CM Labs Introduces Advanced Bucket Truck Training for Lineworkers
CM Labs Simulations, a vendor of simulation-based training solutions for the utility industry, recently announced the Bucket Truck Simulation Curriculum, the industry's first and only simulation-based training offering of its kind and the newest addition to the CM Labs utility training portfolio.
Developed in collaboration with Altec, a leading equipment and service provider for the electric utility market and delivered through the Intellia Workforce Training System, the curriculum is available now to utility companies, contractors, unions and training institutions preparing operators for work at height.
“This is an exciting step forward for utility training,” said Lisa Barbieri, vice president of marketing and strategic partnerships at CM Labs. “Line work is among the most dangerous occupations in the country, with electrical power-line workers facing high fatal injury rates. Training organizations have needed a stronger way to prepare operators before they encounter real-world risk. This curriculum helps close that gap with a structured, measurable path to readiness.”
The Bucket Truck Simulation Curriculum provides operators with a progressive training path that progresses from basic controls to outrigger positioning, bucket navigation in tight spaces, and jib-assisted lifts. Developed with authentic Altec ISO-Grip controls, the curriculum helps trainees build familiarity with the same control interface they will use on the truck.
Organizations manage the curriculum through Intellia Instructor, CM Labs’ training management tool. Instructors can guide structured learning paths, monitor sessions in real time, introduce equipment and environmental faults, change weather conditions and evaluate individual performance using objective metrics across multiple simulators.
Built-in reporting tools document trainees' progress and provide organizations with clear records of training activity across crews and locations. Together, the curriculum and Intellia Instructor give organizations a consistent way to train, assess, and document operator proficiency at scale.
“Bucket trucks are essential to the work line crews do every day, but some of the most critical skills are also the hardest to practice safely and consistently,” said Devon Van de Kletersteeg, product growth manager at CM Labs. “Operators need to learn how to position the truck properly, manage unstable ground conditions, avoid contact with live wires, and work confidently in complex field conditions. This curriculum gives training programs a way to build, evaluate, and document those skills without relying solely on access to real trucks.”
The curriculum extends CM Labs' broader utility training portfolio, which spans overhead and underground equipment, including the digger derrick, mini excavator, horizontal directional drill (HDD), and others, giving utilities a single, connected training system for building workforce readiness at scale.