Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), the wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG and the manufacturer of BharatBenz, India’s most respected truck and bus brand, has taken a significant step to digitally transform truck driving techniques on Indian roads by launching its state of the art ‘BharatBenz Simulated Driver Trainer’. Simulated Driver Trainer has been jointly developed by DICV and a cutting edge technology partner.
This high-end, technology-backed simulator is one-of-a-kind in the Indian commercial vehicles industry. The Simulated Driver Trainer is a combination of a computerized and digital experience for any BharatBenz driver who trains on it. The set up comprises of a multi-screen display positioned upfront in the driver’s line of sight. The training driver sits inside a real BharatBenz heavy-duty truck (HDT) cabin that is technologically tethered to real-world dynamics that give the driver an immersive multi-sensory feel of any road or terrain the truck is being driven on. Terrain, weather conditions and other obstacles can be altered via a computer, controlled remotely.
Commenting on the digital transformation initiative, Satyakam Arya – Managing Director & CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles said, “We are looking into every possible aspect that will help us digitally transform, not just DICV and BharatBenz but also those who are contributing towards our endeavor to make our customers successful. Being an important part of our long term digital transformation journey the state of the art BharatBenz Simulated Driver Trainer is a new benchmark in the Indian commercial vehicles industry.”
Simulated Driver Trainer is intricately programed to transform the way BharatBenz truck drivers will tackle a variety of terrains and weather conditions by training on driving techniques that they will require to keep pace with India’s rapid road and infrastructure development. BharatBenz Simulated Driver Trainer will enhance their driving skills, help them learn and adapt to modern technology in BharatBenz trucks, better their logistical efficiency, drive safer than before and strengthen their driving capability for interstate, intra-city, hilly and mining terrain applications. BharatBenz truck drivers can be trained in 5 languages – English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu, with more languages to be added this year. Simulated Driver Trainer, in its initial phase, will cater to drivers of heavy-duty trucks (HDT).
Mr. Rajaram K, Vice President – Marketing, Sales and Customer Service, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, said, “The BharatBenz Simulated Driver Trainer is by far, the most comprehensive in the Indian commercial vehicles industry. Truck drivers are the unsung heroes of Indian economy, and it’s our constant endeavor to help them enhance their skills and operational efficiency for them to deliver better results in the safest way possible. Our technologically advanced trucks require our drivers to be upskilled so that they can tackle various road and weather conditions with ease, skillfully and efficiently. We will be making our BharatBenz Simulated Driver Trainer program available across the country through our Regional Training Centers and authorized Dealerships in a phased manner.”
The BharatBenz Simulated Driver Trainer offers an almost real-world experience through 16 driving modules for practice, covering basic and advanced training combinations, along with eLearning modules as well. In addition to the 16, 11 are BharatBenz-specific modules that are used for training the drivers on the advanced features and driving techniques in BharatBenz Trucks. These modules generate reports to help track and improve driving performance. It creates a simulation for drivers to practice and learn on different applications and guides them towards effective driving habits for improved performance, cost saving and improving overall efficiency.
The eLearning module of BharatBenz Simulated Driver Trainer are crafted for product walkthroughs and fuel efficient and reliable driving that comes with familiarization, daily checks and performance reports.
With Simulated Driver Trainer, BharatBenz already rolled out a five-day “Driver Efficiency Improvement Program”, which focuses on upskilling truck drivers on aspects such as safety, personal development & performance through eLearning, Simulated Driving, Classroom training and on-track training. Detailed report of each driver, with improvement areas, are shared transparently to further enhance the value for fleet owners.
BharatBenz completed 10 years in India in 2022 and has the reputation of manufacturing the safest trucks in the Indian commercial vehicle industry as their trucks are produced with the safest crash-tested cabins in India. BharatBenz recently introduced ‘Rakshana’, a program which endeavours to make customers more profitable by enhancing service uptime. The brand’s dealerships and service stations are located on leading national and state highways, providing ease and flexibility to every type of customer. BharatBenz has a total of 300 plus touchpoints across India covering national highways on the Golden Quadrilateral North-South and East-West Corridors, with reach to customers on these highways within 2 hours.