TECNATOM S.A., an engineering services company which uses the metallographic replica technique in their maintenance procedures within industrial facilities and industrial power plants, is using Virtual Reality (VR) along with haptic feedback to test how these technologies could potentially improve safety and risks management and be a cost efficient way of training and planning of this technique. The paper presents how VR has been used to support this process as part of an EU funded project ManuVAR (http://www.manuvar.eu) and concludes with a discussion on some of the perceived benefits and future requirements of the technologies.