| Summary: | The Joint Coal Board (JCB) is concerned about the number of accidents and
fatalities associated with the operation and maintenance of equipment in the New
South Wales coal industry. In the last decade, equipment has become more
sophisticated and the manner in which work is organised and performed in the
industry has changed significantly. Therefore, through its Health and Safety
Trust, the JCB commissioned a consortium comprising Mine Site Technologies
and the School of Mining Engineering at the University of New South Wales to
research the introduction of equipment training simulators into the industry. The
research is planned to be undertaken in four stages.
This report presents the outcomes of the first two stages. It recommends the
development and testing of an interactive, immersive, virtual reality prototype
simulator providing true to life imagery. The simulator will be modular in design
such that various items of equipment can be plugged in as required. It is
proposed that the evaluation of the prototype simulator be based on a continuous
miner and a roof bolter, with the option to add a dump truck. This is because a
high accident rate is associated with these items of equipment. Most of the
research undertaken on the project to date has focused on these machines.
The research has confirmed that JCB Simulators have a huge potential to
improve:
Mine Safety
Productivity
Business Performance
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