CIVS Researchers Visit NIPSCO Generating Station to Advance VR Safety Training Development

On October 27, CIVS Senior Researchers Kyle Toth and John “Jack” Moreland visited the NIPSCO R.M. Schahfer Generating Station in Wheatfield, Indiana, to meet with Steel Manufacturing Simulation and Visualization Consortium (SMSVC) Safety Committee member Brian Hamstra. During the visit, they discussed opportunities to support site safety training, including the development of fire watch and fire extinguisher training resources.

During the site visit, video footage was collected at several locations within the generating station for use in the development of a virtual fire extinguisher training application. The application is intended to enhance annual refresher training by providing a realistic, site-specific training environment. Additional discussions centered on other safety and training technologies developed at CIVS and their potential adaptation to support training initiatives at NIPSCO facilities.

The Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), a subsidiary of NiSource Inc., has collaborated with the Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation (CIVS) since the center opened in 2009. Additionally, NiSource has been a charter member of the Steel Manufacturing Simulation and Visualization Consortium (SMSVC) since its founding in 2016.

Over the years, CIVS has partnered with NIPSCO on numerous projects, including safety and public awareness initiatives, gas leak training simulations for the Laporte Training Center, and the FGD Model for Safety and Emergency Training, which was modeled after NIPSCO’s Schahfer Generating Station, to name a few. Their most recent collaboration involves the development of a VR Fire Extinguisher Training system for Schahfer Generating Station utilizing AI-generated 3D environments, as part of efforts from the Steel Manufacturing Simulation and Visualization Consortium (SMSVC).