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Education and Simulator


       For years, training on a simulator is an integral part of education in naval schools for the merchant navy. To learn on simulator comes directly from commercial aviation. By the upgrading of technology, it is possible to build video simulators more and more realistic. From one small screen, it is now possible to play on full vision bridges, having look even on aft of the vessel. It is, of course, possible to set simulators with different kind of vessels, from little coaster to VLCC. Same for engine simulator. Actually a bridge simulator, over its different views, is connected to radar, ECDIS, engine and steering controls which are really realistic.

       2 kinds of simulators exist: video screen and scale models (for ship handling) or facilities (for engine).

Great differences.
       On video side, cost is not so big (could be restricted place, and only few computers), and except bug, there is almost no possibility to break material. On the other side, scale models or engine facilities, investment is much more important and the site where to store and to play should be extensive. Also the consequence of damage is more important. A wrong manœuvre (such as a collision with a quay or another vessel, a boiler explosion) will have bigger consequences. Even if for engine facilities, damage could lead to maintenance learning, or how to learn from a mistake. Take care of costs.
       In order to clarify my own point of view, let me say that learning on a simulator is good. But consider, it should be performed in knowledge of dangers of this kind of learning, and by requiring more than acquisition of automatic reactions.

       Let us see what are the advantages and disadvantages of simulator, restrictions in its use, and how to perform better.
Advantages:
 
       Extreme situations, which could never be met during years at sea, can be preset, learning of automatic reactions in rules application such as Colreg, possibility to replay the same scenario to learn from errors or even to confirm that the first good interpretation of a situation was not due to hazard but to well known rules application, possibility to faster time in order to shorter calm periods of the game, and, even if it is less, to approach the same surrounding conditions like at sea.
Preset situations:
       It is possible to program a lot of vessels which could be in close situation with trainee depending how he is manœuvring his own vessel. Two different trainees will have two different reactions on the first manœuvre, and then they will have the sensation to have not played the same game even if it was in the same environment with the same targets. This will give a new possibility to replay the game with another react. And during debriefing this could lead trainees to exchange about their own manœuvres and to explain them.
       Situations can be created for day, night, good and bad visibility, with radar targets more or less strong, it is even possible to set a target to appear only time to time on screen, like a false target, but an existing one which will appear visually sometimes too late.
       Replay the same scenario, or to learn from own errors. It is wonderful to be able to play again, to correct manœuvres after understanding. And even without error at the first attempt, when all was successful, but after a long and strong thought, to play again the same game and regularly in order to get automatic reactions.
       This is really valuable on pilotage stations which are equipped with simulators, where do and do again the same situation and the same manœuvres in different weather conditions will give to a pilot a greater knowledge, a faster power of making decision.
Disadvantages:
       Obviously the environment is more and more realistic, but rolling, heat, cold, noise from air conditioning system, VHF, other devices such as engine and communication ones, numerous alarms nowadays on the bridge, are still missing. When one is trained on simulator, he is really concentrated on manœuvres, on navigation, without any interference from all around, not like on board. The vessels, videos or scale models, are close to existing ones, and technological upgrading leads to thing that they will be closer in future. However there is still a slight difference between the vessel on which we will go at sea, and the video or scale model one. First all kind of vessels are not yet (and could not) available everywhere. And even for one kind of vessel, differences exist following shipyards, a rudder slightly different, an engine a bit more powered, a cargo repartition, so a stability not exactly same, etc. The officer of watch or captain has not in his hands his own vessel but a similar one, only similar. Of course, it is better than nothing, but that means we should keep in mind that the next true vessel will maybe not answer like the simulator one, and so to not be surprised later on, which could lead to greater risk at sea.
What are the most important problems on using simulators?
       In some countries, it is very seriously planned to replace months at sea by weeks on simulators and same for some basic courses in classrooms.
       Learning, training on simulators, as now considered as essential in education, should only be a further training, in almost real situation, but must not be given in place of rhetorically courses, such as learning of Colregs. One can learn early on simulator, but this will never replace experience at sea, alone or in a team, beyond an unstable environment where a lot of additional problems arise.
       In fact training on a simulator should be nearly kept for officers having an experience at sea, and who would come to improve their experience, eventually to confirm or to correct their ideas, this for a less cost than at sea. While on training on such simulator, I tried some manœuvres, which I had the idea since some time, but which I judged with more risk, and never attempted due to uncertainty of result and having not the will to risk millions of dollars just to see if I was right. In that occasion, I learned that I was right for some situations, as manœuvres were successful but so dangerous in their concepts that I never test later in real situation.
       And this is what I would like to point out, how to improve the quality and efficiency of such training? I think that trainings on simulators would be more efficient if 2 essential things are admitted: to forget that one is just playing video game, and to include a great dose of human factor.

         Considering human factors in simulation is essential. It leads to a more real situation, and to the necessity to work as a team like on a bridge or in an engine, to include additional problems by interfering with phone calls, amazing mails as well known by our technical, quality or commercial services ashore. To force the trainee to assimilate that concentration should be at maximum at all times what ever are circumstances.

       And then to forget that it is only a game. I am always surprised to see students, in courses on simulators, to laugh because they had a collision with port entry jetties or another student. It is amazing for the “play station” generation to play on a video game and to receive further explanation that we have only one life, not 7 or 10, that in life, we will never come back astern.

       Even if I said sometimes bad things about training on simulators, my last comments will be that I think it is absolutely necessary for every captain and chief engineer to receive training on simulators, for different reasons: to try, to go in depth of knowledge, to correct wrong or unsafe automatic reactions. On videos or on scale models, with, in my opinion, more benefits with scale models which are certainly more realistic and less players.

       These last trainings, scale models ones, could become mandatory, in a continuous professional education, as per aviation, and then the owners, in view of considerable money spent for those trainings, could also get a profit. Why not during negotiation of insurance contracts?

Capt. Hubert Ardillon
AFCAN chairman


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