Volvo Construction Equipment says it has seen around 160 global sales of its Advanced Training Simulators since their launch in 2011.
The brand says dealers and customers have embraced machine simulators as a way to improve operator training, reduce risk of damage to machinery and ensure maximum machine utilisation.
Once dismissed as the stuff of science fiction or childsplay, machine simulators have moved on from their amusement arcade perception.
For example, if an operator dumps too hard and fast, and potentially damages the loading receiver on a wheeled loader simulator, they will be alerted. Spilling material, which slows production, or driving the front wheels into a pile of sharp blasted rock, risking damaging the tires, are also ‘red alert’ examples. Scores for bucket fill factor, time and distance are also given by the wheel loader simulator. These scores can be viewed as measures of productivity and efficiency, which can help even experienced operators to further hone their skills.
These features enable simulator owners to evaluate their operators’ performance, so they can develop a personalised training plan, where tasks are allocated according to their individual strengths.
Stefan Pettersson, application engineer at Volvo CE, explains: “Interactive training is a truly effective tool. It’s what operators want and need – just look at the aviation industry. Pilots are required to complete hours and hours of simulations before they are let loose on expensive safety-criticial equipment.”
In Sweden and other countries where labour costs are high, simulators are primarily used to ensure maximum machine utilisation. In the Middle East however, the workforce is largely seasonal and often relatively inexperienced. Volvo CE simulators are especially popular in Oman, UAE and Qatar, where dealers offer operator training in dedicated training areas with each new purchase, to ensure safe and efficient operating practices are maintained at all times.
Volvo CE says its simulators are more innovative compared with standard construction equipment simulators. They have been designed using the same software and data used by Volvo CE’s Technology function and are the only simulators on the market to include high-reach demolition and pipelayer software. Data is not only collected for research and development purposes, but when analyzed in connection with data from operations model Site Simulation Program (SiteSim) can be used to help customers achieve the maximum productivity, efficiency and profitability from their site operations.
Volvo Site Simulation is an advanced program that calculates the optimum flow of production over an entire site. By inputting the density of the material, distances and topography of the site, a Volvo CE consultant can recommend the ideal number and capacity of machines, as well as the optimum speed and routes operators should use, based on the target tonnes-per-hour and the cost-per-tonne.
“SiteSim offers extremely valuable insight for our quarrying and aggregates customers, who are – almost without exception – paid by the tonne,” Pettersson says. Site studies such as this are regularly carried out in the mining industry, but Volvo CE is unique in its ability to offer comprehensive simulations for small and medium-sized sites too.
Now that dealers and customers have realised the benefits of tools like Volvo Site Simulation and machine simulators, safety and efficiency of operator training has increased, while the risk of damage and unnecessary additional cost is becoming less and less. Machine simulators allow operators a safe environment to learn in, and in doing so provide the ideal way for Volvo CE to offer customers real added value.
