Simulator training for maritime complex tasks: an experimental study

Training simulators are largely deployed to provide operators working within complex systems to instil adequate skills to handle normal and abnormal situations. Improved technology and higher computation power have significantly increased the use of training simulators in the training programs. The goal of this pilot study is to determine the design of training in order to prepare for complex tasks within the maritime domain. In this experimental study, students are trained to perform docking operations when ocean currents with increasing complexity are introduced in the training program. The effect of the training is evaluated by comparing two groups: one trained with homogenous currents and the other with heterogeneous currents. Objective performance measures are used to analyse the participants’ performance. The results indicate that when the participants were exposed to tasks with gradually increasing complexity, they performed better as compared to those who were exposed to complex tasks too early in the training. The results suggest that even though the technology and computational power provide for new possibilities in training simulators, new features that make the tasks more complicated should not be included too early in the training without sufficient investigation. It is also found that increasing functional fidelity of the simulation during training has resulted in the improved performance of the participants during the complex tasks (docking operations), as compared to those training with the highest fidelity from the beginning.