Background

Lead Italian rail training provider TRAINing wanted to explore how to roll out additional simulation across their driver training courses in response to the recommendation from the Italian National Agency for the Safety of Railways and Motorway Infrastructure (ANSFISA) and by the Italian railway operators to expand the use of driving simulator exercises. Desktop and full cab simulator options didn’t offer the flexibility for trainee throughput, however Denova’s range of procedural simulators for mobile devices provided a preferable and more cost effective solution.

TRAINing operates EUnomos, a rule book management system which allows Italian rail drivers to abstract and maintain the rules that apply to their specific region or role. The TRAINing team wanted to improve and accelerate learning by expanding the rules with simulation.

Working virtually between Edinburgh and Verona, TRAINing and Denova started to scope the idea of how to make rule book simulation easily accessible, bringing procedures to life in short, focussed scenarios.

Solution

In partnership with TRAINing, Denova created SIMULAPro, a library of rule book procedural simulations designed for tablet. The focussed simulations are linked to EUnomous, so a trainee can read the rule, scan its QR code with SIMULAPro, and drive the procedure. The train status and driver performance on each scenario is captured via a virtual On-Train Data Recorder (OTDR) and made available as a report for the assessor to review.

Outcome.

SIMULAPro provides essential rule book procedural simulation for Italian rail operators. Through the analytics and reports it provides valuable assessment data and helps build, and maintain, driver competence.

Giuseppe Alfonso Cassino, CEO Training srl said  “We are delighted with the launch of SIMULAPro. It is a real innovation for the Italian rail training market and in accordance with the ANSFISA recommendation provides Railway Undertakings with a cost effective, quick, and expert solution. Denova are very easy to work with and really understand driver training, regardless of language or regulations. We look forward to rolling SIMULAPro out across the Italian rail market and developing the functionality further”