Antycip Simulation and CMLabs have teamed to develop offshore crane training simulators for the PNI Training Centre in Norway. The simulators, installed at PNI’s Stavanger base in June, will help the company address increasing demands for the training of personnel in offshore lifting operations.

The delivery incorporates Canadian company CMLabs’ Vortex simulation technology, which has been used in the development of training programs for the oil and gas, marine, construction, mining, and port sectors.

Antycip, a subsidiary of ST Electronics (Training & Simulation Systems) Pte, provides modeling and simulation tools, projection systems, and related engineering services, and is also CMLabs’ representative in Europe.

Antycip and CMLabs’ simulator delivery to PNI for training crane and lifting crews.

A priority for PNI was that the program covers the needs of the entire team involved in lifting operations – not just the crane operator, but also the banksman (signaler) and slinger. Incorporating teamwork in a simulated training program is a new departure, according to Malin Hallbeck, account manager at Antycip’s office in Gothenburg which was responsible for this project.

Working to detailed specifications supplied by PNI, Antycip gathered wide-ranging input for the simulation program, including capturing extensive visual imagery and procedures on offshore drilling rigs and contacting crane suppliers for the exact crane specifications and operating procedures for the various types of offshore cranes – pedestal-boom cranes, knuckle-boom cranes, and pipe-handling systems.

The resulting simulation program offers a realistic immersive environment which is displayed on five large screens and includes authentic crane controls, machine and ambient sounds effects, plus variable weather and sea-state conditions. A wide range of in-depth training exercises cover a variety of situations – rig and supply ship lifts, internal lifts, subsea lifts on intervention vessels, and even tandem lifts with two simulated cranes – in accordance with the leading sets of lifting standards.

“You need as much realism as you can get,” says Hallbeck. “It can be dangerous if trainees get into a real crane cab and it doesn’t correspond to the training they’ve had.”

The point is backed by CMLabs vice president Arnold Free. “The main cause of offshore crane accidents is human error, and the main cause of human error is lack of knowledge and experience,” he says.

For more information contact Marilou Poupon, Antycip Simulation. Tel +46 31 707 7471, fax +46 31 704 2210, marilou.poupon@antycipsimulation.com, www.antycipsimulation.com.