Q&A on the Real Value of Simulator Training
Training and instructional technologies professionals from Crane Industry Services, LLC (CIS) and CM Labs Simulations recently discussed the benefits of using simulators to train crane operators. Becky Schultz, editor of Equipment Today interviewed Debbie Dickinson, CEO of CIS, and Drew Carruthers, Construction Product Manager for CM Labs. Access the archived webinar here.
At the conclusion of the presentation, participants asked questions about the real-world transferrable skills to be gained through simulation training, as well as current trends in the technology. In the coming months, an ongoing study to determine the value of simulators, which is being conducted by CIS and CM Labs, in partnership with West Georgia Technical College, will reveal additional insight.
 Debbie Dickinson |
 Drew Carruthers |
Transferrable Skills
Q: Are the skills learned on a simulator transferrable to a real crane?
Carruthers: Absolutely. When you are sitting in a simulator that behaves like the real thing — down to that “seat of the pants” feel — in combination with realistic training scenarios, you are learning how the equipment responds to your judgement and awareness. This is critical for learning how to operate safely and efficiently.
Q: Is there an opportunity to customize the simulations to specific scenarios relevant to the organization?
Dickinson: Yes, CM Labs customizes the simulator programs and challenges presented to operators. If needed, CIS can provide customization input based on employee qualification levels and scope of work. For example, in an electrical substation scenario, a portion of the environment is designated as “live.” If an operator maneuvers the load too close to the “live” area, the instructor may give the operator’s seat a jolt or cause a warning to flash on the screen.
In steel erection applications, customization might include multiple environmental factors, such as vehicle and pedestrian traffic and minimal work space between buildings. To quote Derrick Moore, Georgia Tech football staff, “Anyone can make a touchdown in a wide open field.” Simulations provide operators opportunities to experience unique work site challenges and learn how to respond without risking personnel, crew, or public safety.
In addition, instructor can inserts unexpected changes during a normal, non-customized simulation to allow us to evaluate how the operator reacted to the unexpected.
Q: How can you teach someone the communication skills required in a simulated setting, such as using radio or hand signals?
Dickinson: An operator using a simulator is expected to react to signals given as part of the safe load movement. For example, the operator may be required to operate in the blind, following only the hand or voice signals given by the rigging crew. The operator’s speed to the complete task, as well as accuracy in controlling the load, when working at the direction of the crew, is recorded by the simulator.
Q: Has the industry done any research on the occurrence of negative transfer for some situations?
Dickinson: Some operators may view simulation training as a high-end video game rather than the serious training exercises that Vortex simulations provide. As the Federal Aviation Administration has done, industries utilizing simulation training need to set standards for the time and achievement level outcomes expected to measure the value. Findings from the research in progress will help set those standards.
In other industries, simulators have been shown to provide objective and consistent learning methodologies with proven results, including faster time to competency, skilled and safe operators, and more effective assessment. The benefits far outweigh the negatives, and in fact, can be used as refresher for experienced operators to identify and correct bad habits.
Technology Trends
Q: On what types of construction equipment is simulator training available?
Dickinson: The simulators being used in the research include exercises on Excavators, Mobile Cranes, and Tower Cranes.
Q: Is it possible to train multiple individuals as a team with simulators?
Carruthers: Yes. Networked simulation is what powers Vortex Simulator team training and instructor stations. Some of our most popular training scenarios include full team training, with signaler/rigger stations, or tandem lifts. Other clients of ours are also using the sim so the whole crew can experience the lift virtually, from the operator seat. They say this ensures that everyone is on the same page about what needs to happen and when.
Q: There seems to be a contradiction between “the higher the fidelity the better,” and the statement that “bigger is not necessarily better” – i.e. that one should not fall in love with technology. How do you establish a minimum acceptable level of fidelity?
Carruthers: The “love” of technology should be grounded in value. In addition to great graphics, Vortex simulators simulate machine operation from the set-up of the operator’s chair, controls and visual perspectives. Technology has to look, feel and closely replicate machine experiences to be worthwhile.
Q: Is today’s technology sufficient to run a physically accurate simulation without large/expensive specialized hardware?
Carruthers: Great question! Our goal is to create a simulator that engages the operator in the training experience. It has to look real and feel real, otherwise the operator is simply learning skills and responses that will need to be unlearned at the worst possible moment — on the job site!
That’s why our question is always: Is the trainee learning skills that will be transferable and useful on the worksite? If yes, we’re doing a good job. If not, it can be a detriment to productive training.
Some simulators highlight game technology. CM Labs does not. Vortex simulations use an engineering-grade simulation engine — the same one used by equipment OEMs — to simulate the machine, soil and load dynamics. Fidelity of the simulation is critical to learning real skills and not just how the controls work. Fidelity also comes from the learning exercises themselves. In Vortex simulators the training exercises progress from introductory to real and challenging worksite situations — along with machine faults, bad weather and worksite hazards. It helps prepare you for the whole job, not just pulling levers!
Q: What sorts of replay capabilities are typical, and how quickly can variables be played back? Is it common to play back the results of a simulation to the operator, as a training technique?
Carruthers: We believe strongly in the whole learning methodology of Plan, Do, Review. Simulators can support this methodology very effectively. Before using the simulator you can PLAN the operation, then using simulators DO the operation and finally, with the crew you can play-back and REVIEW the simulation exercise. That last step is critical to learning and something that is hard to do with the real machines. Pilots and soldiers have been trained using these techniques for decades. It works and is efficient.
Q: Is the simulation training available worldwide and does it count towards operator hours?
Dickinson: Yes, simulation technology is available worldwide. Different government agencies require different amounts and levels of training for certification or licenses. In some jurisdictions, training hours count toward operator hours. The study’s results will determine the validity of simulator training.
Crane Operator Training: Cranes & Simulators
/in Company News, Safety /by AdminHigh School Students to Participate in Crane Simulator Training
/in Company News /by Tracy Bennett“As novices, with no previous exposure to crane operation, the high school students meet the qualifications of one of three populations we are studying,” said Debbie Dickinson, CEO of CIS. “The students will be given classroom instruction on crane safety concepts. The simulator will be used to determine what level of skill can be achieved, and whether this training is effective at producing entry level operators.” The study’s co-partners are CIS, CM Labs, and West Georgia Technical College.
Dickinson serves on a CEFGA committee designed to connect teachers, students, and industry. “It is our goal that this relationship with CEFGA will become part of our TradeUp initiative to develop skilled craft professionals and to connect those individuals with employers,” said Dickinson.
CIS Hosts AGC Georgia Safety and Health Committee
/in Company News /by Tracy BennettAGC of Georgia Safety and Health committee members learn about the use of crane simulators for training.
In October, CIS hosted the AGC Georgia Safety and Health Committee at the Centered on Safety training facility at the WGTC Murphy Campus. Safety Managers from top construction companies, defense and manufacturing, and officials from AGC, Carroll Chamber of Commerce, and West Georgia Technical College discussed simulation training.
Lorne Goloff of CM Labs, provided an overview about simulation training. The group drew comparisons between training on actual machines and simulators. The group expressed that realism and quality in the simulation are necessary for simulation training to be worthwhile and applauded CM Labs on these two key factors.
“We appreciated the feedback and thoughtful discussion about the application of simulators, specifically mobile crane, tower crane, and excavator simulators, for developing and maintaining skills of operators,” said Cliff Dickinson, President of CIS.
Adapting Training to Next Gen Learners
/in Skilled Labor Supply /by Tracy BennettToday’s smart phones, a far cry from rotary dialing of the past, represent a training tool that communicates with a new generation of workers.
By Debbie Dickinson
As contractors, colleges, and workforce development groups focus on recruiting the next generation of skilled craft professionals, an important piece to the process is adapting training to technologically savvy employees.
According to Colby Humphry, Director of the Pinnacle Center for Competitive Intelligence & Development (CCID), recruitment should include partnerships with high schools, community networking, development of internships and skills training workshops. Contractors also need to consider how to make their company and the construction industry more attractive and fun—a polished public image on your website, how clean your equipment is, and what your employees wear. Read more about this on ForConstructionPros.com.
At CIS, we also believe there’s value in understanding how younger generation workers use technology and applying that to training and work practices. This is a key reason we’ve embarked on a multi-month study of how crane simulators impact learning. A recent article in Industrial Safety & Hygiene News titled “Future Workers Spend Most of their Time on Smartphones,” got me thinking about whether these ever-present devices are viable as safety and training aids.
It’s widely accepted that there are many productivity benefits to using smart phones on the job site—the ability to digitize equipment inspections, increase collaboration and communication, and share documentation are just a couple examples. Training programs can also adapt to incorporate the use of smart phones.
First, employers should make expectations and policies clear regarding the use of smartphones on the job. While they do provide a convenient communication method, using smart phones to chat with family and friends and engage in social media activity presents a workplace distraction. The use of smart phones should be limited to work related activity during work hours, except in cases of emergencies that require immediate attention or when the employee is on break.
Phones as Safety Aids
Employers can use mobile technology to communicate with workers quickly and efficiently. Messaging cuts past the clutter of email and provides instant communication with a mobile construction workforce, many of whom never step foot in an office. Companies can use the platform to send safety reminders. Encouraging use of camera and video tools when employees discover workplace hazards is another way for workers to communicate with safety departments and be involved in actively mitigating job site hazards.
There are also many useful apps that can provide workers access to additional safety information, but safety departments should prescribe which apps are recommended for workers, or even provide access to your own company’s safety policies and materials. Often employees may work alone or in remote locations. Apps that are designed to protect the solitary worker are great addition to construction safety programs.
Engaging Training
When it comes to training, smart phones provide easy access to continuous learning and skill development. Software company Qnnect suggests micro learning, which “focuses solely on the important stuff for one particular topic and relies on the fact that short bursts of learning are a great way to increase engagement and employee satisfaction.”
Smart phones also provide a fun, engaging way to deliver blended learning when workers are pulled aside for classroom training. Real time collaboration and communication among peers helps to reinforce lessons being taught. It’s also possible to use the devices for putting lessons into practice. For example, load chart training might be applied to building a lift plan using online software, or to search for applicable OSHA regulations or ASME Standards related to a classroom discussion or problem.
Today, smart phones are an extension of the employee. Smart employers will understand how to harness the platform’s capabilities while providing guidance on appropriate use.
Using simulator technology to teach rookies and retrain experienced crane operators
/in Employer Responsibility, Skilled Labor Supply /by Tracy BennettQ&A on the Real Value of Simulator Training
Training and instructional technologies professionals from Crane Industry Services, LLC (CIS) and CM Labs Simulations recently discussed the benefits of using simulators to train crane operators. Becky Schultz, editor of Equipment Today interviewed Debbie Dickinson, CEO of CIS, and Drew Carruthers, Construction Product Manager for CM Labs. Access the archived webinar here.
At the conclusion of the presentation, participants asked questions about the real-world transferrable skills to be gained through simulation training, as well as current trends in the technology. In the coming months, an ongoing study to determine the value of simulators, which is being conducted by CIS and CM Labs, in partnership with West Georgia Technical College, will reveal additional insight.
Debbie Dickinson
Drew Carruthers
Transferrable Skills
Q: Are the skills learned on a simulator transferrable to a real crane?
Carruthers: Absolutely. When you are sitting in a simulator that behaves like the real thing — down to that “seat of the pants” feel — in combination with realistic training scenarios, you are learning how the equipment responds to your judgement and awareness. This is critical for learning how to operate safely and efficiently.
Q: Is there an opportunity to customize the simulations to specific scenarios relevant to the organization?
Dickinson: Yes, CM Labs customizes the simulator programs and challenges presented to operators. If needed, CIS can provide customization input based on employee qualification levels and scope of work. For example, in an electrical substation scenario, a portion of the environment is designated as “live.” If an operator maneuvers the load too close to the “live” area, the instructor may give the operator’s seat a jolt or cause a warning to flash on the screen.
In steel erection applications, customization might include multiple environmental factors, such as vehicle and pedestrian traffic and minimal work space between buildings. To quote Derrick Moore, Georgia Tech football staff, “Anyone can make a touchdown in a wide open field.” Simulations provide operators opportunities to experience unique work site challenges and learn how to respond without risking personnel, crew, or public safety.
In addition, instructor can inserts unexpected changes during a normal, non-customized simulation to allow us to evaluate how the operator reacted to the unexpected.
Q: How can you teach someone the communication skills required in a simulated setting, such as using radio or hand signals?
Dickinson: An operator using a simulator is expected to react to signals given as part of the safe load movement. For example, the operator may be required to operate in the blind, following only the hand or voice signals given by the rigging crew. The operator’s speed to the complete task, as well as accuracy in controlling the load, when working at the direction of the crew, is recorded by the simulator.
Q: Has the industry done any research on the occurrence of negative transfer for some situations?
Dickinson: Some operators may view simulation training as a high-end video game rather than the serious training exercises that Vortex simulations provide. As the Federal Aviation Administration has done, industries utilizing simulation training need to set standards for the time and achievement level outcomes expected to measure the value. Findings from the research in progress will help set those standards.
In other industries, simulators have been shown to provide objective and consistent learning methodologies with proven results, including faster time to competency, skilled and safe operators, and more effective assessment. The benefits far outweigh the negatives, and in fact, can be used as refresher for experienced operators to identify and correct bad habits.
Technology Trends
Q: On what types of construction equipment is simulator training available?
Dickinson: The simulators being used in the research include exercises on Excavators, Mobile Cranes, and Tower Cranes.
Q: Is it possible to train multiple individuals as a team with simulators?
Carruthers: Yes. Networked simulation is what powers Vortex Simulator team training and instructor stations. Some of our most popular training scenarios include full team training, with signaler/rigger stations, or tandem lifts. Other clients of ours are also using the sim so the whole crew can experience the lift virtually, from the operator seat. They say this ensures that everyone is on the same page about what needs to happen and when.
Q: There seems to be a contradiction between “the higher the fidelity the better,” and the statement that “bigger is not necessarily better” – i.e. that one should not fall in love with technology. How do you establish a minimum acceptable level of fidelity?
Carruthers: The “love” of technology should be grounded in value. In addition to great graphics, Vortex simulators simulate machine operation from the set-up of the operator’s chair, controls and visual perspectives. Technology has to look, feel and closely replicate machine experiences to be worthwhile.
Q: Is today’s technology sufficient to run a physically accurate simulation without large/expensive specialized hardware?
Carruthers: Great question! Our goal is to create a simulator that engages the operator in the training experience. It has to look real and feel real, otherwise the operator is simply learning skills and responses that will need to be unlearned at the worst possible moment — on the job site!
That’s why our question is always: Is the trainee learning skills that will be transferable and useful on the worksite? If yes, we’re doing a good job. If not, it can be a detriment to productive training.
Some simulators highlight game technology. CM Labs does not. Vortex simulations use an engineering-grade simulation engine — the same one used by equipment OEMs — to simulate the machine, soil and load dynamics. Fidelity of the simulation is critical to learning real skills and not just how the controls work. Fidelity also comes from the learning exercises themselves. In Vortex simulators the training exercises progress from introductory to real and challenging worksite situations — along with machine faults, bad weather and worksite hazards. It helps prepare you for the whole job, not just pulling levers!
Q: What sorts of replay capabilities are typical, and how quickly can variables be played back? Is it common to play back the results of a simulation to the operator, as a training technique?
Carruthers: We believe strongly in the whole learning methodology of Plan, Do, Review. Simulators can support this methodology very effectively. Before using the simulator you can PLAN the operation, then using simulators DO the operation and finally, with the crew you can play-back and REVIEW the simulation exercise. That last step is critical to learning and something that is hard to do with the real machines. Pilots and soldiers have been trained using these techniques for decades. It works and is efficient.
Q: Is the simulation training available worldwide and does it count towards operator hours?
Dickinson: Yes, simulation technology is available worldwide. Different government agencies require different amounts and levels of training for certification or licenses. In some jurisdictions, training hours count toward operator hours. The study’s results will determine the validity of simulator training.
Contractor Groups, Corrections Program Support Trade Up Platform
/in Company News, NCCER News, Skilled Labor Supply /by Tracy BennettWGTC Foundation, a non-profit 501 (c)(3), will facilitate donation of tools and equipment to be used by campuses and correctional facilities.
The Southeastern Construction Owners & Associates Roundtable (SCOAR), an industrial construction association, agreed to circulate lists of equipment needed by Trade Up™, announces Crane Industry Services LLC (CIS).
Trade Up is a platform, formed through cooperative work between West Georgia Technical College, Crane Industry Services and ELA Consulting Group. The mission of Trade Up is to recruit, train and qualify a skilled labor pipeline for contractors. The intent is mutual benefit for employees seeking rewarding, interesting careers and employers seeking qualified people who are ready, willing and able to work.
“Skilled labor shortages are at the heart of corporate inefficiencies, but the good news is that American ingenuity is delivering solutions,” said Debbie Dickinson, CEO of CIS. In May, the SCOAR Board of Directors voted to support Trade Up, by publishing a list of tools and equipment needed to train workers. The WGTC Foundation, a non-profit 501 (c)(3), will facilitate the donation of tools and equipment from contractors to be used on campuses and correctional facilities.
Representatives of the SCOAR Workforce Committee stated that the training is an excellent use use for equipment being replaced on work sites. The general equipment wish list includes:
Second Chance Careers
Using the NCCER crafts curriculum, Trade Up is working with special interest groups, such as veteran transition organizations to welcome our service men and women home to good jobs and quality employers. In addition, Trade Up is working with numerous correctional facilities to identify people who desire to reinvent themselves through education and skill-based training.
Recently Debbie Dickinson, CEO of CIS, participated in a panel discussion moderated by NCCER’s John Havlick at the 71st Correctional Education Association Conference in Long Beach, Calif. Other panelists included Brian Robinson of Englewood, Colo.-based TIC Inc., an industrial contractor serving power, energy, mining, and marine markets, Rex Rhone of the Texas Department of Corrections, and Mike Valdez of the California Department of Corrections.
Dickinson shared the example of Carroll County (Ga.) Prison, which is planning a training center to be built by prisoners under the guidance of skilled craft professionals. “It has the power to open the doors of prison to a life of productivity and value,” she said. Inmates train and can earn NCCER certifications in welding, mobile crane operations, qualified rigging, excavation, steel erection, and working near power lines. “Our goal is that after re-entry, they will never see this facility, or a similar one again. They will be too busy raising families, working, building their communities and lives,” said Dickinson.
Carroll County Corrections, using the Trade Up platform and instructors from WGTC and CIS, will begin a new program for certifying crane operators this fall. They are using four different types of lift equipment retired from military service in the Middle East.
“With as little as six months of training, people can begin working in their selected trade. A full trade curriculum takes about two years. Trade Up uses an immersion process that surrounds the trainees with a work environment experience while they are building skills,” explained Dickinson.