Simlog Blog
Simulation for training, as we know it today, began back in 1934 when Ed Link sold his “Pilot Maker” to the (USA) Army Air Corps to help train people to fly the first airplanes. But simulation for training people to operate heavy equipment in forestry, construction, mining, and material handling, continues to be something “new”, and so this blog is meant to help you learn more.
The fact is, after almost 25 years as Simlog’s President (and Founder), and 15 years of work before that in engineering and university research, I’ve developed a unique perspective on what’s really important (and what’s not), and so I hope that you’ll find these entries informative.
Paul Freedman, Ph.D., P. Eng.
Jan 8
2020
2020
As part of a previous blog post, I indicated that women are few and far between in the construction trades, especially at the controls of heavy equipment (just 2% in my part of the world). Perhaps there’s some kind of “biological handicap” at work? Well, industrial psychologists have identified three (...)
Nov 15
2019
2019
Typical operator training programs combine classroom-based instruction with real-world seat-time but the results are often discouraging, because there are three kinds of uncertainty. Are you choosing the right people to train? Are your trainees learning properly? Are your new operators working well enough? We can summarize the current arrangement in (...)
Mar 7
2019
2019
With so many sectors of the economy doing so well, employers are struggling to “find” operators for their heavy equipment. Chances are your own business is growing too, so you not only need people to replace the operators who are retiring or moving away, you also need people to operate (...)
Dec 19
2018
2018
All around the world, operator certification is growing in importance to make heavy equipment operations safer by imposing (minimum) standards on what you need to know and what you need do at the controls of real heavy equipment (cranes, excavators, forklifts, etc.). Think about cars. When you “know enough”, you (...)
Oct 4
2018
2018
Learning to operate heavy equipment is like learning to play a musical instrument. Really? Well as one example, operating a backhoe and playing the banjo do seem rather different, as the following table makes clear. Description Operating a Backhoe Playing the Banjo Need two hands Yes Yes Need two feet (...)