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karl.r: Add as a Colleague
05/17/2012 1:53:10 PM EDT

Folks, Immersive Technologies, Inc does just this. They offer consultative service for mine site training and have excellent simulation & computer based training tools to help expedite understanding, learning and ultimately skills transfer. They undertake a data driven approach to ensure training is delivered effectively after completing a thorough gap analysis to clearly identify where any deficiencies may lie. They have rolled this up into a continuous improvement process and methodology that has proven effectiveness in improving operational efficiencies and safety in turn saving the mining companies of the world millions of dollars. If you have not checked these guys out, now is the time. They excell in what they do and you should take advantage of this.

BMQLD: Add as a Colleague
10/14/2011 3:11:59 AM EDT

Have you ever jumped out of bed excited to be going to a training course? I have. When I did my Cert'IV in workplace training and assessment, the instructor said, 'Do not let ten minutes go past when speaking to your students because they will become bored and tune out'. He walked the talk. By engaging his students, such as explaining something, then asking for someone to stand up and repeat back to him what they understood him too have said, he changed the entire atmosphere of the course. No one tuned out and we always went over time. When we started, some, not I, were terrified of public speaking. Not so when the course was completed. The benefits of; engaging the students in conversation, where they must stand, and using short presentations that he brought along, plus he allowed us to make our own is something that I have carried with me. People that had no idea how to use a digital projector or the remote for their digital presentations were hesitant at first, (not me. I had been making them for work for youTube. By the end we were all making them about anything and everything just for fun while at home. Making the videos introduced new technology. Increased confidence. Displayed how course subjects were understood, and could be used with our own students in the future. If he had just sat there, shown us boring long films, talked 'at' us, gave us a test and left, he would have done his job, when we passed. He actually said that was how he was suppose to do it. I am sooo glad that he did not follow the norm'. (Not that we were to tell anyone) because he showed all of us that study can be fun. (We laughed a lot), educational without boring us into a coma. Do you enjoy your training videos? Are they so good that you want to share them with your workmates? 200 billion youTube videos are watched per day. The video format as a training option, that uses humour can not be underestimated. Accessing training footage is also difficult some times. Applying for the DVD, getting the room set up, time travelling to the room and back, and so on is soooo time consuming. Interactive websites, much like youTube, except the log in has a timer, are available to do a course online, training a 1000 people at a time, not 30. Skype can be used for free by the instructor, as the footage progresses. The timer and interactive format means that a student can not run the video and walk away. Training 1000 people or one million is easy online. So are simulators. Mining companies are embracing simulators. These need to be made cheaply, (easy peasy) and given to new recruits. In the privacy of their own homes, before they even get to the mine site, they can practice simple tasks that cause the most accidents. Even on their computer keyboard, or mobile phone, (mobile phones just outsold PC's), students can learn many safety procedures. Such as, the footage could show unsafe and safe practices. When the unsafe practice is shown, the student must click a key, press a button on their phone too note that they recognized the unsafe or safe practice, whichever is chosen for the class. This data can be analyzed and from this, a student's progress, their weak points, can worked on. GOPRO is a website that sells cameras with mounts. They are mounted to helmets on motorbikes, surfers use them, anyone can if they have a helmet. Having a new recruit wear one of these cameras on their first few weeks, where another monitors the footage later, or better still in real time, would highlight problems instantly. Say a very experienced person is no longer physically able to do their work, and have to leave their job, or they plan to retire. The internet is one area where they could monitor the new recruit from their home. Their experience would not be lost, and the training that they would be able to do from home, would be invaluable. To not see the camera, video, humour and our aging population of experienced miners as valuable is to be like Jerremy Clarkson. His family made glass bottles in the last century. They were filthy rich but would not pay for new machines, when other companies did. The ruins of their massive factories can still be seen today, whereas those who did embrace technology expanded and are still making bottles. Not paying for simulators that are suitable for mining is the same, and so are the consequences. Lastly, until school children are shown how fantastically interesting it is to be a geologist or a hydrologist, they will not understand why they should study science and maths. Videos that show how exciting the day is for someone in the mining industry, while worn on a helmet, shown at schools or if they were made into computer games, (NOW we are talking baby) may make a child/teenager study. Plus, I have not even started on GAMES, the ipod, a podcast, phone apps'or cloud software. The cloud is even used by the U.N and the National Bank, yet I have not seen enough in the mining industry embrace it with great enthusiasm. The benefits alone of not having designated computers with their software installed, needing constant updating and maintenance is another 20 pages of waffle. Waffle, waffle, waffle. Byeee

meganedwards84: Add as a Colleague
09/14/2011 2:59:26 AM EDT

Hi Reed Safety - by 'we' are you referring to mining companies? There are actually several good examples of mining companies working together in WA through their mutual aid agreements, to provide reciprocal emergency response training to their respective teams.

sizanani: Add as a Colleague
09/06/2011 4:21:08 AM EDT

Iam an acredited service provider in training based in Rusteburg North West Province specialised in mining industries if you need help contact me on 0145921688/0829374899/www.sizananiabet.co.za