Quantifying the benefits of simulator training for dragline operators

Dragline operator performance significantly effects the profitability of strip coal mines. To this effect, the mining industry is increasingly making use of interactive simulators that employ a high-fidelity virtual reality environment to train dragline operators. To date it has been difficult to quantify the benefits of investing in simulator training for dragline operators. Performance and machine duty data can be collected, but need to be analysed in relation to a control group of operators considering the potential for bias because of the 'Hawthorne effect'. This study advances a methodology to quantify the improvements in dig productivity and machine duty for a group of four experienced operators exposed to simulator training. The size of the group was limited by operational and time restrictions. Dig productivity (bench cubic metres/dig hour) and machine duty (cumulative boom stress index) were logged for a 1 month period following training. The performance of a 'control' group of three operators, who did not undertake simulator training, but were provided with verbal feedback on their performance, was also monitored. Three of the four experienced operators who participated in this study achieved a significant short term improvement in one aspect of their performance without sacrificing machine duty. Two of these three operators sustained this improvement over the subsequent month of observation. Two of the control group of three operators demonstrated no appreciable change in performance, while the third achieved a significant reduction in boom stress index at the expense of decreased dig productivity. As such the performance improvements observed by operators trained in the immersive simulator cannot be attributed to feedback alone or to the Hawthorne effect. The results indicate that immersive simulator training can provide a quantifiable short term improvement in the performance of experienced dragline operators. Further work is required to quantify the long term sustainability of these performance improvements.