Simlog Announces World's First Mining Truck Personal Simulator

New PC-based simulation software brings unprecedented cost-effective help to operator training in the mining industry

Montreal, November 23, 2008 – Simlog Inc., the pioneer and leader in the development of Personal Simulators for cost-effective heavy equipment operator training, is proud to announce the availability of the world's first PC-based Mining Truck Loader Personal Simulator.

Developed in collaboration with leading OEMs and training professionals, Simlog's new product puts trainees at the controls of a large haul truck in interaction with a built-in simulated electric rope shovel at work in a virtual mine in English, French, or Spanish. The simulation exercises emphasize best practices for skills assessment, skills development and refresher training for new and veteran operators alike.

The Mining Truck Personal Simulator offers the choice of two kinds of USB-ready operator controls: Replica Controls consisting of USB-ready industrial components, and OEM Controls with parts from real mining trucks.

"Simlog's new Mining Truck Personal Simulator follows the success of our Wheel Loader and Off-Highway Truck Personal Simulators to provide expanded training help for both large-scale and small-scale mining operations all around the world," says Paul Freedman, Simlog Founder and President. "Like all of our products, our new Mining Truck simulation software is based on Simlog's proven Instructional Design to provide an autonomous training tool that knows how to teach, affordably and safely."

The Instructional Design segments training into a series of Simulation Modules of increasing difficulty to train new operators in a step-by-step and carefully measured way. Training begins with Controls Familiarization to teach mastery of the operator controls, and ends with Complete Haul Cycle which combines loading, driving and dumping. The built-in simulated electric rope shovel helps teach truck spotting interaction, an operator skill that is vital to ensuring productive and safe mining operations.

Another feature of the simulation software's Instructional Design is automatic measurement of key performance indicators pertaining to the productivity and quality of the simulated work. This feature enables trainers to assess the operator potential of training candidates and the rate of skills development before new operators move on to train at the controls of real mining trucks.

In addition to the detailed simulation of a real mining truck and electric rope shovel, the realism of the training environment was achieved by modeling elements from an actual mine with large-scale hauling and digging operations. With data provided by ArcelorMittal Mines Canada for Mont Wright, Canada's largest iron ore mine, the Mining Truck Personal Simulator combines a representative virtual mine with Simlog's emerging standard in Instructional Design, to create a tool suitable for training mining truck operators all around the world.

Simlog's new Mining Truck Personal Simulator is available now and will be jointly distributed by Simlog and Simlog's value-added resellers around the world. The price of the commercial software license is just USD$10,000.

For additional details about this new product, including free software evaluation, please visit our Mining Truck Personal Simulator Web page.