Immersive Technologies supplies Advanced Equipment Simulators to coal industries
Immersive Technologies has made a further significant breakthrough in Queensland with an order to supply its Advanced Equipment (AE) Simulators to Australia’s large coal producer and exporter.
BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) will take delivery of three new training simulators in July and August of this year, expanding its Immersive Technologies simulator fleet to four units.
BMA has also purchased a further seven simulator conversion kits allowing BMA to now simulate over 18 different machine models, including the worlds-first simulator based dragline operator training system which was recently awarded the title Innovated Mining Solution at the 2006 Mining Prospect Awards.
The new BMA simulators will be located at the operator’s Saraji, Blackwater and Goonyella sites, featuring in advanced training centres established at southern, mid and northern points in BMA’s Bowen Basin operations axis.
The Goonyella, Broadmeadow, Peak Downs, Saraji, Norwich Park, Gregory, Crinum, Blackwater, South Walker Creek and Poitrel mines operated by BMA produce about 60 million tonnes per annum of coking and thermal coal, and employ more than 9400 people, including contractors.
Australian regional manager for Immersive Technologies Mark Walker said the BMA order confirmed the high level of recognition by the state’s major mining groups of the company’s leading-edge simulator technology and market support capabilities.
Comalco, Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Anglo Coal, Thiess and Roche Mining were among existing users of Immersive Technologies AE Simulators in Queensland.
“Our clients are focusing increasingly on real value outcomes rather than just an equipment purchase,” Walker said.
“We have engaged an external consultant who will work with us and BMA to achieve clearly defined performance goals, which have been developed through a comprehensive process aimed at aligning site specific training key performance indicators (KPIs) with production, safety and maintenance KPIs.
“What we are seeing at other sites in Australia and across the world, is that mine operations understand that using our technology they can deliver significant increases in operator performance. Aligned with business improvement projects, we can run simulator training projects which track and capture hard data that can be transferred up into the business improvement process.”
“BHP Billiton now have 10 of our simulators globally and more planned. The next goal is to start integrating the data captured in the AE Simulators to enable multiple sites benchmarking for the benefit of all BHP Billiton users,” Walker said.
7-May-2007