Students attending Surface Warfare Engineering School Command (SWESC) Great Lakes’ Gas Turbine Systems Technician-Mechanical (GSM) “C” School now have the latest in high-tech virtual equipment to assist in training.

The Rolls Royce AG9140RF Full Authority Digital Control (FADC) Multipurpose Reconfigurable Training System 3D (MRTS 3D) simulator, specifically the FADC’s Fault “Troubleshooter”, was developed to give Sailors a delivery method, where troubleshooting and corrective maintenance are accomplished without damaging real equipment.

“In the past, the simulator portion of the gas turbine generator module of the course was given through a PowerPoint presentation,” said Chief Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) Frank Lam Yuen, leading chief petty officer for SWESC GSM “C” School. “With the new simulator, the students can now run faults and review them as they are taking place.”

The FADC MRTS 3D simulator will be incorporated to Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) system for the following NECs: U06A (DDG 51), U12A (DDG Modernization), and U72A (DDG 51 Flight IIA). Sailors who graduate from the advanced GSM “C” school will be given an NEC code for the designated job on the ship.

“The simulator enables students to view simulated faults and lets them review charts on the troubleshooter and goes through all probable causes that could have led to each fault” said Lam Yuen. “The simulator goes through a checklist related to each simulated fault condition to include: cause, other factors, inspection results; programmed for both planned and corrective maintenance.”

Sailors with the NECs will be trained to understand and identify abnormal conditions with the help of 12 different abnormal conditions and four different normal conditions delivered through the FADC MRTS 3D simulator.

Students at GSM “C” school are able to start up the Gas Turbine Generator (GTG) as part of the FADC MRTS 3D simulator lesson. The four normal conditions are mandatory items that must happen during the startup of the GTG and the 12 abnormal conditions are real world faults that may happen during the process. This engine is the same generator that is currently onboard ships out in the Fleet.

“The simulator helps the students to understand what may happen onboard the ship when the GTGs are ran almost every day or multiple times a week during 6 to 9 month deployments,” said Lam Yuen, “The wear and tear that’s put on the machinery will eventually take its toll. This is when the faults start to happen on the GTG and may sometimes be as serious enough to prohibit the GTG from starting.”

FADC MRTS 3D simulator allows students to identify the faults and draw conclusions on why and where the faults are happening. This course teaches students how to diagnose symptoms and fault alarms, troubleshoot, identify, and repair the problems. The simulator has a bank of real world faults that are given at the students to train them on how to correctly address the faults.

The FADC MRTS 3D simulator course is 45 day and is one of three courses that make up the entire training pipeline. The GSM “C” School usually convenes six classes per year.

“This course is tailored to fleet returnees, or senior Sailors who have been in the Navy for a while and are recommended by their Chain of Command,” said Cmdr. Shawn Gibson, commanding officer, SWESC Great Lakes. “This course is a great way for Sailors to get the advanced training they need in an actual training environment rather than a ship where something can go wrong."

The implementation of state-of-the-art training simulator and staff instruction at SWESC Great Lakes GSM “C” School is an example of the Sailor 2025 initiative to provide Sailors with the right training, at the right time, in the right way throughout their careers to enable faster learning and better knowledge retention.