“This approach clearly works, but has its drawbacks.I would list the lack of productivity, the relatively high risk of accidents and what I would term a ‘subjective approach’ to charting progress. At the right price, a simulator does offer distinctive advantages,” he says, noting that,in addition to product sales,Simulare offers lease packages including on-site training programmes.

The aim of any form of training is to ultimately enable the crane driver to become operationally effective on the particular crane or cranes they are going to work on. Mr Banerjee is therefore yet to be convinced that effective training is in fact possible if undertaken externally.He argues that an on-site model using a simulator alongside a structured training program (with real crane experience introduced at the right time) is much more cost effective.

Challenged to explain how a would-be simulator owner would make a return on investment, Mr Banerjee points out that having an experienced crane driver shadowing a new employee for some considerable time before the latter is sufficiently qualified to operate the crane solo does have real productivity implications. Add that to possible accidents and damage to cargo and ships, then it begins to make sense to use a simulator training programme first to save money over the longer period. “All crane drivers should complete their training on a real crane.The question is:How soon can you get them up into a real crane without there being a significant risk of accidents? That’s where a simulator is a good option, especially in the port and terminal industry when accidents and damage can potentially cause costly delays.”

In addition to its simulator development role, Simulare also produces software that is able to analyse a crane driver's on-crane productivity and technique. This highlights areas for improvement that, when coupled with the simulator, offers port and terminals a powerful continuous improvement tool to maximise productivity.

Asked whether it wouldn’t be cheaper to simply provide a PC programme simulating a crane operator’s role, Mr Banerjee emphasises that simulators exist specifically to train somebody in a practical skill.“What possible software can you use to adequately reproduce the human motor skills that real life discharge situations require? If you are talking about theorybased software, this doesn't help develop that skill. Reading about the golf swing doesn't usually make you a better golfer,”he argues.

Mr Banerjee points out that Simulare’s simulators can also act as effective selection tools for new drivers. Used correctly, they make it possible to quickly establish whether a prospective crane driver has the talent to become an efficient driver well before committing his new employer to what can sometimes be 350 hours of on-crane training.

“In our opinion, the best way to train a crane driver is to make an initial selection based on a person’s reaction to using a simulator, then using the simulator as part of a structure training programme, followed by the use of monitoring systems on board the real crane as a means of increasing productivity and promoting a port's best practises. This approach would contrast with that of a port or terminal relying on each individual crane driver's best efforts to achieve the same ends.”

Gijón-based Simulare manufactures container and dry bulk crane training simulators, as well as other dry bulk machinery simulators. Mr Banerjee notes that container crane simulators nowadays all offer similar functionality and are competitively priced. In contrast, dry bulk simulators are much more bespoke items, since they are harder to accurately create. This is because of the various grab-material interactions involved, the very real difference in the densities of the materials handled and the types of grab used.The complex dynamics of dry bulk cranes are also harder to recreate.