Technology & equipment 14.2
The fatal injury rate for the overall mining industry in 2021, per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. US Bureau of Labor
52,000
The number of Rio Tinto employees that had engaged with its LEARN+ AR/ VR training platform 12 months after its launch in 2019. Rio Tinto
explains Harri Sonninen, global product manager at Normet, who has been responsible for driving the use of VR at the company. “The machine in the VR will react in the same way as it would in real life.” This is a technique also used by Rio Tinto, which uses digital twin technology of standard autonomous trucks, trains and drills used across its mines in the Australian Pilbara for its virtual reality training applications.
Enriching the learning experience Taking the physical world and digitising it in this way offers opportunities to address some of the shortfalls of traditional training, says Hayden Morison, director of sales and marketing at Australian-based Next World.
“In traditional learning, students can be exposed to a 300-page PowerPoint presentation to which they often become disengaged, resulting in low knowledge retention and learning gaps that could on a worksite potentially cost them their life,” he says. “Whereas, using a VR headset, a trainee can experience what it’s like to work at heights, or in a confined space, and practise operating heavy machinery and equipment in a safe and controlled setting – meaning they can also experience the consequences of poor safety without coming to harm.” In this way, Morison says the emotion of falling or vertigo, for example, is coupled with the learning content to foster a care factor association that helps drive long term behavioural change. This is backed up by a PwC report on the utility of VR in training, which states that scientific research shows an action-oriented experience inside a simulated environment – learning by doing versus engaging in passive processes like watching videos – drives better learning outcomes. In addition to this, digital systems allow for more in-depth trainee behavioural analysis. For example, Next World offers an analytics platform than can analyse data collected
in an active headset, such as trainee reactions and focus, which is then downloaded onto the cloud to create a profile for each student.
“This can show if a student panics when dealing with a fire or heights, as well as measure their cognitive understanding of the subject,” says Morison. “This can indicate if they need more training or to possibly be transferred into a different role. The data is putting the power back into the organisation.”
Time and cost comparisons The PwC report also highlights the cost and time saving associated with VR training, something that is attracting miners to use it. It notes that learning with VR is the most cost-effective way when it’s done on a large scale. At 375 learners, VR training achieved cost parity with classroom learning. At 3,000 learners, however, it become 52% cheaper, according to the consultancy. This is because skills training and development can be delivered quickly: PwC claims to have covered 1,000 people in a day in VR. Morison explains what is behind this cost saving. “Instead of sending a trainer and a student to a site – where risk assessments and equipment are needed, as well as student and staff briefings – then performing the task, with VR you’re done in 20 minutes and it’s completely scalable.” He describes Next World, which is currently working with Komatsu, Caterpillar, Anglo American and Fortescue Metals, among others, as the ‘Netflix of VR safety training’ because it offers a subscription model where firms can have on-demand access to the courses they need. The courses live on the headset, meaning no internet access is required, but can be updated or data downloaded through WiFi. The cost per student per month is equivalent to a cup of coffee, according to Morison. Furthermore, Immerse says its customers have found immersive learning allows them to
Next World’s VR
platform can analyse data collected in a headset, such as trainee reactions and focus levels.
24 World Mining Frontiers /
www.nsenergybusiness.com
Next World
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