CM Labs as mentioned in Texas Contractor:
With the ongoing labor shortage, there’s a pressing need to attract more workers to the field. Industry players at the forefront of addressing this challenge are finding creative ways to do so — and using simulation technology to address that need.
The Associated Builders and Contractors New Jersey chapter, for example, is bringing simulator-equipped trailers to career fairs, while the Missouri Public Utility Alliance is organizing free bootcamps on technical skills and safety protocols for anyone interested in a career in utilities. But they aren’t stopping there.
While bolstering new entrants to construction, they’re also finding ways to train them safely, quickly, and effectively. In fact, simulation training — also referred to as virtual training — is revolutionizing heavy equipment operator training all over the country.
For instance, at Baker Technical Institute (BTI), a Pacific Northwest-based nonprofit technical college focused on the skilled trades, simulation has helped reduce costs, speed up training, and boost student engagement. Doug Dalton, President of BTI, stressed that when his organization developed its heavy equipment operator program, it followed the sage advice of equipment manufacturers to embrace technology.
Technological solutions, namely simulation training systems for heavy equipment, address the labor shortage problem from multiple angles, helping to attract, train, and retain workers. Simulation training systems integrate simulators, heavy equipment training packs, and trainer tools into a single, comprehensive system that accelerates training programs and attracts young people to the field while curbing turnover.
From the outset, BTI designed its heavy equipment operation program to incorporate simulation training as a stepping stone before training with real equipment, and that helps lower costs.
According to Dalton, each session on a simulator saves BTI from burning fuel and incurring repairs on equipment, while also lowering insurance costs. Those savings add up for any organization.
Dalton also noted that students are increasingly receptive to digital training solutions over traditional lectures and coursework. Generation Z (and before long, Generation Alpha) prefer digital solutions in banking, business, education, and many other areas of life. They have a native familiarity with screens and technology and respond well to virtual training.
Although a simulation training system is far more realistic and education-focused than a video game, the gamified elements of this type of approach — such as level-based courses with increasing difficulty — correspond to the virtual environments in their life experience and increase engagement.
BTI structures its curriculum so that two-thirds of a student’s time is spent on simulators and the remaining third on live equipment.
“It’s the whole idea of involving students and using hands-on learning and project-based learning,” Dalton said. “The engagement factor goes up, and when the engagement factor goes up … the depth of learning increases.”
BTI found the learning rate with simulation training to be approximately 2.5 times faster than training in the field with real equipment. Other early adopters of simulation training technology experienced similar results. Mont-Laurier Vocational School in Canada, for example, found that 12 hours on a simulator equated to a full week training on the actual equipment.
Why this huge improvement in learning rates? It comes down to a combination of factors, including simulation’s ability to allow students to practice maneuvers again and again without having to deal with the setup and cleanup of real training courses.
Simulation also makes corrective training easier and faster. Instructors can stand over a student and deliver immediate feedback, even putting hands over controls to show exactly how a particular situation should be approached. A simulation training system also collects important performance data, such as cycle times, idle times, and safety violations.
These data points help trainers easily tackle strengths and weaknesses and quickly improve student performance. One trainer can also use a simulation training system to train many students at once, making better use of available resources.
Read the full article discussing the use of simulation training systems to help organizations in this ongoing labor shortage in Texas Contractor’s website.
