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Page 1: Client Case Study: Sleipnir Lift Management - Vortex · Client Case Study: Sleipnir Lift Management ... they have some natural abilities ... blends simulator training,

Client Case Study: Sleipnir Lift Management

Saying it is easy. Achieving it is not. Sleipnir provides training, project planning, and supervision to the on-shore and offshore lifting industry, which has had its share of work-related injuries and fatalities.

“I’ve been in the industry for over 30 years, and I’ve seen real challenges with training offshore,” McGroty says. “But over the last 15 years or so, it’s become obvious to oil and gas operators, trainers, regulators, governments, that offshore is a dangerous environment.”

The danger is acute in the context of a global skills shortage triggered by an aging workforce. In addition, offshore energy exploration now ventures into remote environments that not long ago would have been considered too hostile to be viable—and where on-the-job training can put lives at risk.

“So how do you introduce someone to that training?” McGroty asks. “How do you bring them up to speed? There’s a need to train people in a safe environment before we expose them to a dangerous setting.”

“Maybe this isn’t for me.”

Roger McGroty’s search for a suitable training simulator took him all over the world. “We wanted something that was industrial strength,” he says. “People spend a lot of money to use the sims, and to have it down or not working, which is the case with a lot of the simulators we researched, we didn’t want that to be an option.”

Engineering-grade quality was key for McGroty because he was planning to deploy a full team-training scenario, with multiple personnel stations. A glitch in any of the stations would jeopardize training effectiveness for the entire team.

The Company Based in Newfoundland and Labrador, Sleipnir Lift Management provides training, project planning, and supervision to the on-shore and offshore lifting industry.

The Situation Sleipnir was looking for simulators that would meet its stringent requirements for realism, durability, and full-team training.

The Solution CM Labs’ Vortex Simulators provide Sleipnir with rugged, high-fidelity team training capabilities, including crane, rigger, and banksperson stations.

The Results Sleipnir’s Vortex Simulator-based training program provides operators with high-quality safety training that’s unique in the industry.

When Roger McGroty founded Sleipnir Lift Management in 2005, he knew simulators would play a vital part in achieving one of the company’s most important goals.

That goal was simple: “No person gets hurt.”

Vortex Success Story | Offshore Crane Simulators

Page 2: Client Case Study: Sleipnir Lift Management - Vortex · Client Case Study: Sleipnir Lift Management ... they have some natural abilities ... blends simulator training,

Vortex Success Story | Offshore Crane Simulators

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“When we found CM Labs and saw first-hand their simulators, there wasn’t a real big question as to which simulator to go with,” says McGroty. “We picked CM Labs simply because of their simulators’ realism and durability. We can have students on the Vortex simulator every day, and not have to worry about hardware maintenance. Nobody’s ever had to come for any repairs or do anything after the fact.”

Along with durability, the CM Labs brand has long been based on the realism of its Vortex Simulators. The company’s philosophy: If the simulation isn’t right, the training won’t be right either.

Or, to put it another way: When the simulation is right, the training can be a little frightening. “We’ve had students themselves say that this is fantastic because they didn’t know what was involved—and as soon as they sit in the seat they’re pretty much immersed in what’s going on. Some of them it’s a bit overwhelming, to be honest with you, and we’ve had cases where people have kind of, you know, gracefully bowed out and said ‘maybe this isn’t for me’.”

“We can simulate things on Vortex we hope nobody ever comes across.”

Roger McGroty takes pride in the exceptional team-training capabilities Vortex Simulators have provided to Sleipnir.

“We have three stations—crane, rigger, banksperson. What really stands out is the integral way everyone can work together. It’s unique as far as our industry goes. The crane operator can be operating a crane, somebody can be rigging a load, and another can be signaling that person, so it’s a fully immersive real-time thing where everyone’s working together.”

The simulators also allow trainers to stress teams to see how well they perform in unexpected circumstances.

“We can simulate things on the Vortex Simulator that we hope nobody ever comes across in an offshore environment,” says McGroty. “A lot of things that experienced operators know can happen, we can simulate—sling failures, mechanical failures of the crane, all kinds of things.”

He adds that the Vortex Simulators are not just for training. For many Sleipnir clients, they’re also a key component of employment pre-screening.

“In a lot of cases clients will send potential students to us to see if they have some natural abilities beforehand,” he says. “If they’re mechanically inclined and have some operator abilities, and the environment on the sim doesn’t scare them to death, then they can go ahead with training after a further selection process.”

“It’s a huge, huge cost savings.”

Sleipnir’s multi-stage training program blends simulator training, theory, and actual offshore practical assessments. When it comes to operator re-certification, however, Sleipnir uses Vortex Simulators as the sole basis for assessing performance.

“We don’t have to worry about whether they can operate a crane at that point in their careers. The assessment on the sim involves exposing them to situations they’ve never been exposed to, or rarely exposed to in the actual environment and see how they react. It’s a huge, huge cost savings.” Offshore hazards being what they are, Sleipnir’s goal of zero injuries will always be a moving target. But Roger McGroty believes the company’s simulator-based training program gives operators an edge they’ve never had before.

“When the simulator simulates some kind of failure process or sling malfunction, operators are really surprised at how they react, how the crane reacts, how the rig reacts. It’s a fantastic experience for them because now they can actually see first-hand what to actually do—instead of just wondering what they may have to do in the future.”


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