Edited by Josephine Patterson
To reduce the risk of working around powered haulage vehicles, a West Virginia University researcher is developing a training program that uses augmented reality (AR) headsets to prevent miners and operators from falling victim to blind spots.
Powered haulage vehicles account for nearly 50% of all mining-related deaths, partly because they offer such limited visibility. In West Virginia, specifically, powered haulage has been the top cause of fatal mining accidents for a decade.
In response, Deniz Tuncay, assistant professor of Mining Engineering at the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, is enabling workers to enhance their awareness of blind spots and their ability to identify hazards with his AR training technology, which will project blind spots directly onto the trainee operator’s surroundings.
“West Virginia has experienced an average of nearly four fatalities per year over the past 10 years, the highest rate nationally. We need a way to train operators and mine personnel in scenarios that would be dangerous or impossible to replicate in the real world,” Tuncay said.
“Augmented reality seamlessly integrates 3D digital content into real-world environments, so trainees can virtually interact with mobile equipment, observe blind spots and practice responding to hazards in a highly controlled, risk-free setting. For safety issues related to visibility, augmented reality training is ideal. It can transform safety training and operational practices – and ultimately reduce fatalities and injuries in the mining industry.”
Tuncay said even though the age demographic of the mining industry is getting older, with more than half of U.S. miners now over 45, in most serious accidents caused by powered haulage, the victim has less than a year of total job experience. Augmented reality’s ability to visualize complex environments is ideal for miners like these, who are still developing situational awareness and mastering safety protocols.
“Our primary targets for the trainings are miners with low experience,” Tuncay said. “We’ll test our modules on WVU students, who will also be inexperienced operating these machines and of similar ages to early-career mine workers. We’ll also test on more experienced subjects and compare the effectiveness of our approach across the groups.”
Tuncay will develop the AR simulations based on diagrams, many published by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, that provide visual representations of blind areas for common surface mine equipment models like rear dump trucks, backhoe loaders, dozers, graders and excavators. He’ll also enable mine operators to generate blind-area diagrams customized for their own equipment.
Working alongside Vladislav Kecojevic, professor of Mining Engineering, and Amy McBrayer, teaching assistant professor, Tuncay will develop the modules, which will offer not only AR simulations, but video and audio narrations, quizzes, questionnaires and data analytics that track trainee progress, performance and engagement. The team will also incorporate tutorials supporting trainers who may have limited experience with the technology.
“These trainings will be tailored to the specific challenges of a number of different mining operations,” he said. “Mining Engineering at WVU has strong ties with more than 20 Appalachian mining companies, and we’ll engage with them to make sure we’re aligned with industry needs and directly addressing the root causes of these powered haulage accidents.”
The research is supported by more than $173,500 from the U.S. Department of Labor Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants Program.