Category: Simulation for Training

Being safe: no accidents, no damaged equipment, no personal injury (or worse). And that’s why a good lift truck operator is always, first and foremost, safe, so the right kind of training simulation should emphasize learning-to-be-safe. But what does that mean? The fact is, everyone learns everything by making mistakes. (...)

Everyone knows what a “forklift” is, right?  Sure, something that you “drive” like a car: you’re sitting down, the seatbelt’s engaged, there are forks out in front, there is a steering wheel (although it turns the two wheels at the back), and there are pedals to make things move. More (...)

As described in [1], learning any new skill, riding a bike or operating a lift truck, takes place in three stages: First, you work to understand what needs to be done, and focus on doing your best while avoiding “gross mistakes”, i.e. being careful. Later, after sufficient practice, you make (...)

Supply chain companies are increasingly looking to forklift telemetry (sometimes called telematics) to help improve lift truck operations [1], [2], [3]. Practically, specialized devices onboard collect real-time data about where the lift truck is (and where it was), using GPS, and how it’s moving around, using motion sensors, In particular, (...)

“The best employers have the best employees.” Years after COVID-19, companies in all sectors, including logistics, are still struggling to hire (or re-hire) employees. Indeed, according to [1]: While the statistics themselves are a bit fuzzy, by some industry estimates, the typical turnover rate for warehousing is around 37%. This (...)

Operating heavy equipment typically requires the coordinated use of both hands and feet to move levers, joysticks, steering wheels, and pedals. For that reason, simulated work that “mimics” real work can truly help develop the skills required to operate heavy equipment [links to the blog categories “Simulation for Training” and (...)

The world is full of “work” that requires interaction between two people, and I’ll use tennis as a simple example. Playing tennis requires two people, but you learn to play tennis by yourself, at least at the start, with coaching help: how to hold the racket properly, how to hit (...)

Whether you like it or not, your thoughts affect your actions.  That’s why how you feel about what you do counts. And the only way to gain confidence is practice: the more you do, the more you can do. And the more you can do, the more you do. The fact is, you can only be skilled when (...)

Oh, that’s just a video game. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard that comment, when someone stops at our trade show booth. But training simulation is not a video game. Here’s why. About “Fun” and “Work” and “Serious Games” In his book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (...)

I didn’t know what to say. The Director of a heavy equipment operator training school had called to talk about his new (Simlog) simulators, and asked me the following question: “What’s the #1 way they’re helping my students?” The #1 way? Well, simulation can improve operator training in so many (...)