No “games”, no OEM sales tools, just professional skills development products. And after more than 25 years in business, we are very much the world-wide standard in cost-effective simulation for training heavy equipment operators.
Here we present five Use Cases to answer the simple question “Why (training) simulation?”.
1. Make better hiring decisions: pre-employment skills assessment
When evaluating a hiring candidate, true qualifications are typically “revealed” only when work begins at the controls of your equipment. And that’s because CVs often contain misleading elements that exaggerate competencies or responsibilities, and HR doesn’t have the expertise to ask the right questions.
Well assessing operating skills before hiring is easy to do with our Personal Simulators, by simply comparing the simulation results of your hiring candidate with the benchmarks (target values) established by your best operators. Remember: in the simulated world, everyone operates exactly the same equipment to do exactly the same work that’s evaluated in exactly the same way.
2. Upskill: reveal bad operating habits and develop the right ones
An experienced operator will keep doing the very same (wrong) thing until the day that the world is less “forgiving” and something happens (sometimes tragically).
Well our Personal Simulators can reveal those bad habits and help your operator develop new ones, the right ones, according to best-in-class practices and the comprehensive feedback provided in the form of dozens of “Performance Indicators”.
3. Better train new operators
Training at the controls of real equipment is dangerous, and expensive. First, consider what you pay to own and operate that equipment (fuel, insurance, etc.), plus the time spent by your instructor to supervise the training. Then there are the costs associated with even small accidents due to mistakes (inexperience), and that’s thousands of dollars in replacement parts and downtime. There are costs associated with damage to equipment and merchandise loss. Finally, there’s the risk of injury (or worse).
Well at Simlog, our Personal Simulators are “generic” and teach core skills, making it easy to proceed to “hands-on” training for a wide variety of real heavy equipment. Call that a “virtual seat” for the drill-and-practice needed to acquire the necessary muscle memory and gain the necessary self-confidence.
And our Instructional Designs take into account best -n-class practices from leading training professionals from around the world, along with simulation steps we call “Modules” that reproduce  how some Simlog customers are certifying, and later re-certifying, operators (at the controls of their real heavy equipment).
And by using the benchmark simulation results (target values) established by your best operators, you can make sure that your new operators are doing simulated work well enough before they “graduate” to the controls of your real equipment. In this way, the “topping up” in the real world becomes
safer, because “accidents” now happen at the simulator
better, because students have already learned to do things properly (in the simulated world)
faster, because your students reach their performance targets sooner. That means less “wear and tear” on your equipment, leading to lower maintenance and repair costs.
cheaper, thanks to all of the above
In this way, training costs go down, training quality goes up, and your new operators are more “job ready”!
4. Skills exploration, to “grow” your own operators (and promote from within)
If you’re the right kind of employer, your current employees want to stay with you and retain their seniority, paid holidays, health insurance, retirement plan, etc. In fact, many might jump at the chance to earn more by doing work that pays more.
And by providing such opportunities that people sometimes call a “lateral move” or “moving across function”, you’ll be growing your own operators, and showing everyone how much you value your workforce. That’s a true competitive advantage to set you apart, while promoting employee retention.
5. Improve your recruiting efforts (and bring new visibility to your company)
Everyone knows that the best way to recruit in a competitive market is to meet people where they are already. And that’s why our customers bring their “training” simulators to job fairs, school open houses, and all kinds of other regional events to promote themselves as “employers of choice” in their local communities. (“See, this is how my company begins our operator training, so come work for us.”)
Material Handling
According to a recent industry report, global e-commerce sales are on track this year to surpass USD$6.3 trillion dollars, a 9% increase over last year. Lift trucks, of course, do most of that material handling.
But operating lift trucks safely and productively requires aptitude and skill. And today Simlog has three Personal Simulators to help train people to operate three kinds of powered lift trucks, and customers can be found in industries that include transportation, warehousing, steel making, mining, construction, forestry, and staffing (placement agencies):
Our products all feature instructional designs that look to training standards and in the United States, the two leading organizations are the NSC (National Safety Council) and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). In this way, our simulation exercises teach you the “core skills” needed to pass the “Practical Exams” (demonstration of skills tests) conducted at the controls of real equipment.
We also have Personal Simulators for other kinds of material handling on jobsites
Learn how the North American leader in aluminum transformation NOVELIS came to rely on Simlog for world-wide roll-out, featuring Logan Aluminum, the single largest rolling mill in North America producing aluminum sheet for beverage cans
Miami Springs Senior High School’s “Prologis Trade and Logistics Academy” Featuring Simlog’s Forklift Personal Simulator. Customer Story and Video, November 8, 2019
Here we present one Simlog customer, a Transportation Distribution and Logistics Academy in the United States that is training and OSHA-certifying forklift operators. November 3, 2015.
The kinds of heavy equipment used by cities, towns, regions, and states to maintain public works is increasingly complex, costly, and difficult to operate productively. In addition, there is increasing public support for better workplace practices and improved workplace safety. As a result, proper operator training has become a priority. For example, using our products, public works organizations can reduce the variability in skills from operator to operator, in order to provide better services to their tax-paying communities.
Our products all feature instructional designs that look to training standards. In this way, our simulation exercises teach you the “core skills” needed to pass “Practical Exams” (demonstration of skills tests) conducted at the controls of real equipment.
Customer Success Story
Apprentices from the Utility Craftsworker program at the Department of Water Resources in the State of California are now training with Simlog’s Backhoe Loader, Bulldozer, Forklift, Hydraulic Excavator, Mobile Crane, Skid Steer Loader, and Wheel Loader Personal Simulators.
Here we present a Customer Success Story about a city in Canada that is using our products to replace the costly recruiting of “outside” people, by carefully developing new operators from “within”, i.e. city employees who have already demonstrated the right attitude. July 5, 2010.
Modern construction industry and lifting equipment is complex, costly, and difficult to operate productively. In addition, there is increasing public support for better workplace practices and improved workplace safety, making operator certification a reality in some geographic areas. As a result, proper operator training has become a priority.
According to research recently conducted by the CII about construction industry projects, investing just 1% of the total labour budget in training reaps multiple dividends:
injuries decrease 27% (OSHA reportable accidents)
re-work decreases 26% (including waste and work of poor quality)
absenteeism decreases 15% (employees who fail to report for work)
turnover decreases 14% (employees who just leave)
productivity improves 11% (as measured by the number of hours to complete a given task)
Construction
With Personal Simulators to help train operators for a wide range of earth-moving equipment (Skid Steer Loader, Backhoe Loader, Hydraulic Excavator, Bulldozer, Wheel Loader) and material handling (Forklift), our customers can be found all around the world, and they range from small and mid-size construction industry contractors operating in regional markets, to the largest Engineering Procurement Construction Management companies.
Our products all feature instructional designs that look to training standards and in the United States, the leading organization is the NCCER. In this way, our simulation exercises teach you the “core skills” needed to pass the “Practical Exams” (demonstration of skills tests) conducted at the controls of real equipment.
Customer Success Story
At Floyd County School of Innovation, there is a Personal Simulator lab for Hydraulic Excavator and Bulldozer operator training. Customer Story and Video, July 8th 2020
Customer Success Story
At Flagler Technical Institute, there is a Personal Simulator lab for Simlog’s Hydraulic Excavator operator training.
With Personal Simulators to help train operators for cranes (Mobile Crane, Tower Crane) and material handling equipment (Forklift), our customers can be found all around the world, in construction, lifting services, energy (power generation, petrochemical refining), railway transportation, mining, maritime ports, and even military facilities (Army, Navy, Air Force).
Our products all feature instructional designs that look to training standards and in the United States, the leading organizations are the NCCCO and the NCCER. In this way, our simulation exercises teach you the “core skills” needed to pass their “Practical Exams” (demonstration of skills tests) conducted at the controls of real equipment to obtain Mobile Crane Operator, Tower Crane Operator, and Signal Person certification.
Customer Success Story
Here we present one Simlog customer, Bechtel Equipment Operations, that is using seven of our products for their projects in North and South America.
Modern mining equipment is increasingly complex, costly, and difficult to operate productively. As a result, proper operator training has become everyone’s business. The fact is, it takes training to spot a truck and position it for loading under a full bucket. It also takes training to back up a truck just using mirrors under that bucket. Otherwise, your mining operations will suffer from lower productivity, higher fuel costs, increased tire wear, and more equipment maintenance and repair.
Our products all feature instructional designs that look to training standards. In this way, our simulation exercises teach you the “core skills” needed to pass “Practical Exams” (demonstration of skills tests) conducted at the controls of real equipment.
Article
Here we present a mining industry magazine article that summarizes the merits of simulation for operator training in the mining industry, that makes reference to several Simlog customers.
Here we present a company in Mauritania, Africa that uses Simlog’s Mining Truck simulators to train new operators at their corporate office. January 22, 2012.
Modern forestry equipment is increasingly complex, costly, and difficult to operate productively. In addition, there is increasing public support for better workplace practices and improved workplace safety, making operator certification a reality in some geographic areas. As a result, proper operator training has become a priority.
Our products all feature instructional designs that look to training standards. In this way, our simulation exercises teach you the “core skills” needed to pass “Practical Exams” (demonstration of skills tests) conducted at the controls of real equipment.
Here we present a presentation that was given at the World Forest Engineering Conference about a vocational training school in Canada using the Harvester and Forwarder Personal Simulators.
Here we present five Use Cases to answer the simple question “Why (training) simulation?”.
1. Make better hiring decisions: pre-employment skills assessment
When evaluating a hiring candidate, true qualifications are typically “revealed” only when work begins at the controls of your equipment. And that’s because CVs often contain misleading elements that exaggerate competencies or responsibilities, and HR doesn’t have the expertise to ask the right questions.
Well assessing operating skills before hiring is easy to do with our Personal Simulators, by simply comparing the simulation results of your hiring candidate with the benchmarks (target values) established by your best operators. Remember: in the simulated world, everyone operates exactly the same equipment to do exactly the same work that’s evaluated in exactly the same way.
2. Upskill: reveal bad operating habits and develop the right ones
An experienced operator will keep doing the very same (wrong) thing until the day that the world is less “forgiving” and something happens (sometimes tragically).
Well our Personal Simulators can reveal those bad habits and help your operator develop new ones, the right ones, according to best-in-class practices and the comprehensive feedback provided in the form of dozens of “Performance Indicators”.
3. Better train new operators
Training at the controls of real equipment is dangerous, and expensive. First, consider what you pay to own and operate that equipment (fuel, insurance, etc.), plus the time spent by your instructor to supervise the training. Then there are the costs associated with even small accidents due to mistakes (inexperience), and that’s thousands of dollars in replacement parts and downtime. There are costs associated with damage to equipment and merchandise loss. Finally, there’s the risk of injury (or worse).
Well at Simlog, our Personal Simulators are “generic” and teach core skills, making it easy to proceed to “hands-on” training for a wide variety of real heavy equipment. Call that a “virtual seat” for the drill-and-practice needed to acquire the necessary muscle memory and gain the necessary self-confidence.
And our Instructional Designs take into account best -n-class practices from leading training professionals from around the world, along with simulation steps we call “Modules” that reproduce  how some Simlog customers are certifying, and later re-certifying, operators (at the controls of their real heavy equipment).
And by using the benchmark simulation results (target values) established by your best operators, you can make sure that your new operators are doing simulated work well enough before they “graduate” to the controls of your real equipment. In this way, the “topping up” in the real world becomes
safer, because “accidents” now happen at the simulator
better, because students have already learned to do things properly (in the simulated world)
faster, because your students reach their performance targets sooner. That means less “wear and tear” on your equipment, leading to lower maintenance and repair costs.
cheaper, thanks to all of the above
In this way, training costs go down, training quality goes up, and your new operators are more “job ready”!
4. Skills exploration, to “grow” your own operators (and promote from within)
If you’re the right kind of employer, your current employees want to stay with you and retain their seniority, paid holidays, health insurance, retirement plan, etc. In fact, many might jump at the chance to earn more by doing work that pays more.
And by providing such opportunities that people sometimes call a “lateral move” or “moving across function”, you’ll be growing your own operators, and showing everyone how much you value your workforce. That’s a true competitive advantage to set you apart, while promoting employee retention.
5. Improve your recruiting efforts (and bring new visibility to your company)
Everyone knows that the best way to recruit in a competitive market is to meet people where they are already. And that’s why our customers bring their “training” simulators to job fairs, school open houses, and all kinds of other regional events to promote themselves as “employers of choice” in their local communities. (“See, this is how my company begins our operator training, so come work for us.”)
