2/19/2010
Imagine leaving your house in the wee hours of the morning to be the first driver on a snow-packed road in the most treacherous conditions. Such is the life of a snowplow operators coordinating the work of several plows and snow spreaders simultaneously while avoiding inherent roadway hazards. So how do you train for that?
Written by
Imagine leaving your house in the wee hours of the morning to be the first driver on a snow-packed road in the most treacherous conditions. Such is the life of a snowplow operators coordinating the work of several plows and snow spreaders simultaneously while avoiding inherent roadway hazards. So how do you train for that?
Long used for pilot and other types of operator training, simulators are a promising new option for training snowplow operators for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) who are responsible for plowing federal and state roads in Illinois. The snowplow simulator uses a realistic cab, dimensions, scenery, and sounds to provide an authentic experience of snow plowing. The simulators assess how drivers would react to real-life situations that are difficult or costly to replicate.
Evaluating the effectiveness of this simulation training is the subject of an ongoing study by the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT). The simulation training has the potential to enhance safety, reduce traffic accidents and property damage, increase driver efficiency through decreased maintenance costs and a reduction in fuel consumption, allow for training in the off-season, and reduce vehicle operation costs including wear and tear from training activities. All of these effects could provide significant cost savings to IDOT and the state of Illinois.
Simulator training is part of an overall operator training curriculum that includes classroom lectures and computer-based training. The training emphasizes the decision-making processes and risk management while driving and plowing. Eighty snowplow drivers from across the state attended training in three locations, including Bloomington, late last year. At the end of the session, the drivers took a final simulator assessment by driving approximately 1.45 miles they had not previously seen. The simulator provides an overall score out of 100 and points out their violations, such as space management, speed management, and turning, during the course.
The principal investigator for the ICT study, Tom O’Rourke, an emeritus professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at Illinois, attended several of the training classes to evaluate the training methods and to administer a questionnaire to the operators. He found the training to be a good blend of teaching methods by well-qualified instructors, and his survey results showed that almost all drivers thought the simulations were useful and realistic for training objectives.
Yet O’Rourke still has questions to answer about using simulation to train snowplow operators. Is simulation truly effective and, if so, how effective? Is it cost effective versus other training methods? Does it improve driver efficiency and, if so, by how much?
Although ICT’s initial evaluation of the snowplow simulation training is positive, the program will need to be re-assessed after the snow season. At that point, data will be available on if accidents and damaged vehicles were reduced. And more feedback will be collected from drivers on how the simulation prepared them for their work this season. O’Rourke’s final report should be available during summer 2010 and will provide information for IDOT to determine if the simulation training is continued in subsequent years.
Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT)
Housed within the top ranked Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) is an innovative partnership between the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The ICT produces groundbreaking research that directly impacts policies and specifications, resulting in positive changes that affect the daily lives of the traveling public and transportation of goods.
Since its inception in 2005, the ICT has grown and diversified its research portfolio from an initial 12 projects to 115 projects. Its research has supported 105 students and involves approximately 77 investigators from a wide variety of backgrounds, including more than 10 universities and several private sector consultants. The ICT is headquartered at the state-of-the art Advanced Transportation Research and Engineering Laboratory (ATREL) located on the former Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul. ATREL houses equipment for pavements, materials, and transportation operations research and is home to the largest moveable accelerated pavement test facility in the world.
____________________
Contacts: Thomas O’Rourke, Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, 217/840-7036.
Writer: Leslie Sweet Myrick, editor, Illinois Center for Transportation, 217/893-0705, ext. 225.
If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, Engineering Communications Office, 217/244-7716, editor.