Virtual reality in improving mining ergonomics

Virtual reality (VR) has been applied in many sectors where safety and organizational complexity are key issues. This includes advanced manufacturing, the aviation industry, the nuclear industry, military applications, as well as the mining industry. In the mining industry typical applications of VR include the familiarization of new recruits and visitors with the mine layout, the rehearsal of emergency situations, accident reconstruction, and the training of equipment operators on ‘virtual’ machines (Hollands et al., 20001). One other area where there is considerable potential, but on which little has been done with respect to VR, is that of mining ergonomics. It has been stated that over 90% of mining accidents involve human error. Recent studies have shown that one of the overriding issues lying at the cause of such accidents lies with ergonomic limitations in the design of mining equipment and machinery (Simpson, 19932). All too often in the past, ergonomic issues have been overlooked in the design of mining equipment. Issues such as limited driver vision, poor control design and location, access and egress difficulties, and incorrect population stereotypes not only have a direct implication for safety but also for efficiency and performance standards. Ergonomics