Serious Labs’ simulators approved by Energy Safety Canada

Serious Labs, a provider of virtual reality (VR) heavy equipment training simulators and blended learning solutions, announced that Energy Safety Canada (ESC) has approved the use of the company’s mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) VR training simulators. ESC, the safety association for Canada’s oil and gas industry, works with hundreds of authorized training providers (ATPs) to deliver safety training and services. 

The VR simulators were audited twice: once to inform the creation of MEWP operator coursework specific for ESC, and a second time to determine if the simulator course met its requirements as an option for practical evaluation. Following the successful audit, workers can now complete the practical component in a VR environment through one of Energy Safety Canada’s ATPs. The certificate of completion is valid for three years and shows that workers have been assessed to ESC standards.

“Our training simulators far exceed not only most training providers’ expectations, but also the industry’s expectations in terms of competency,” said Wade Carson, senior product director, Serious Labs. “The simulators will bolster the ATPs’ current offering while providing a new training tool that many people will actually prefer.”

Serious Labs’ MEWP VR simulators also provide ATPs who do not currently offer equipment training the ability to generate another revenue stream for their business, the company said.

“Simulated training can be a great solution for ATPs who may not have the space in their yard to provide physical equipment, or they are in remote locations, or the day rate equipment rental cost is prohibitive for them to run the training, or there is inclement weather,” said Carson.

Serious Labs recently received a similar training approval from the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF). In October of last year, IPAF authorized the verification of competency for its PAL+ operator license card in VR, reflecting that a sophisticated VR simulator can assess a user’s proficiency as effectively as testing on an actual machine.

“New training tools and modalities, such as VR simulators and our operator telematics measurement system, are becoming the preferred learning method of the new workforce,” said Jim Colvin, CEO, Serious Labs. “These are the types of training tools which will help to future-proof operator skills in Canada’s oil and gas industry.”