Are your excavator operators often waiting on haul trucks? Or are your haul truck drivers frequently sitting in line? Either is a recipe for profit loss on a job.

But now, a new simulator training program wants to get your crews working in concert – and improving cycle times as a result.

The Cat Simulators Collaborative Worksite Training package from Simformation allows up to nine users to operate dozers, excavators and articulated trucks simultaneously in the same virtual environment.

The program lets teams of operators practice loading trucks, moving materials, cleaning up spoil piles and accomplishing other tasks together as a team – without the worry of injury or equipment damage. Participants can collaborate in-person or from remote locations for learners in different rooms, buildings or states.

“Our new Collaborative Worksite Training package provides learners with a realistic, hands-on experience of working with other operators as a team in the same virtual construction site environment,” said Vanessa Price, vice president of Simformotion. “The package is designed to take heavy-equipment operator training programs and learners to the next level. For example, when learners encounter real-world job site scenarios, they must work together to succeed in the exercise. It’s no longer about just one learner completing training successfully; now it’s a team learning how to work together efficiently, effectively and safely.”

Simulation offers a safe alternative to using machines for equipment training – with no need to take a machine out of production, schedule according to the weather and risk an operator’s or another person’s safety.

The Collaborative Worksite Training package is available in multiple languages. The system can record and report the results of each learner’s simulation session, comparing their performance to Caterpillar benchmarks. Both the full simulator system with a motion platform and compact SimLite models are portable and feature authentic Cat controls. A VR edition with a VR headset lets users experience a larger view of the environment with greater depth perception.

The full-size simulators can also convert from one model to another while using the same base unit and conversion kits, enabling owners to cross-train on more machines and save space. Cat Simulators are available in other models for the construction, mining and forestry industries.