Old timer versus simulator training what's the real deal?

Had a chat with a guy named Mike at the union hall in Pittsburgh last Friday. He's been running cranes for 30 years and says simulators are fine but they don't teach you the feel of the load in real wind. I've been using the new simulator at our yard and it feels pretty solid to me but he laughed and said wait till you get a gust on a 200 foot boom. What do you guys think is simulator training catching up to real seat time or is it still no substitute?

3 comments

3 Comments

terryw671mo agoMost Upvoted

Read an article in Overdrive last month about a guy who crashed a real excavator after passing simulator training with flying colors. Simulators are good for learning buttons and procedures, but that wind and load feel Mike mentioned is the real deal you only get from seat time.

olivia3981mo ago

Maybe it's just me but simulator training is way more useful than people give it credit for. The specific skills like reading grade stakes, understanding machine controls, and learning safety protocols are all things you can nail down on a screen without wrecking expensive equipment. Plus, that excavator crash story could have just been a dude who didn't pay attention to the fundamentals he learned in the simulator. Seat time is great for the feel stuff, sure, but simulators let you practice multiple scenarios without any real world cost or danger. Wind and load feel matter more for finish work than for basic operation, and most operators spend years on rough grade anyway.

murray.drew1mo ago

Wait till you get a gust on a 200 foot boom" - that's the part that sticks with me. I remember back in 2018 my buddy Ron took a simulator test for a tower crane gig in Philly, passed with flying colors, then showed up on site and almost put the load through a lunch truck on his first day because the real wind caught him off guard. @olivia398 you're right that simulators are good for learning controls and all that, but there's this weird thing where your gut just knows when something is wrong in real life that a screen can't teach you. Like learning to drive stick on an old truck versus a video game, you feel the clutch grab differently. Simulators are great for practice don't get me wrong, but they still miss that whole body feeling of a load fighting back.