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Edition:Final report; November 2004 to November 2006
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Abstract:Snowplow drivers must operate $200,000 units of equipment in blinding snowstorms and demanding traffic conditions.
Yet traditional training for new drivers, with limited funding and staff, may be only two or three storm shifts with a
partner-trainer. For this level of responsibility, training needs to be enhanced, to improve driver safety and reduce risk.
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) outsourced simulator training for snowplow operators in rural
Arizona in late 2004. A mobile simulator classroom visited five ADOT districts: Globe, Flagstaff, Holbrook, Kingman,
and Safford, to deliver a half-day introductory course with both classroom and simulator training segments. This Year
One (2004-05 winter) trainee group included 149 snowplow drivers. In Winter Two (2005-06), more in-depth training
was given on a dedicated driving simulator unit, purchased for ADOT’s Globe Maintenance District. All 61 of Globe’s
snowplow drivers took two courses: situational awareness training in the fall, and then fuel management and shifting
skills in the spring. All Year Two trainers were experienced ADOT snowplow operators from the Globe District.
An interdisciplinary team from Arizona State University (ASU) evaluated the effectiveness of simulator-based training
for snowplow drivers as a new dimension in ADOT’s winter maintenance training program. The primary focus was on
driver response to simulator training, and the effectiveness of that training in terms of public safety and potential cost
savings. Clear quantitative results on this small scale have been limited, but two years of experience with simulatortrained
snowplow operators in Arizona has resulted in optimism about the potential of simulators as an integral part of
a comprehensive winter maintenance and driver skill training program.
Based on the Year Two results from Globe and new personnel training needs, ADOT procured two more simulators for
Holbrook and Flagstaff Districts in mid-2006. A Working Group was formed of field trainers from the three simulator
districts to refine and focus the training courses. A new third-year study will expand on this analysis, with a focus on
results of training in proper gear shifting (a control-level skill) to improve fuel efficiency and to reduce repair costs. As
the study proceeds, it will continue to evaluate the simulators’ effectiveness, providing quantitative documentation to
reinforce the qualitative results and to define broader benefits of the driving simulator for heavy equipment operations.
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