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LOCK-STEP VS. FREE-PLAY MAINTENANCE TRAINING DEVICES: DEFINITIONS AND ISSUES

Dee H. Andrews

Human Factors Division

Naval Training Systems Center

Hans W. Windmueller

Maintenance Trainers Branch

Naval Training Systems Center

Increasing computer capability together with greater understanding of the learning process has resulted in improvements in the instructional capability of training devices.  This complexity has spawned a great diversity in training device design approaches.  Nowhere is this diversity more apparent (and often less understood), than in the design if maintenance trainers.  The military is currently procuring both lock-step and free-play maintenance trainers at significant cost.  Lock-step trainers lead the trainee through prescribed maintenance training in a pre-determined, pre-programmed fashion.  Free-play trainers have no prescribed maintenance path.  Trainees, therefore, are free to perform any set of procedures in any sequence.  The device simulates real equipment in every way possible and will not automatically freeze when a mistake is made.  Unfortunately, the purposes of the two device types are often confused.  Decreased training effectiveness and increased cost are commonly the result.

This paper examines differences between lock-step and free-play maintenance trainers and explores appropriate uses of each.  Major issues which should be considered when determining how much free-play and/or lock-step to design into a training device are discussed in the paper.  These issues include the expertise of the trainee; complexity of the tasks to be learned; the number and skill levels of the instructors; the nature of the actual operational equipment; and the cost of procurement.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

FIELD RADAR & COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS BENEFIT FROM SINGLE DESIGN/MULTIPLE USE O & M TRAINERS

David  J. Harbour

Ground Systems Group

Hughes Aircraft Company

Training devices have traditionally been dedicated to a single purpose: maintenance or operator training of a specified system.  The success of the multipurpose field radar training devices delivered to a major training site has proven that the users are no longer tied to these limited concepts.  Each training device consists of six training positions which can be used simultaneously to train any combination of: Radar Type 1 operators, Radar Type 1 maintenance, Radar Type 2 operators, and Radar Type 2 maintenance.  Unique design of a single software program combined with the training exercises makes possible this multiple use, with a resulting reduction of the trainer development costs of over 40%.  The trainer availability has been in excess of 99% and provides over 30,000 hours of student training time/year.  This design flexibility also made it possible for the trainer to be used as an engineering tool when operational changes were desired on the tactical hardware.  Operational procedures were developed on the trainer prior to specification development and implementation of changes on the tactical hardware.  This greatly reduced the changes, which normally occur during prime system design.

Additional multipurpose trainers are being built for systems such as a field position locating communication system, using the proven design concepts of the radar trainers.  While full operational training is being conducted including simulation of complex test equipment at one or more of these training can be conducted, at any or all of the remaining training positions.

A summary of the operation and maintenance training features provided by these multiple use trainers highlights the impressive potential of the single design for other training applications.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

the impact of artificial intelligence on maintenance training

Charles E. Thomas III

Honeywell Systems and Research Center

and

David J. Sykes

Albert Scsigulinsky

Honeywell Training and Control Systems Operations

The increasing complexity of military systems, reduced quality and availability of personnel, and reduced resources have made Weapons System Support and Readiness (WSSR) more and more difficult to maintain.  This paper discusses surrounding issues and proposes a system concept for developing, combining, and integrating advanced training, job performance aiding, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in order to reduce the time and cost of maintenance actions and their instruction.  In particular, expert systems coupled with video disk and other presentation and I/O technology will allow expert problem solving skills and knowledge to be made available to relatively inexperienced technicians, embodied in an integrated maintenance Job Performance Aiding/On-the-Job Training (JPA/OJT) system.  A key component of the system will be an “explanation facility” through which the underlying reasoning of the system can be imparted to the technician.  The basic objective of the OJT component is to build the conceptual knowledge of the technician rather than have him/her simply execute instructions.  Since the expert system will handle the dual role of job performance aid and intelligent tutor, it is anticipated that the separation between maintenance actions and maintenance training will eventually become less distinct.  Consequently, maintenance-training equipment as we know it today can be expected to be gradually superseded by some form of  “intelligent maintenance assistant.”

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

NEW TECHNOLOGY ENHANCEMENTS TO INSTRUCTOR OPERATOR STATIONS

E. Scott Baudhuin, Ph.D.

 Senior Staff-Human Factors and Training Development

The Singer Company, Link Simulation Systems Division

The complexity of Instructor Operator Stations (IOS) and the lack of full utilization of IOS instructional features were examined in two interrelated IR&D programs.  A major objective in these studies was to simplify instructor/operator tasks by using new technology enhancements and display screen formats.  Studies were conducted to determine IOS functional requirements and to assess the applicability of new technologies to these requirements.  Interviews were conducted with simulator users at two military installations and at nuclear power Company training facility.  IOS operations manuals and supporting technical documentation were reviewed.  A voice technology system was selected and laboratory demonstrations developed using typical IOS functions and formats.  Studies of touch screen technologies were conducted and resistive membrane technology was selected as an additional technology enhancement.  Alternative cursor control devices were reviewed and a mouse was selected as the principal cursor controller.  Methods for accessing current tableaux were reviewed to determine whether new screen designs might facilitate using new technology enhancements.  The feasibility of using voice recognition, touch-sensitive screens and the mouse as substitutes for typical keyboard operations was demonstrated.  Findings also indicated a significant need for the redesign of IOS display screens in order to exploit new technologies.  New screen designs that would eliminate information overload, use more graphics, and allow essay access to touch selective features were recommended.  Traditional backup devices were maintained where a new technology served as the primary MMI.  Functional descriptions for new technology enhanced military and commercial IOS were developed as a result of the research.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN INSTRUCTOR STATION DESIGN GUIDE

John P. Charles

ICON, Incorporated

Dee H. Andrews

Naval Training Systems Center

Training device effectiveness is largely dependent upon the characteristics of the instructional subsystem.  In most trainers, this includes the instructor, the instructional software, and above all the interfaces (both hardware and software) to the other training device subsystems.  The primary interface, the trainer IOS, must be designed and supported so that the training objectives, but also the user requirements.  Effective design can only be achieved through identification and understanding of the characteristics of the user and the required training and then by ensuring that these data are reflected in the design of the station.  The design task also requires detailed monitoring of the design effort to ensure that the necessary data are available and input to the design effort.  The objective of the guide was, therefore, to identify the tasks involved and the data required during the major training device life cycle events which impact the characteristics of trainer instructor/operator stations.  The guide focuses on “what” to do in design, not “how” to do it.  A guide who focused on “how” it should be done would soon be outdated since hardware and software technologies are evolving so rapidly.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.