How Toyotetsu America’s Onboarding Reduced the Use of Real Lift Trucks by 50% with Training Simulation

Toyotetsu America Incorporated (TTAI) operates more than 100 lift trucks to support their automotive parts manufacturing. In 2018 TTAI became a Simlog customer and has since trained about 600 Lift Truck Operators. The onboarding program consists of three steps:

• Two days of classroom "orientation"
• Half-day of training simulation
• Half-day of “obstacle course” work at the controls of a real lift truck.

In addition, when an incident occurs on the shop floor and the “root cause analysis” points to a lift truck problem, the Floor Manager can send the operator back to the Forklift Personal Simulator for “refresher” training, to help improve the operator’s skills.

Simlog’s Personal Simulators are recognized for offering the lowest cost-per-station on the market, especially when customers take advantage of common requirements for simulator controls. Since many of Simlog's Personal Simulators can use the very same controls, we can offer you the unique cost-efficiency of multi-purpose (multi-software) simulator stations.

Multi-Purpose configurations are available in both tabletop mounting and operator chair options. Select the Personal Simulator software that fits your training requirements, along with the corresponding Multi-Purpose simulator controls that can be used for multiple Personal Simulators. Thanks to the convenience of USB connectivity, simply connect the specific elements needed for each Personal Simulator.  Here are some examples. (No displays are presented here, because the number of possible displays varies with each product, from just one to four.)

Multi-Purpose Replica Control Tabletop

With two multi-purpose joysticks, these Replica Controls are suitable for our Skid Steer Loader and Mobile Crane Personal Simulators. Add the toe-down/heel-down 2-pedal unit to work with the Hydraulic Excavator Personal Simulator, or the 2-pedal unit to work with our Bulldozer Personal Simulator.

By adding the Logitech “G920 Driving Force Racing Wheel” consisting of a steering wheel and a three-pedal unit, and the Transmission Control Lever, you can create a comprehensive multi-purpose station suitable for our Backhoe Loader, Wheel Loader, Skid Steer Loader, Bulldozer, and Mobile Crane Personal Simulators. Add the 2-pedal unit to work with the Hydraulic Excavator Personal Simulator. The same setup is also suitable for our Forklift Personal Simulator (using joysticks), or you can add levers with additional brackets (not pictured).

Multi-Purpose Operator Chair

This Operator Chair with two-multi-purpose joysticks can be used with the Skid Steer Loader and Mobile Crane Personal Simulators. Add the toe-down/heel-down 2-pedal unit to work with the Hydraulic Excavator Personal Simulator, or the 2-pedal unit to work with our Bulldozer Personal Simulator.

This Operator Chair with industrial steering wheel and pedals, can be configured with two-multi-purpose joysticks to work with our Backhoe Loader, Wheel Loader, Skid Steer Loader, Bulldozer, and Mobile Crane Personal Simulators. Add the 2-pedal unit to work with our Hydraulic Excavator Personal Simulator. The same setup is also suitable for Forklift (using joysticks), or you can add levers and a special bracket for the right hand (not pictured).

Alone, Simlog’s Personal Simulators save simulation results as files on your PC, with filenames that incorporate the date and time. But adding Simulation Manager will let you save all simulation results in a Simlog database, provide security, and simplify keeping track of who’s done what. Just one software license is needed, since the same Simulation Manager can be used with all of our Personal Simulators.

Software Description

Using the Simulation Manager, you can:

• Create a unique “account” for each simulator user, with a unique login name and password
• Restrict access to simulation results by assigning users to different categories (Students, Instructors, Administrators)
• Group users into “classes”. In this way, if you are using the same PC to host several Simulators, you can authorize different classes to use different Simulators
• Work with multiple databases at the same time
• Save all simulation results in the Simlog database, indexed by user.

Note that the database is archived locally (remember that with Simlog, there is no Internet connection). In particular, nothing is stored “in the cloud” where your data could be subject to cyber-theft or tampering. In this way, everything stays private and confidential, at your premises.

Simlog also offers a free Viewer so that people off-site can also review the same simulation results, using a local copy of the Simlog database.

Finally, note that in the case of a simulator lab, the simulation results at each station will be saved in the same database (so long as all of the simulator PCs are all networked together), as shown here for the example of five simulator “stations” (for five people training at the same time).

Simlog’s Wheel Loader Personal Simulator puts students at the controls of a typical Wheel Loader with either a bucket or forks, to simulate a wide variety of typical operations on a job site. The simulation environment includes a new commercial site that resembles a typical loading/unloading yard at a factory or warehouse.

Training efficiency is delivered through a modular Instructional Design that teaches real skills for productive and safe equipment operations in the field