The Standard in Cost-Effective Simulation for Training Heavy Equipment Operators

Wichita Public Schools, in partnership with Wichita State University Tech, created the "Future Ready Center (FRC) - Manufacturing", a 2.5-year program with three pathway options serving the area's over 450 aerospace manufacturers. In 2023, the FRC opened the Midwest's largest lift truck simulator lab consisting of nine Simlog Personal Simulators for Forklift and Reach Lift Truck operator training as part of the program's core curriculum.

In spring 2024, Lurleen B. Wallace Community College launched the Career Cruiser, to bring hands-on career experiences to Alabama's service area school systems. Deployed in a 35-foot custom RV (motorhome), the Career Cruiser houses multiple programs, including the permanently installed Heavy Equipment Operations (HEO) simulator lab with Simlog's Skid Steer Loader, Hydraulic Excavator and Bulldozer Personal Simulators.

Guilford County Schools (GCS), North Carolina’s 3rd largest school district, launched its new 4-year Transportation, Distribution and Logistics (TDL) program in 2019 through the transformation of an existing Logistics course offering into an industry-driven Global TDL Academy. The program is acclaimed for offering students two career pathway options, project-based learning, and simulator-based training with Simlog's Forklift and Reach Lift Truck Personal Simulators.

E-Commerce is driving tremendous growth in Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics, with the nation’s largest retail distribution centers continuing to expand. Simulator-based operator training for sit-down forklifts and stand-up reach lift trucks can accelerate students into the highest paid hourly wage jobs in the entire supply-chain.

County vocational schools in New Jersey have teamed-up with business leaders and industry associations to create a skilled workforce. Ocean County VTS's Heavy Equipment Operator (HEO) program combines a strong advisory relationship with local heavy highway construction and paving contractors, along with sponsorship by a sister school district (Hunterdon County VTS).

The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) CTE Programs and Re-entry team has deployed simulator-based training at seven FDC facilities and at one of Florida's state colleges. The deployment includes 5 Heavy Equipment Operations (HEO) labs and 3 Logistics labs using training simulators from Simlog that feature instructional designs aligned with standardized industry training curricula. With the HEO programs now in their second year, FDC will share key success factors and first-hand observations about the use of simulation with standardized curriculum from NCCER.

Now in its fourth year, the Hunterdon County Polytech Heavy Equipment Operator Program (HEOP) is the first of its kind in New Jersey, blending hands-on skills training with Simlog Personal Simulators, and classroom instruction utilizing NCCER curriculum. A key success factor to the creation of the HEOP is the alignment of Simlog's Personal Simulators utilized with NCCER Heavy Equipment Operations (HEO) curriculum in a Multi-Purposed simulator lab that consists of Simlog's Personal Simulators for Forklift, Backhoe Loader, Hydraulic Excavator, Bulldozer and Wheel Loader.