In an approach likely to be used by other suppliers, Sandvik and Atlas Copco have developed advanced simulators to help speed customer training and improve the use of their equipment but they are not moving into the commercial simulator market.

Sandvik Construction and Mining, the biggest business unit within Sweden's Sandvik AB industrial group, has developed what is believed to be the mining world's first surface drill simulator while Atlas Copco is focusing initially on underground drill simulators.

Both companies are competing in the global surface-mine drill market.

They are also the world's two major manufacturers of underground drilling jumbos for mines and tunnelling.

A spokesperson for Sandvik in Finland, where it manufactures underground and surface drills, said the company launched at the recent Bauma 2007 construction and mining expo in Munich, Germany, an "advanced training concept that will fundamentally change operator training".

Under development for the past two years, the simulator was designed to improve productivity and provide a safe and efficient way of learning practical work.

A multi-phase roll-out will see simulators developed to enhance operator training on a range of Sandvik drilling machines. "In the first phase, the training is available for Sandvik's surface top hammer drilling," the spokesperson said.

"Sandvik has developed a revolutionary training concept which combines comprehensive training, modern learning tools and professional trainers with a modular curriculum that can be tailored for various needs," the company said at Bauma.

Developed with input from Scandinavian education professionals and suppliers, the Sandvik simulators were not developed for independent sale, the spokesperson said.

"It is a part of the training concept we offer for our customers, not a separate product. In the first phase we will supply training for our regions and later on there will be local training centres which will offer the concept for the customers," she said.

"The (Sandvik training) concept offers a complete training offering, modularised curriculum, professional trainers, and modern learning tools such as the simulator. The modularised form allows the customers to choose those parts that best fit to their particular needs."

Both Sandvik and arch rival Atlas Copco believe simulator training addresses a longstanding drilling industry problem that has plagued the international industry.

There was a general lack of qualified professional trainers, and good training locations.

"In the simulator, students can easily practice any possible situation and learn to understand their role in the whole excavation process as well as the key features of total productivity," the Sandvik spokesperson said.

"They will learn to manage even the most difficult rock conditions as well as to keep the machine fit and available.

"Simulators provide a cost-effective way of training, as the actual equipment can stay in profitable operations, it involves only very low service and maintenance costs, and several trainees can attend the training at the same time.

"Simulation as a learning tool also improves training efficiency, as it offers the possibility to record results, give feedback and repeat the same exact exercise when needed."

In Australia, Atlas Copco has already deployed its jumbo drill simulator to train contractor Barminco's operators.

The company says there has also been strong interest in the technology from several mine operators.

"You stand inside an actual cab inside a [shipping] container that's set up to look like a tunnel and with joysticks that are replicas of those on the jumbos," said Atlas Copco Construction and Mining Australia training officer Trevor Mann.

"The operators get in there and start to move these joysticks around in a visualisation of the boom moving and of the drilling into the rock. So they can see it physically as well as actually line up the holes.

"It's not just a simulation – you get feedback on how accurate the holes have been drilled, how quickly they've been drilled, and the drill pattern used [whether it has been economical], as well as information such as whether the booms have hit together."

Atlas Copco has six underground drill simulator modules and a surface rig simulator at the development stage.

The jumbo simulator adds to a range of training aids used by the supplier, including the so-called Rex Box developed by Rex Supierz (national training and technical manager) and Steve Milentis.

The Rex Box comprises a mobile modular "box" incorporating the Atlas Copco drill rig control system (RCS).

"We have a small unit that has a display of all the modules used in a drill, and after plugging it into the wall [240 volts] we're able to simulate an actual machine working," Mann said.

"All the bits of equipment you have on a machine are in this one box – it's an exact replication of the system – and the advantages are we're able to pull it apart and put faults into it.

"We take [the fitters and mechanics] through a full one or two-day course, looking at the individual units themselves so that they can then identify them visually and then understand what they are, what they do and how they fit into the system."

The Sandvik spokesperson said independent commercial mining equipment training simulators were not available to meet its needs.

"We studied commercial suppliers and the conclusion was that they are able to develop only user interface simulation and some nice technical features," she said.

"The Sandvik brand promise is to be our customers' productivity partner. This requires [a] serious, wide-scope attitude to training concepts. It cannot be outsourced."

* Richard Roberts is editor of www.highgrade.net