Imagine mastering complex piling operations and emergency responses without leaving a safe training space. Cementation Skanska’s new piling rig simulator provides a fully interactive, realistic environment where potential operatives and all levels of engineers can experience and understand the latest rig technology and product installation. They can learn and be assessed on rig-handling skills without the cost, downtime or danger of live operations.
Trainees experience realistic scenarios that build valuable skills and improve decision-making that can be put into practice on-site, once their full five-year training and assessments on real machinery are complete. So far 32 employees have been trained on the rig simulator including six school leavers.
Using the simulator improves quality, reduces accidents, boosts worker confidence and helps ensure compliance with safety standards. It can replicate installation and performance of products, such as piles and rigid inclusions, across varied ground conditions.
Jamie Dunbar, Cementation’s Business Director, said: “The hands-on experience for our operatives and engineers helps shorten the learning curve. Our people arrive at site better prepared helping projects to run more smoothly. It is a useful tool to give early career understanding of the fundamentals of rig operation.
“The simulator has many benefits. It ensures that we can provide our customers with reliable, repeatable products and it’s also been brilliant for attracting and engaging young talent helping to highlight career opportunities in piling and ground engineering”.
The Cementation team will be demonstrating the simulator at Highways UK at the NEC in Birmingham this week. If you’re going, why not book in a session and take the controls in a realistic virtual setting. You’ll find us in the Vehicle Zone. It is a great chance to see how the technology raises safety, efficiency and operator capability without exposing people or equipment to unnecessary risk.