how everybody is doing and also treating everybody with a fair hand.”
He feels that this idea of equity is particularly important in terminals with a unionised workforce. In these environments, it is important to ensure that everybody is trained to the same standard – and treated fairly along the way. “For example, you can have an operator that might take a little bit longer to understand load pendulum,” he says. “And that’s fine, so long as we can identify that early. You can use our software to do that, and you can give them a little bit of remedial training and then finally get them up to the acceptable standard.”
Evolving technology As port equipment evolves, so do the simulators and associated training platforms. CM Labs recently acquired artificial
intelligence company AI Redefined and will showcase its first tech demo featuring AI at TOC Europe. “We are looking to enhance our training offering with AI,” says Van de Kletersteeg. “Some people can feel overwhelmed when they get into a simulator and there’s all sorts of stuff going on. We have created an AI helper to really help onboard that student and prevent them from getting stuck. Typically, in port operations, we know the instructor is never too far away, but it does help provide a little bit more independence for the student. The goal is to ensure the technology
remains in step with market needs. “The market is expanding for training solutions as economies develop. As those economies develop, safety and productivity become critical. Even though Europe is a mature market, its needs are evolving.
“Companies no longer just need a simulator for one piece of equipment. They realise they need a full training system to train all of their heavy equipment operators on all of the equipment in the port. And on top of that, they now need a system in place to monitor all of these people, track all their progress, and report back to the health and safety team. “There’s recognition of the value and the need for simulators. But as technology is evolving, the things that we can do within that market are changing as well. You would think you’d reach a maturity end point, but you don’t because what ends up happening is as you move towards it, the rules of the game change a little bit and now all of a sudden, the customer’s needs are greater.”
Customer advocates CM Labs is growing by using its existing customers as advocates. “We try and make
sure that our customers stay happy with our solution,” says Van de Kletersteeg. “Because what ends up happening is you’ll have a customer that wants to experience the solution, and if you happen to have a customer in the local area or just in the country as well, you can send them on site.” Sending potential customers to visit a client
who already has a simulator is proving to be a great sales tool. “We can tell you all you want about the use case, but there’s nothing quite as good as going to a customer’s site, which is another port – which you may or may not be in competition against – and seeing how they’re using it,” he adds.
Sometimes how the port is using a simulator can still surprise the manufacturer. “In my visit to Port of Tilbury, for example, I noticed that they have it located in their cruise terminal, a beautiful building. And they use it a little bit for outreach as well. “The big concern in the industry is how do we get that next generation on board? How do we make sure that those 18-year-olds, or actually probably a bit earlier, those 16-year-olds who are considering their career opportunities, start thinking about this as an option?
“Heavy equipment operation obviously has a lot of satisfaction involved with the job. The pay is quite good, and the working conditions are always improving. There’s a very strong urge to get people to start looking in this direction and consider these career opportunities going forward. There’s nothing quite like 10 or 12 shiny screens and a bunch of controls and a motion platform to entice you into wanting to try that out. In Tilbury, they were doing it with local schools.”
Attracting talent While simulators play a key role in upskilling the workforce, they also help to attract new people into the industry. “I was visiting a customer on Canada’s east coast in Halifax, and I was there on the day that they brought in an entire classroom of students,” says Van de Kletersteeg. “They all came in and had an opportunity to get 15 minutes on the simulator to try it out. Then they were going to do a port tour and a bus just to kind of understand this is an important part of our infrastructure. The modern world wouldn’t work without being able to move goods around the world, and this is a key part of that. So, I was surprised to see how important a simulator could be, even when not being used in its direct original application.”
Remote operation
This also ties in with the trend of remotely operating lifting equipment. “I hate to use the term ‘newer generation’ because it sets this dynamic of old versus new,” says Van de Kletersteeg. “But in terms of getting the newer generation to join the workforce, you have to entice them. “I’ve seen a lot of companies talk about
automation from the perspective of the benefits. There’s the ergonomic benefit of working in a remote operation, and it makes it more appealing. People don’t necessarily want to wake up at five in the morning and climb up a ladder that’s 150 feet tall to climb into the cabin of a crane. So, you definitely have a bit of a shift now towards integrating new automation technology that puts the operator in an office setting, which is much more comfortable. That’s where the market is going, and we’re taking our cues from that.”
www.hoistmagazine.com | June 2025 | ix
CM Labs’ Intellia RTG crane simulator offers the most advanced training on the market.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79
