Extract republished with permission from Caterpillar - https://mining.cat.com/

Mine owners know that training operators to work safely and productively is important to their operations. They provide initial training to new operators and invest in ongoing training to reinforce skills or address new equipment or machine features. A new trend in the mining industry has companies taking a look at skills development from a different perspective — incorporating training into their strategic objectives and measuring how operator productivity affects the bottom line.

Operator training can be boiled down to one key objective: Reducing risk. While risk is traditionally associated with safety, it really covers everything about skills development, says Paul Davis, Immersive Technologies’ commercial director.

“Ineffective operator training creates a potential risk to safety and equipment,” he says. “When operator training isn’t completed to its full potential, you also risk productivity. You risk low machine availability, and you risk the expense related to repairing the equipment damaged by poor operator practices. All of these risks have a direct impact on the bottom line.”

By looking at operator performance in a number of key areas, mines can measure the potential for that risk and develop a clear profile at the mine site. This profile can be used to identify specific areas for improvement and to develop large incremental step changes.