Elsewhere on our Web site, you will find
other testimonials from Simlog customers in the
crane industry,
construction industry, and the
forest industry.
We have also posted some
articles about Simlog and
simulator-based training in the forest industry.
A Program Coordinator
"Lynne Synotte said that in response to a shortage of logging machinery
operators, the College developed a 20 week program to train workers.
Six months ago, the College purchased
12 harvester/processor training programs,
12 excavator training programs
(both produced by Quebec's Simlog),
and a dozen laptop PCs with specialized simulator controls to run them.
"Irvin Reid trained on a simulator for his job with Burns Lake's P&B
Mechanical. After nearly 100 hours on the simulator, he says it took about
an hour of operating the real machine to make the transition.
He estimated that somebody going in cold would take
"at least a week or more" to reach the same level of proficiency,
most likely destroying some valuable timber in the process.
With previous hands-on training as an excavator operator, he gave
the laptop excavator a try soon after it arrived and pronounced it
"pretty much dead on"."
Lynn Synote, Program Coordinator,
College of New Caledonia,
Burns Lake Campus, B.C. (Canada).
Excerpt from the article
"Training's Two-Way Street: Simulators are playing a key role
for students preparing to enter B.C.'s resource sectors",
2007 Rightcourse Magazine.
Reproduced courtesy of
Business in Vancouver Media Group.
A Logging Contractor
"My new operators spend at least an hour a
day in their off time in the service trailer on the simulators.
That is not very costly for our company. The simulator trains them to use
the machine controls; the rest will come to them.
Some people may consider the Simlog products
to be a lot of money, but I save it
on bars and chains and increased production from my operators."
Shawn MacPhee, S&D MacPhee Forestry, Nova Scotia (Canada).
Also profiled in the article "Virtual Logging" in the January/February
2002 issue of
Canadian Forest Industries.
A Mechanized Logging Consultant
"I have been involved in mechanized log harvesting for many years as
an operator and then supervisor and trainer.
The Simlog training program
is a very powerful and effective tool for producing safe and competent
machine operators.
Even supervisors have had great benefit from the Simlog training and are now
more effective and diligent in their jobs.
"Computerized training and the Simlog harvester simulator have given
trainees the optimum conditions to succeed in the training program.
I have found this to be a controlled environment that removes the
pressure and stress accompanied with the work site.
Trainees that have made the transition from simulator to real equipment
seem to have a level of confidence that you won't find in traditional
training methods.
The associate higher cost from damage and increased maintenance
usually found in training in the woods is significantly reduced,
and trainees emerging from the simulator program demonstrate significantly
lower down-time.
In addition, the overall time to reach a competent level has been dramatically
decreased, with results that are more thorough.
"The results produced by simulator data tracking also provide the ability to
pre-determine a training candidate's skill aptitude prior
to operating equipment.
There are measurable and realistic expectations that must be met
at the simulator phase before advancing to operating real equipment.
This has become an invaluable tool to ensure that equipment is operated
in a safe and productive manner.
"Depending on how you do your math, the entire cost of the Simlog
training equipment can be recovered in the first week of training of the
first individual."
Gordon Vaughan, Coastal Pacific Logging, B.C. (Canada).
A Woodlands Manager
"Simlog's Simulator
is an excellent tool for training new harvester operators,
and re-training operators of other forestry equipment
to become harvester operators.
"By using the Simlog Simulator prior to seat-time in the real harvester,
trainees gain confidence that helps them become efficient
operators in a shorter period of time.
The boom skills learned, and the knowledge gained about
the flow of shortwood harvesting, become evident as soon as trainees
begin work in the woods.
"Simlog's approach to training is modular and very progressive,
helping trainees acquire skills in a positive manner.
The ability to measure and track the trainees'
progress greatly helps the trainer
but it is of even greater benefit to the trainees, who can see their
performance and their skills improve as they progress through the
training program."
Bruce Yates, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada).
A Sawmill Manager
"Following simulator-based evaluation,
the three best candidates then proceeded to the simulator-based training,
based on their relative results combined with their union seniority.
The final results showed dramatic daily improvements in quality and
production over the five day simulator-based training period.
"Simlog's simulator is a very effective training tool.
We envision its application to other parts of our operation and
would recommend it to others with similar needs."
Gerald Kroes, Tembec Industries, Ontario (Canada).
A Forestry Company Spokesman
"Most of the Tembec operations are contractor-based and the
portable/affordable
Harvester Personal Simulator is essential for these small businesses.
The Harvester Personal Simulator has been used by operators with various
levels of experience.
"Simlog's Harvester Personal Simulator is seen as essential for
introducing training simulation technology to the independent contractors
who supply wood to Tembec.
Tembec is considering corporate policy to ensure that Tembec staff who
operate harvesters would be trained using this technology.
Contractors are interested in using this technology to screen potential
operators and train them prior to operating their harvester equipment.
"In general, we promote the use of this technology to screen and train
harvester operators.
Simlog's Harvester Personal Simulator is the only practical way that
small contractors
will have an opportunity to use this technology in an affordable way."
Al Stinson
Tembec Industries, Ontario (Canada).
A Forestry School Trainer
"Tests carried out with the Simlog Simulator at the Centre de formation
professionnelle Mont-Laurier enabled us to significantly improve
the quality of training.
The results, in terms of reduced damage and improved equipment
performance, point to a very promising future for the use of 3D simulation
in training.
"The Simlog Simulator's innovative teaching approach makes it a flexible
tool offering a one-of-a-kind, self-paced training method that is
adapted to individual aptitudes.
Simlog represents another step forward in the technological
advance of the training provided to heavy equipment operators."
Marc-André Hinse, CFP Mont-Laurier, Quebec (Canada).
A Forestry Equipment Distributor
"We're convinced that Simlog's new Personal Simulators will make a real
contribution to operator training for single-grip harvesters and
forwarders.
This inexpensive PC-based training simulator is something that every
CTL machine owner can have at home on his own computer to help
defray expensive operator training costs."
Alan Anderson, President, Rocan
An Industrial Psychologist
"Simulation programs are an approach to personnel selection and training
that reproduces the functions performed on the job.
Simulation selection and training is generally conducted to reduce
selection errors, training time, and to minimize costs due to potential
damage or inefficient use of complex, expensive machinery.
"The use of simulation programs in employee selection involves assessment
procedures that resemble the job situation. It is a type of performance
test whose primary objective is to evaluate what someone can
do rather than what someone knows.
"In my opinion, Simlog's harvester simulator is a new and powerful tool
for evaluating and training harvester operator candidates.
Simlog's software simulation is of high quality and
very realistic. The software includes many minute and subtle details
to provide a very authentic experience of operating the real machine.
"Traditionally, an industrial psychologist attempting to measure the key
competencies or aptitudes needed to operate the machine would employ a
battery of tests that would include three-dimensional perceptual ability,
depth perception, hand-eye coordination, and mechanical aptitude.
It is clear that Simlog's harvester simulation does a superior job
of measuring these key competencies. In addition to saving time
and costs, testing and training candidates on the simulator is
more likely to measure an individual's true abilities because people are less
fearful and nervous about making real-life errors."
Larry Stefan, L. Stefan and Associates, Alberta (Canada).
Some Forestry School Students
"Without the simulator, it would have taken me much longer to catch
on to the controls of the machine and boom.
With the aid of the simulator, I feel that I have learned to
harvest [trees] much faster."
"If I didn't have the simulator to train on, I would still be trying
to lift my head.
After cutting [harvesting in the woods] for a short while,
I can see all the stages
[simulation modules] of the simulator coming together on the real harvester."
"The simulator sent me on the way to becoming an operator."
"I enjoyed this experience very much.
It really helps us get ready for our time in the woods."
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