Liverpool, England is perhaps best known the world over as the birthplace of The Beatles, the rock group that achieved worldwide fame and success with numerous hit songs. But Liverpool is also quite well known as an industrial port city. The Port of Liverpool is one of the best-equipped and connected deep water container terminals in England where oceangoing ships are loaded and unloaded using cranes.

Peel Ports, a UK-based company which manages the Port of Liverpool, did something unique in anticipation of five of the world’s largest cranes arriving there this year. Peel Ports came up with a “virtual” crane training simulator on site– before the actual cranes would arrive– so operators could get a feel for their operation and be ready to handle the real ones when installed.

For those who love video games and blurring the line between reality and virtual reality, the high-tech training simulator proved to be a hit. After all, it could test the skills and abilities of crane drivers without actually injuring any people in the process or damaging goods and property. Peel Ports paid almost a million dollars for the simulator and its software in order to allow crane operators a way to practice problem-solving in a safe and controlled environment.

Liverpool experiences extreme weather conditions, so the simulator made sure to test operators’ mettle when dealing with harsh winds or severe precipitation. Also, the simulator could simulate incidents and equipment failures to get operators to think on their feet, handling curveballs that could come their way.

When fully installed and operational, the extremely tall real-life cranes will help catapult Liverpool into a class of its own as a transatlantic deep-sea port and container terminal, ensuring good jobs for the thousands of workers involved.