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significant investment in three Immersive Technologies AE
Simulators, as well as dump truck, excavator and dozer
Conversion Kits, has been a factor in lifting the proportion of
indigenous apprentices in Grasberg’s truck operator workforce
to about 30%, the technology is also favourably impacting mine
safety, unscheduled machine downtime levels, and equipment
productivity, as was originally hoped.
“We had three clear measurable[s] in mind when we bought
the simulators,” he says. “One was a reduction in metal-to-metal
contact and accidents involving machines; second was higher
truck and shovel productivity and third was truck availability.
Ray adds that they have had a 20% improvement in truck
operating efficiency and some percentage increase in availabilities
and that they have seen a reduction in metal-to-metal
accidents as well.
For the apprentices, simulators remain a core part of training.
In some areas, such as instruction on responses to brake,
engine and transmission problems, fire and other emergencies,
and dealing with adverse weather, the simulators are essential
training tools.
“There are things you just can’t do with real equipment or
in an actual operating environment,” says Ray.
“In areas such as the engine and transmission abuse,
gear hunting – key causes of unscheduled maintenance – and
even reducing tyre wear, the simulators offer a means of providing
immediate constructive feedback and coaching for the
apprentices.”
52 MINING.com September 2008
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PTFi has benefited from a significant improvement in the
utilization of its expanded Immersive Technologies AE Simulator
fleet over the past 12 months.
Development specialist Rob Paul, who was brought in to
help increase simulator use and devise new strategies to enhance
its effectiveness, says better maintenance and scheduling
practices have lifted average simulator utilization threefold since
late 2005.
“We’ve kept availability [of the simulators] pretty much at
95-98%,” he says.
“That has come about largely through improvement in the
[department’s] troubleshooting skills and instruction on correct
use of the simulators.
“The improvement, and the increase in utilization, has in turn
had an effect on the results achieved with the simulators.”
A former training and assessment manager with BHP Billiton
and Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines, Paul says higher simulator
utilization is allowing PTFi to get a more accurate reading
on the return on its investment in the technology.
“Certainly, simulator use in the lowlands has helped improve
the quality of trainees transferred to the mine site, and reduced
the failure rate of new apprentices,” he says.
“The simulator allows us to test apprentices, to ensure they
can demonstrate a certain skill level before they are passed to
go to the mine.
“Anecdotally, another major advantage that I’ve seen
is that many of our apprentices are now starting to appear
among the top performers, so it’s certainly accelerated their
development.
“I think there is a lot of potential there for us to improve the
skill levels of existing employees too.”
PTFi business support manager Brendan Vaughan says
that experienced truck drivers have responded well to “a more
regimented delivery of training material provided by simulation”.
He says that simulators have proven to be effective in modifying
and improving operator behaviour.
“Even experienced operators benefit from exposure to the
simulator where we have an environment in which we can reinforce
correct and safe work procedures,” he says.
Vaughan says Grasberg is enjoying the highest haul truck
availability levels for its Caterpillar truck fleet recorded since the
start of a new maintenance and repair contract with a supplier
agent in 2003.
“What role the simulators played in this is still under investigation,”
he says.
“[But] in order to make an impact it was recognized that we
needed to maximize the utilization of simulators, which is one
area where we’ve made strong progress. Our target is 14,000
simulator hours per year.”
Controlled by US-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper &
Gold Inc, PTFi is one of the world’s biggest copper producers,
with a 2006 output of 1.24 billion pounds of the metal from the
Grasberg open pit and adjacent underground mining complex.
The operations also produced 1.9 million ounces of gold and
more than 3Moz of silver last year.
With reserves currently estimated at 36.5 billion lbs of
copper, 39.8Moz of gold and 115Moz of silver, the fabulously
rich Grasberg complex is expected to be among the world’s