Video: Conewago Enterprises – Success with Vortex Simulators

I’m Greg Smith, and I’m a project manager here at Conewago Enterprises. I work in managing our technology-based programs, many of which are measuring production in the field, and also measuring our ability to train new operators. My name is Adam Hicks, Vice President of Administration for Conewago Enterprises. It encompasses the legal department, HR, safety and IT.

Family background at Conewago, it was started in 1956 by my grandfather. Many of the employees that are still employed here at Conewago today started under my grandfather, and still serve Conewago and work with us as a family. We definitely are characterized as a design-build general contractor. It allows us to have more control over the project, put quality in it, and make sure we’re giving our customers the most value for their money. Our customers come to Conewago because we do what we say we will do.

In the past it has taken six to eight months to have someone certified to be a crane operator, and cost around $40,000. Using the simulator, we were able to cut that to about ten to twelve thousand dollars.

The CM Labs Simulation Systems here Conewago meets three of our core values: safety, quality and efficiency.

We evaluated the Vortex Simulator by taking three experienced operators out to another client site of CM labs out in Wisconsin, and we wanted to test the graphics on how well it simulated that real-life experience on a piece of equipment. All three loved it, they said they felt like the real machines whether it was crane, excavator, or wheel loader.

You can train new operators, you can continue to work on efficiency with existing operators, you can screen in the hiring process. Every applicant that comes in as an equipment operator goes on the simulator first to be tested.

I was actually shocked at how realistic it was, and just the way the seat moves, and you feel like there’s weight coming onto a crane. I thought it was pretty incredible the first time. Whenever they ask you to get into a crane it’s kind of like an overwhelming feeling because there’s a lot of responsibility there to be able to just step into something like this, and just take away that element.

“I love that part of it. There you go now it’s moving.”

I’m able to put an operator who I’m not comfortable with or is a new operator that doesn’t have all the skills of an experienced operator in a simulator where he can’t damage himself, the equipment, or anybody around him. You’re never going to get the opportunity to take back something after you damage it on the site, but in here you can learn those skills, and get that muscle memory down without that danger.

We were able to, within a week of having the simulator, get somebody started training on that. Started in July, and in October they were a fully certified crane operator.

Earlier this year, we had an operator come into the simulator, so we sat them down and we had them go through the same bench loading exercise ten times in a row. By the tenth time, they had actually reduced their cycle time from four and a half minutes to three minutes, saving about a minute and a half.

Our conceptual match here is around $13,000 worth of savings on a smaller 30,000 cubic yard project, just saving 30 seconds on that excavator cycle time.

It was a fit for us right away.

We’re very proud to have the Vortex Simulator here at Conewago. It allows us a wide range of possibilities with training.

I didn’t want a toy, I wanted something that I could use to train more operators, and get a better skilled workforce.

We enjoy bringing people in, showing them how it runs, kind of just how we’ve changed our training game here at Conewago.