Want to train your new operators or fine-tune your veteran employees’ skills, but you don’t want them wrecking your expensive machinery?
Terrawise Solutions offers a mobile virtual-reality simulator that users can learn on without causing costly damage or endangering workers.
Matthew Biles, Terrawise business development manager, comes on this week’s episode of The Dirt to talk about the Tenstar Construction Simulators.
The simulators enable virtual-reality operation of earthmoving equipment, such as excavators, dozers, haulers. They come in four versions: stand-alone, desktop, motion-base mobile and non-motion-base mobile. The mobile units can be packed up in a trailer and taken wherever you want them. The motion-based version offers the most realistic simulator, the company says.
Biles outlines four primary uses for the simulators: safety, learning how to operate equipment, evaluating potential hires and as an employee-recruiting tool at schools and career events. The simulators can even be integrated with 3D machine control systems to help train operators on that technology. Along with safety and preventing damage, they also don’t cause contractors any fuel costs.
To learn more about this high-tech, safe way to train operators, check out the latest episode of The Dirt.
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In This Episode:
- 00:00 – Tenstar Construction Equipment Simulators
- 00:30 – What are Tenstar Simulators?
- 01:27 – Machine and Vehicle Options
- 02:01 – Use Cases for Tenstar Simulators
- 06:04 – Learn Machine Control with a Simulator
- 07:14 – Learn More About Tenstar Simulators
- 08:02 – Final Thoughts
00:00:00:10 - 00:00:30:00
Bryan Furnace
Today we're here to talk about yet another training tool that is in our quiver of arrows that we can pull out. We're here to talk about Tenstar Simulators, which is a simulator platform that can be used to train personnel to alleviate some of the costs and headaches of trying to educate those employees out in the field.
00:00:30:02 - 00:00:36:05
Bryan Furnace
Could you start by giving us an overview of what Tenstar simulators are and which machines are represented?
00:00:36:07 - 00:00:57:00
Matthew Biles
Yeah. So the Tenstar Simulators are Swedish-made machine simulators that come in a couple of different platforms. Number one, they come in a pedestal platform. So it is a standalone simulator that you can only use virtual reality for. They also make a desktop version. When you're talking about desktop you can use these screens, or you can use virtual reality.
00:00:57:00 - 00:01:16:19
Matthew Biles
And then probably there are two most popular platforms in my opinion is the mobile units. The mobile units come in a motion base and a non-motion base. And when I say motion based, that is the simulator that you are really going to have those true reactions, those true movements and true feelings just like you are in a real machine in real life.
00:01:16:21 - 00:01:38:01
Matthew Biles
So both of those machines are transportable. You can strap them down in a trailer and move those. They're nice and convenient, but we tend to see the best reactions off of those simulators. And as far as the vehicles and machines that Tenstar host, this is kind of what separates them from the competition. Tenstar offers over 25 machines and vehicles.
00:01:38:03 - 00:02:00:20
Matthew Biles
They're all license based. So what that means is you can put as many as you want on one single simulator, or as few as you need, whatever your company needs. So really flexible on that. The machines that we focus on are the earthmoving. I want to talk about earthmoving. I'm talking about the bulldozer, the wheel excavator, the track excavator, the wheel loader, the hauler and the motor grader.
00:02:01:02 - 00:02:11:23
Bryan Furnace
So how are these simulators being utilized by their current owners?
00:02:45:10 - 00:03:14:18
Matthew Biles
Four different ways that we're really seeing current owners utilize the simulators. Right now. Number one is for safety training. So we all know infractions and things happen out in the field. It's just the nature of the beast. But what you're able to do is bring in these operators, put them through some of the courses. These courses go all the way through basic training of how to drive or operate the machine, all the way through very big band exercises for those operators.
00:03:14:18 - 00:03:36:17
Matthew Biles
So safety managers or whoever's managing a Tenstar program can bring in these operators, put them through corrective training, safety training on these exercises. And when they're done, they can go back and view a replay system that will actually highlight any incidences they may have had. So really cool tool. A lot of the exercises actually produce a scorecard as well.
00:03:36:19 - 00:04:00:01
Matthew Biles
And this is something you can print out export and you can keep in your files for that employee for future evaluation, whatever purposes you may need. Number two is learning a new machine. So like I said on all these machines, you have exercises all the way from the very basics of learning how to operate and drive that machine all the way to very advanced exercises and advanced movements on these machines.
00:04:00:02 - 00:04:26:14
Matthew Biles
So great opportunity for these companies to take people that may have never been on any kind of machines, or maybe they're just looking for that person to become more versatile and learn a new machine. We actually have a really cool success story, one of our current customers that purchase some of the simulators from us. They took an employee that had never been on any type of machines in his life, stuck him through the excavator program, and actually made him complete that a couple times.
00:04:26:14 - 00:04:47:17
Matthew Biles
They said that took him a couple of weeks to fully complete that. After he was done, he knew the basics. They stuck him out on a real excavator. And actually still to this day, he is an excavator operator. So just a really cool success story there. Number three is for hiring purposes. So something that we never really considered when we first started selling the simulators.
00:04:47:18 - 00:05:11:00
Matthew Biles
But they are eye catchers. You know when somebody sees the simulators, all your current employees, you know everybody is going to want to come try them out, see what they're about. So what a great opportunity. Take some of your current operators, some of your current employees that you know, their skill level, you know, whether they're green or they've been an operator for ten, 15 years or whether they've been an operator for 20 or 30 years.
00:05:11:02 - 00:05:35:14
Matthew Biles
Bring those certain people in, put them through certain exercises and courses, and you can really get a good benchmark out of that. And what a great tool when you're looking to hire somebody new. We all know that sometimes those turnover rates in the operators can happen really fast. So what a great evaluation tool to be able to bring in some of those new potential hires, put them on the simulator and just kind of make sure they check out to be who they say they are.
00:05:35:16 - 00:05:55:23
Matthew Biles
Number four is simply as a recruiting tool. So once again, the mobile units are able to be transported nice and easily so you can put those in a trailer. These companies are able to take them to big shows, big events. You can take them to high school colleges. They are great recruiting tools. Anywhere you take them, you're going to attract attention.
00:05:56:03 - 00:06:03:09
Matthew Biles
People are going to want to come over, try them out, talk to you, ask questions about them. So just a really great recruiting tool for these companies.
00:06:03:13 - 00:06:13:13
Bryan Furnace
So are these simulators. Are they limited to only learning the machine themselves, or do you have the ability to hook them up to like machine control and simulate machine control functions as well?
00:06:13:19 - 00:06:35:23
Matthew Biles
Yeah, you absolutely can learn machine control through these simulators. So cool thing is, Tenstar integrates with all of the top machine control brands on set. Terror wise. You know we are a like a machine-control dealer. So of course we love showing off the like a machine control. As a matter of fact, on our simulator right outside of here, we have a MXGp 80 like a panel attached to that that's integrated.
00:06:35:23 - 00:06:57:05
Matthew Biles
So it's a great chance when customers walk through the door, maybe they've never seen machine control. It's a great way to introduce them to machine control. Or maybe they just haven't seen the like a platform. So it's also a really great way to introduce people to that. Like a platform. Several other really cool things. So when you're talking about a bulldozer, we can use our panel.
00:06:57:05 - 00:07:13:18
Matthew Biles
And right there through the simulator, do a full blade calibration so we can show our customers that. And we also use it for some internal training. We'll show some of the support and install guys and make them run through a full blade calibration. So a couple of really cool tools on the machine control side that you can use it for.
00:07:13:20 - 00:07:20:00
Bryan Furnace
So my final question is if someone wanted more information on Tenstar simulators, where could they go to get that information?
00:07:20:04 - 00:07:39:13
Matthew Biles
Yeah. So if you want to learn some more about the simulators, a few ways you can do that, go to our website Tara Wise solutions.com. You're going to want to scroll over to the solutions tab. At the very bottom you will see Tenstar simulators. We have some more information there. We have a brochure you can download also on the website.
00:07:39:13 - 00:08:02:10
Matthew Biles
You can reach out to us on the contact page. Just send us an email. Let us know that you're interested in the simulators. We'd be happy to get in touch with you. And you can also reach out directly to me. My email is Matthew. Matt at Terra Y solutions.com. Reach out to me. I'd love to talk to you, get you some more information on the simulators, and possibly set up a free demo with you.
00:08:02:12 - 00:08:09:23
Bryan Furnace
Well, thank you for Matthew coming on the show to talk about Tenstar simulators. As always, I hope this helps you and your business. We'll catch you on the next episode of The Dirt.
