Serious Labs' virtual reality training simulator can certify MEWP operators

Serious Labs' ANSI Compliant Assessment Scenario is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) compliant virtual reality operator training simulator for articulated and telescopic boom lifts.

Trainers who use the Serious Labs simulator to deliver the ANSI Compliant Assessment Scenario to new operators for MEWP 3b certification are no longer required to make those operators touch the actual equipment to finalize their training. If an operator completes and passes the Serious Labs ANSI Compliant Assessment Scenario with a minimum of 80 percent proficiency, they will have demonstrated sufficient skill, ability, and awareness to be certified by the training entity. The simulator calculates this proficiency score based on dozens of data points aligned with industry testing standards.

"We have always known that our combination of VR and analytics is the best way to train MEWP operators, but now it's official," says Jim Colvin, CEO at Serious Labs. "Our team has worked hard over the past few years to refine our simulator training to meet ANSI's strict requirements. I'm proud that we are the only VR developers in the world who have achieved this accomplishment."

The ANSI Compliant Assessment Scenario is custom-designed to verify the MEWP 3b, ANSI A92.24, and ISO 18878:13 specified boom lift competencies. The simulated training features consequence-free obstacles and situations that would be difficult to set up in a real-life training space – the very reason traditional trainers struggle to meet the ANSI Standards. In VR, these conditions can be replicated safely and reliably to train and certify operators to a higher level of proficiency than before.

The simulator provides a data-based report of the operator's techniques and behaviour. The trainer is then able to focus specifically on areas for improvement in the operator's skills, an aspect important for plant facility maintenance turnarounds and shutdowns where it is critical to understand the skills gaps for temporary workers who are operating equipment on location.

"Serious Labs has effectively created a virtual environment that will test operators' MEWP skills in VR to a high degree of reliability," says Wallace Judd, PhD, president at Authentic Testing Corporation and former ANSI Assessor. "How operators perform in this virtual test is going to correlate very closely to their skills and capabilities on a real boom lift, to the point of being usable for certifying operators. The test carefully and faithfully measures the qualities that ANSI asks for in a proficient MEWP operator."

"There isn't a single training entity in the access industry that's delivering this level of training to the ANSI standard," says Wade Carson, senior director of product portfolio at Serious Labs. "We are pleased that we have achieved compliance for the organizations that want to offer better, safer working conditions. Our customers can feel the highest level of confidence that operators completing the training are proficient to use that piece of equipment safely on a job site."

Serious Labs' ANSI and ISO-compliant operator equipment training is available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America for Serious Labs' MEWP simulators. The new training scenario is available in English, and will soon be available in Spanish, French, and German.