During this project, STEAMS has been developed from a research tool used by IFE in laboratory experiments in HAMMLAB, to a commercial product applicable to simulator-based training centres in nuclear, petroleum and other process industries.
STEAMS provides features for recording and synchronised playback of sound, camera, operator screens, simulator values and simulator events. The product provides unique features for instructors to demonstrate what happened during a scenario: which malfunctions did the instructor insert, how did process parameter values develop during the scenario, what was the operators’ communication like, which actions did they carry out, etc. By selecting from positions in trend curves or from list of timestamped actions, alarms and events, instructors can easily navigate to interesting sequences within the recorded sessions and play them back for the participants during debriefing or for evaluation of the operating crew’s performance during qualification tests. The product can also be used for instruction and training, for example by recording best-practise operations.
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STEAMS was delivered in cooperation with Exitech Corporation, Tennessee, USA. Exitech was the main responsible for the customer contract and project management and provided and installed all hardware, including audio-video equipment. IFE delveloped STEAMS, installed it on site, and delivered a software site license, user manual and basic training in the operation of the system. A successful acceptance test was carried out in early December, and we are now excited to see how the product affects the customer’s training practise.