attire)
• Implementing a sophisticated branching scenario framework that maintains continuity across multiple decision points
• Designing visual transformations that effectively communicate cause-and-effect relationships between actions and outcomes
• Balancing engaging scenario design with accurate safety information and protocols

These technical elements were seamlessly integrated to create an intuitive experience where the technology enhances rather than distracts from the critical safety messaging.

Results

The impact of this approach exceeded expectations across key metrics:

• 78.6% engagement rate (1,100 interactions from a target audience of 1,400)
• Higher completion percentage compared to previous safety communications
• Increased knowledge retention demonstrated in follow-up assessments
• Positive feedback highlighting the interactive nature of the training
• Requests to expand the approach to other seasonal safety topics

The Expanse Approach

"Summer Grilling" exemplifies another dimension of our training philosophy: effective learning happens when users actively participate in applying knowledge to realistic situations. While our "Super Peccy" project demonstrated how gamification can transform compliance training, this project showcases how scenario-based learning creates meaningful engagement with critical safety content.
This project demonstrates how we:

• Identify seasonal or timely learning opportunities for maximum relevance
• Create decision-based scenarios that mirror real-world situations
• Design visual transformations that reinforce cause-and-effect relationships
• Develop branching experiences that personalize the learning journey
• Focus on practical application rather than theoretical knowledge

By combining thoughtful instructional design with innovative interactive techniques, we transformed what could have been a forgettable safety bulletin into an engaging experience that prepares users to make better decisions when it matters most.

This approach can be adapted for any training scenario where decision-making skills, risk assessment, or procedural knowledge needs to be developed in a compelling, memorable way.