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Do You Know Every Way You Can Use a Training Simulator?

Simulators are versatile tools available in various sizes, from compact desktop models with controls that clamp onto a desk to larger, fully immersive systems equipped with multiple screens and a motion platform.

Some simulators are even housed in trailers, allowing them to be transported from site to site. This flexibility makes them ideal for a wide range of training and assessment applications.

Using Simulators for Recruitment

At a time when employers and training centers are struggling to attract new recruits, simulators provide a great support tool. Why are they so good for recruitment? Simulators—quite simply—look impressive at career fairs and generate excitement, which recruiters can use to start a conversation. Once people hop into the seat of the simulator, they often experience a “wow” moment that captures both the excitement of working on a real piece of heavy equipment and the thrill of using cutting-edge training tools. It’s a moment that shows, rather than tells, what someone can expect from this career path.

Union Pacific - Mobile Simulation Trailer
Simulators housed in trailers can be very effective mobile recruitment tools.

Perhaps most importantly though, simulation training provides a smoother transition into a career in heavy equipment operation.

“There is a new pool out there that doesn’t come from a construction or agriculture background.” John Kelly, Training Center Manager at The National Construction Training Centre in Mount Lucas, observed. “If you ask a 17- or 18-year-old to jump on a real machine and drive it, they’ll be terrified. But with a simulator, they know they can’t do any damage or make a show of themselves.”

This smoother transition into heavy equipment operation can be especially important when recruiting from typically underrepresented labor pools such as veterans, women, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized groups. These groups are less likely to have prior experience in construction or farming, and as a result be less familiar with heavy equipment. By providing a safe introduction to heavy equipment operation, recruiters can make it easier for these candidates to access this career path.

Using Simulation to Screen Candidates

Some companies use simulation to objectively evaluate candidates during the application process. If a candidate claims to have years of experience operating a tower crane, for example, a recruiter can quickly and safely verify that ability through simulation. This helps weed out anyone lying on or embellishing their application, and prevents an unqualified operator from causing real damage on the worksite.

Simulation can also be used to identify talent within an organization’s existing workforce. Employees working in another capacity can have their hand-eye coordination and potential objectively assessed on simulators. As a result, promising talent can easily be identified and nurtured.

Using Training Simulators for Operator Assessment

The ability to objectively assess operators is crucial to ensuring they have high proficiency and adherence to safety standards. Training simulators and their simulations provide an excellent, controlled environment for that assessment. More than that, though, the technology can provide a wealth of information and objective data. Everything from cycle times to time spent in pendulums, load or hook collisions, rough load handling, and safety violations such as contacts with power lines can be tracked with simulation. This allows trainers to address any deficiencies and provide targeted training to enhance operator performance.

“A lot of people like to think ‘I was quite smooth on that.’ But the graphical evidence is a powerful tool for disabusing them of that view!” said Simon Harper, Learning & Development Manager and Director at the Port of Tilbury (London), “That’s the benefit of the assessment capabilities of the simulator. It’s objective, whereas clearly humans are subjective.”

Using Simulators to Train for Specific Lifts

Different lifting operations require different skills and techniques. Fortunately, simulation training can sometimes be customized. This allows organizations to replicate specific lift scenarios, thus giving operators the opportunity to practice and perfect their techniques. This is particularly useful for complex or high-risk lifts, where precision and expertise are essential.

Upskilling Operators With Simulation Training

Simulation training provides a convenient and effective way for operators to upskill, learn new techniques, and even learn to operate new equipment types.

In fact, one new development in simulation training–Intellia, CM Labs’ Intelligent Training System, allows trainers to design custom learning paths that make advanced training even easier to offer. Trainers, for example, can use Intellia to design custom learning paths that omit basic exercises for tasks experienced operators already understand. Operators can start lessons at the level most appropriate for their skillset, and even progress at their own pace during downtime.

Meeting Internal Qualification Standards

Many organizations have internal qualification standards that their operators must meet. Simulators can be used to train and objectively assess operators against these standards, ensuring consistency and compliance.

This helps maintain high safety and performance levels across the entire organization and ensures operators are equipped to handle the specific requirements of their roles.

Preparing for Certification With Simulator Training

Simulator training can even be used to help operators prepare for certification exams. In 2022, this exact application was tested at Bauma in Germany. An operator with some prior experience in earthmoving equipment but none with cranes used a CM Labs 5-screen Advantage simulator and Tower Crane Training Pack, along with one-on-one coaching to become proficient in flat-top tower crane operation in just four days.

crane certification on simulator at bauma 2022
Simulation training can help operators prepare for certification exams.

At IUOE Local 150, serving Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa, simulation is also being used to prepare operators for their examinations. Mark Kara, the Assistant Coordinator for the Local 150 Apprenticeship Program, recalled watching two apprentices take a timed crane proficiency test—one trained on a simulator, and the other on real equipment. “The apprentice using the simulator to train passed the proficiency test his first time around. The other individual did not,” Kara observed. “That’s a big testament to this crane simulator. For an entry-level crane operator to transfer out of the seat of a simulator into the seat of a real crane, and pass the exam—that’s significant.”

Want to learn more about the benefits of simulation? Check out our ebook: The Benefits of Simulation-Based Training!

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The Benefits of Simulation-Based Training