The instrument response follows the inverse square law - Time-and-distance shielding may therefore be demonstrated and exercises run where the importance of this parameter can be emphasised to the trainee.

The shielding characteristics of materials can be demonstrated - Concrete blocks will completely absorb the signal, thick wood will reduce it considerably, but thin wood or plastic will show little attenuation. Exercises involving these shielding characteristics may be undertaken in real buildings with the GAMMA system, when the signal response will be comparable to a real source.

The Polar Response of the survey instrument is similar to many real survey instruments - This allows the trainee to be instructed in search techniques which rely on the directional response of the instrument.

Dosimeter training is based on the use of real dosimeters - Understanding the functions, modes of operation, and alarm signals of the dosimeter is made easy with simulators which incorporate real dosimeters, but respond to simulated sources.

Simulators may be used to evaluate a hazardous procedure - The survey instrument and dosimeter can be used to examine alternative procedures to accomplish a task involving work in high radiation fields, allowing optimisation to be achieved without any exposure to ionising radiation.

Simulators provide an ideal way of testing and qualifying staff - Staff may be set real problems to resolve as part of their test or qualification for a certain job function. Examples could include finding a lost source, limiting their exposure by time-and-distance shielding, or performing a task without exceeding a certain dose.

In addition to GAMMA, STS also manufactures the 800 series of surface contamination simulators, and PLUMES, a training system that simulates the fallout from a plume of dust or gas travelling downwind from a release.