SiteSim™
Physical Characteristics | Spotting | Switching

Your rail worksites have unique track layouts, physical characteristics and hazards – impacting both safety and service.
But do your employees know:
– their assigned sites, industries, yards – position of gates, derails, temporary structures, close clearances?
– where to spot rail cars correctly?
– how to build a train with minimum safe switches/pin pulls/couples/moves on that track layout?
– how to build a train with the relevant hazmat placement rules?
What if they could learn and practice all of this before and after they visit? In a SiteSim™, an Interactive Digital Replica of the site, they can. Crews train and plan for that exact site before they step onsite (see video):
✅ Physical Characteristics Qual/Cert (industries, territories, terminals, yards) – ‘Know Your Site‘
✅ Safety & Hazard Training – reduce switching related incidents (clearance/foul points, run-throughs etc.)
✅ Operational Cost Savings – reducing trainee site visits (49 CFR Part 240/242)
✅ Visual Job Aids for Assigning Tasks/Check lists – Improve customer service efficiency

K n o w l e d g e  g a p s  c r e a t e  R I S K
G e t  Y o u r  C o n d u c t o r s  S i t e  R e a d y

“If Simulation & GIS had a baby, this would be it.
While mapping software like ArcGIS/Google shows us the site per se, we can’t actually train for scenarios.
Now we have an elegant, easy-to-use safety and training site app for our conductors & engineers”
– Class 1 Railroad.
Standardize on-demand training with Interactive Playbooks.
Ramp up service capacity. Get a ‘Usable conductor sooner, safer’
Real Sites, Virtual Visits – ready in days.

F A Q s

How is this different than drone video?
– Editing and version control: passive content like video (drone, 360 video) cannot be manipulated or edited. Typical industry changes – adding a track, equipment, rolling stock, building extensions/additions – make the video captures obsolete with the pain of re-shoot, schedules, clearances etc. When the site changes, the SiteSim™ changes with it. Add or remove assets (e.g. outdoor storage bays showing temporary close clearances) and they go live instantly.

– Solving switching puzzles: in video and images, rolling stock and other objects captured cannot be moved. In a SiteSim™, employees practice building a train with the fewest moves on that specific track layout. Video and photos can’t do that, because nothing in them moves.

– Real-time update of customer/industry site – “watch out for construction activity here this next two months”

– Novel views: a video is limited to the camera perspective it was shot it. With SiteSim™, crews roam freely, including a true bird’s-eye view

How is this different than GIS/3D Maps?
– Tools & software like ArcGIS/Google provide a ‘map view’ with overlays. While efficient for site planning, construction and design, it doesn’t provide a training experience for railroaders (see points above, especially regarding Switching). A SiteSim™ is built for safety and training scenarios. Trainers add, remove and move rolling stock, vehicles, equipment and buildings, and crews get instant feedback and tracked scores.

– We capture 3D data at a resolution that Google Maps/3D tiles natively cannot (see the video)

Can this actually save costs/any direct ROI? 
– By the time an employee gets to a site, they will feel as if they have ‘already been here’. This could reduce trainee site days (1-2 days instead of all week) for qualification.

–  Switching accounts for a number of incidents. New hires have the most difficulty with this – often making extra activity. Every switch, cut, and hitch is an action that exposes employees to risk. This solution allows practice on efficient location-specific switching puzzles. Less actions to switch = less risk, less associated costs.

– Your SiteSim™ becomes the training and pre-planning base for that site. Your railroad keeps using it for years, for safety training and for regulatory qualification.

 

O v e r v i e w

Have questions? We recommend a live demo to qualify this yourself – email at solutions@hwd3d.com or call 888.781.0274 ext. 701

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