Published in September 2006 Australian Longwall Magazine

The Mackay centre in July used a $3.25 million grant from the Department of Employment and Training to purchase 26 simulators to be used for pre-employment, operator upskilling and refresher training programs.

The centre is also using the simulators in schools around the state, allowing students to virtually experience the realities of working on a mine site.

The acquisition follows hot on the heels of a purchase by the Kentucky State Governement in the United States for 21 simulators, including several longwall simulators and computer based training (CBT) systems.

Often associated with training surface operators, software training specialist 5DT has moved into the underground arena with its longwall, continuous miner, and roof bolter training simulators. Some 5DT underground mining simulators have been in use for more than 7 years, and have trained thousands of operators across the world.

The benefits of using simulators for screening and training new operators, as well as evaluating and retraining existing operators has long been recognised.

Training simulators can increase safety awareness, reduce loss of production during training, shorten training periods, improve application of best practices and in the end – increase production through a better trained workforce.

5DT’s longwall and continuous miner simulators use a head mounted display and a hand held remote control. The remote controls are real in every respect as they use authentic parts from the major equipment manufacturers and allow operators to control virtual machines as if they were real.

Special optics enable the user to view the miniature screens as if viewing big screens from a distance, plus headphones allow the user to experience directional sounds of the virtual environment.

The setup is usually fitted with a head tracker which means the user can look around the virtual world and examine overhead objects such as roof bolts.

5DTs longwall simulator has been based on the Joy 7LS-5 shearer, but according to computer engineer Stephan Landman, the program can be custom made for any manufacturer’s equipment.

The longwall simulator uses the same radio controller from a real machine. Trainees are taught how to start the shearer; operate the radio device; and how to cut coal by controlling the primary and secondary booms, cutting drums, cutting direction, water spray booms and the cowels.

The roof supports are controlled from the simulator keyboard.

The trainee can “walk” up and down the longwall to view the longwall process, as well as view advancement in accelerated mode to gain a rapid understanding of the process.

5DTs continuous miner training simulator enables a trainee to tram and cut with the same radio controls as a real machine. The trainee is put through a range of scenarios to test his or her skill. Some mines have used this simulator to increase production by up to 10%, according to 5DT.

The trainee can fill a shuttle car while the simulator continuously measures the amount of material being cut. Over filling results in spillage and is recorded.

The roof bolter training simulator consists of tramming, temporary roof support, and roof bolting boom valve banks.

The trainee is taught how to tram the roof bolting machine then deploy the temporary roof support. Once this is mastered, the trainee activates the stab jacks of the machine and starts to install a roof bolt.

Once the boom has been positioned the trainee can select different tools - such as a drill bit, resin capsules and roof bolts – to use.