Crane Institute of America has replaced its 15-year-old crane simulator with a Vortex model from CM Labs Simulations. Crane Institute uses the Vortex simulator as a mid-point learning tool for students who have completed classroom instruction but who have not yet progressed to working with a crane.
“Crane simulators provide an excellent training tool without the fear of an accident,” said James Headley, president and CEO of Crane Institute of America. “The graphics on this particular Vortex simulator are fantastic. The realism of the scenarios and visuals is second only to the real thing.”
Unlike gaming style simulators, Vortex simulates multi-body dynamics and has been validated against empirical and engineering data in order to provide accurate qualification of an operator’s skills. It is capable of quantitative measurement of student performance for skills such as pendulum control, collision avoidance, overloads, or operating near power lines.
CM Labs is in the process of creating exercises that can be used to help prepare CIC certification candidates for the practical exam.
Another key feature is the ability to select four different types of cranes-lattice boom mobile crane, telescopic boom mobile crane, tower crane, and overhead crane-with a single simulator, increasing its flexibility for training purposes. “Controls are easily swapped out enabling us to switch from one crane type to another,” said Headley.
The old mobile crane simulator was donated to AIDT, the workforce development division of the Alabama Department of Commerce. The simulator will be used at AIDT’s newest training center, the Alabama Workforce Training Center, in Birmingham. This training center is the fruition of the collaborative efforts of the Birmingham Business Association, the Alabama Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, the State Department of Education, and Alabama Community College System.
“We’ve used simulators previously to teach other skills, such as robotics or welding,” said Rick Maroney, AIDT Manager of Robotics Technology and Safety. “This simulator will be used for introducing mobile crane operator skills and reinforcing mobile crane safety,” he said.
Author; Construction News
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