“It just gives us an advantage that we don’t have on the cranes. “Students will come in and see someone on the sim who’s actually certified, just coming in to hone his skills, they say ‘oh well, if he’s doing that on this, I guess it’s not a video game after all’. “The wear and tear reduction on the cranes out there has been dramatic.” CSI encourages certified operators to return to the simulator if they feel like they need to shake off the rust before a big job, and Huggins says this has boosted buy-in from current students. “Vortex reduces the time that we have to spend out on the cranes, and it has reduced our maintenance and fuel costs phenomenally,” says Huggins. Vortex Simulators also track and log performance metrics, such as the amount of time elapsed in a training exercise, the amount of fuel used, pendulums, collisions, failure to protect others on the worksite, and more. This software simulates the real behaviour of cranes, rigging, cables, and loads, validated against empirical and engineering data. The realism of Vortex Simulators is powered by CM Labs’ Vortex simulation software. “It allows the student to get comfortable with the controls, and it takes that fear away - he’s not going to turn over a crane, he’s not going to break a rotation bearing, he’s not going to be slapping cable on the boom.” “The main benefit of Vortex,” says Huggins, “is that it cuts down on actual crane time - you can get the guys to ease in and ease out of a swing on the simulator, and ease in and ease out of the boom and then catch the load, and you’re not putting that wear and tear on the real crane. Soon afterward, a Vortex Simulator was trucking down to Bakersfield from CM Labs’ shop floor. And you’re talking to experienced operators.” And what I heard time and again was ‘that is the most realistic that I have ever seen’. Huggins saw his first Vortex® Simulator at CONEXPO 2014, at the CM Labs Simulations booth. “What used to take 8 to 10 hours of very intense one-on-one training to provide the skills foundation is now down to 4 hours - 6 hours at the most.” “The Vortex Simulator is one of the greatest tools we have,” he says. So when he says his crane simulator is realistic, he doesn’t mean “close enough.” He means it acts and reacts just like the real thing. “I want every employer out there to know that if an operator comes from Crane Service Industries,” he continues, “they can rely on his skills and knowledge.” Dub Huggins manages the training for CSI, and he knows his rigs as intimately as the Cal/OSHA regulations he’s been teaching for over ten years. His approach speaks volumes about the hazards of the trade: “I need to make sure that these operators understand their responsibilities, and get them to where they’re secure enough in their knowledge to stand up to a foreman and go no, I’m not going to do it, this lift is not safe.” Huggins’ dedication to operator training is intense. He suspected the boy had lost more will than dexterity. He was referring to his future as an operator. A car accident had burned the fingers off his right hand. “I don’t know if I can do this,” the young crane operator said.
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