A new training simulator lets port handling operators make their mistakes indoors
Sennebogen will show a new simulator for port material handling machines at Breakbulk Europe 2026 in Rotterdam. It uses original controls and a real seat, and is aimed at operator qualification without tying up a working machine.
Real controls, no real consequences
The simulator has been developed specifically for port handling work. Rather than a generic games-style rig, it uses fully functional original machine components — joysticks, the operator’s seat and the SENcon control system — so the feel of the controls matches what the operator will find in a Portcab. A set of scenarios covers both bulk and general cargo work.
The argument for it is the familiar one in operator training: the situations that most need practice are exactly the ones nobody wants to rehearse on a live quay. On the simulator an operator can work through routine cycles and then through awkward or critical situations without risk to people, machinery or vessel turnaround.
Instruction, not just seat time
Sennebogen has built the offer around a certified trainer rather than leaving trainees to explore on their own. The simulator’s software records and analyses individual sessions, so progress can be measured and the training structured rather than open-ended. Because the sessions run indoors, they are unaffected by weather and do not interrupt cargo operations — no machine has to be taken out of service to provide a training platform.
That last point is the commercial argument. A port material handler pulled off the quay for a day of familiarisation is a berth running below capacity, and the machines concerned are among the largest and most expensive on the site. Being able to bring a new operator to a competent standard before he first sits in a real Portcab shortens the period during which productivity and equipment are both at risk.
At Straubing or on site
The simulator is available at Sennebogen’s training centre in Straubing and also as a mobile unit that can be taken to a customer’s own site. That flexibility is aimed at port operators who cannot easily release staff for travel and want to fit training around shift patterns.
The unit joins the wider Sennebogen Academy training portfolio for operator qualification and machine training. It makes its public debut on the Sennebogen stand at Breakbulk Europe in Rotterdam, where visitors will be able to sit in and try the training programme for themselves.
Source: Sennebogen — Photos: Sennebogen