ABSTRACT
The equipment design process, safety in design, and human element • considerations in the equipment design life cycle Why it is vital to systematically consider actual operations and • maintenance tasks at a site level The importance and problems associated with manual tasks• Why older mine workers need to be considered• Safety versus production trade-offs, and the current demands for • bigger and more efcient mining equipment Equipment access and egress considerations and issues• The importance of vision and the physical environment• The design of equipment controls and displays• Human interaction with new technologies and automation• Organisational and training issues with respect to mining equipment•
It has been shown that mining equipment should be viewed as one part in the wider system of work that also involves individuals, groups (work teams), the organisational environment, the physical environment, prescribed tasks versus how work is actually done, communications, the wider society and culture, as well as the mining equipment and technology being used (Grech et al., 2008). Whatever the different elements of the system, it should be clear that operating and maintaining mining equipment are done within a wider context of work, and that improvements and new equipment designs will be most effective if considered within this wider work framework rather than as piecemeal adjustments, retro-ts, or add-ons.
