Wheeled Material Handler Simulator

This new simulator puts you at the controls of a typical wheeled material handler equipped with an articulated boom, four-tine grapple, elevated cab and outriggers. It presents a variety of working situations that address multiple types of customers and operating practices.

Training new operators usually means you must pull a material handler from production for a large number of hours. Simulator training can significantly reduce the number of hours required to onboard trainees and prepare them for independent material handler operation. That means you can return these important machines to production faster.

Simulators also help increase safety by providing a solid foundation for training on the actual machine. Trainees learn basic material handler controls and common tasks in a safe, simulated environment. That means less wear and damage to your production material handlers. Simulators also reduce the risk of a serious accident. By the time trainees transition to an actual machine, they have developed the skills and muscle memory required to operate it proficiently and safely.

Software description

The wheeled material handler simulator is instructionally designed to maximize trainee learning. Trainees can progress at their own pace without supervision. Simulation lessons begin with simple tasks and progresses to sessions where they learn best practices for handling more complex tasks.

The wheeled material handler simulator consists of five simulation modules of increasing difficulty:

• Controls familiarization
• Line following: This lesson places the focus on upper-carriage control, to have the (empty) grapple move in simple straight lines from side-to-side or in-and-out.
• Grapple positioning: This lesson adds undercarriage control (driving) in the presence of obstacles to position and orient the grapple with respect to a target.
• Container loading 1: This lesson presents work specific to (metal) scrap recycling. It includes scrap objects of different kinds in a stockpile that the operator must load into a nearby container.
• Container Loading 2: In this advanced lesson, the container is truck-mounted, which makes the work more challenging.

Tracking results

Key performance indicators (KPIs) measure how quickly and how carefully the simulated work is performed. With more than 30 performance indicators, feedback is diagnostic, instead of just a consolidated pass/fail score. KPIs include:

• Execution time
• Productivity
• Grapple height and angle when driving
• Cabin elevation when driving and when handling material
• Collisions (grapple, ground, undercarriage, etc.)

Incorrect operating conditions will trigger "procedure errors" such as driving "out of bounds." These warnings alert the trainee that he or she needs to take corrective action, but the simulator session will continue to run. Safety issues, on the other hand, trigger "fatal errors" that immediately halt the session. Fatal errors include overturning the wheeled material handler or a container.

Simulation results are automatically saved on the PC, along with data about any procedure and fatal errors. To simplify recordkeeping, a database product called Simulation Manager is available; the same database can be used with all of the simulators VISTA sells.

Software pricing

Please contact us for pricing of a commercial software license for the wheeled material handler simulator. Even small accidents due to inexperience can cost thousands of dollars in replacement parts and downtime on an actual machine - far in excess of your investment in this training tool.

This simulator represents an excellent training value and helps improve the safety of your material handler operators and the people who work in close proximity to them. Consider it a priceless investment in the health and wellness of your workers.

Contact us for more information

For more information about this wheeled material handler simulator, please contact us at 800-942-2886 or 262-514-2886 or via e-mail at info@vista-training.com.