Immersive Technologies’ recent launch of the mining industry’s first complete and scalable operator training solution has received extraordinary support and enthusiasm from the mining industry along with generating immediate sales orders.

Over the last two months Immersive Technologies has been releasing details about its expanded offering which is designed to make equipment operators safer and mining operations more profitable. Attendees to the Immersive Technologies, 2012 African User Group Forum held in Johannesburg, South Africa in September were the first to see a glimpse of the new products and services.

Customers were provided with an overview of the blending learning model consisting of eLearning, Instructor Led Training, Medium Fidelity Simulators and High Fidelity Simulators which ensures the most effective and cost efficient training solution. Customers also took part in the inaugural demonstrations of SimMentor, which facilitates briefing before and debriefing after simulation training sessions, increasing training effectiveness and freeing up simulator time.

The crowds told the story of Immersive Technologies’ presence at MINExpo International 2012 in Las Vegas. An estimated 58,000 visitors from 36 countries visited the show where key Immersive Technologies attractions included live demonstrations of the company’s Advanced Equipment Simulators showcasing the PRO3 Classroom and AES Lite simulators for surface mining, UG360 for underground mining and interactive presentations of eLearning and SimMentor™. The event also marked the official release of Trainer Productivity Station, which is designed to aid in addressing the mining industry’s shortage of experienced trainers by allowing one trainer to manage multiple simulation training sessions at the same time. Amongst many interested customers a large Canadian miner was quick to place an order for a Trainer Productivity Station within weeks following discovering it at MINExpo.

A customer User Group in Melbourne, Australia completed the launch of the Complete and Scalable Solution in late October, allowing customers to experience first-hand the products and services that are now the cornerstone of operator training and development from Immersive Technologies. A powerful example of Instructor Led Training was shown via a demonstration training session. Customers were asked to answer questions via hand held devices, with live feedback presented to the group graphically via a projection screen. It was clear to those in attendance how this technology in a real training environment would facilitate learner engagement and discussion. eLearning demonstrations were also met with excitement as customers took part in interactive, self-directed computer courses focused on safety, equipment, efficiency and policy training. The modern, relevant content and exceptional standard of instructional design led to an immediate raft of customer enquiries.

A large Zambian mining operation has wasted no time in taking advantage of this new complete and scalable solution from Immersive Technologies. They were the first to purchase almost all key elements in support of a comprehensive training strategy. This purchase included eLearning, Instructor Led Training, three PRO3 Simulators, a comprehensive suite of tools including the newly released SimMentor and a broad range of Professional Services including Training Systems Integration and Continuous Improvement Projects.

Executive Director of Immersive Technologies Marketing, Wayde Salfinger, said “The mining industries’ response has been the strongest and most enthusiastic I’ve seen in the company’s almost 20 year history of successful product launches. This has confirmed our belief that we have taken a major step forward in our mission to make mining equipment operators safer and their employers more profitable. We are also proud of the extent to which we have furthered our competitive leadership.”

Immersive Technologies has a global, in-house team of training consultants, supported by a mining operator development best practice research and development team. Its suite of Professional Services include TrainerAdvantage™, to ensure training staff readiness, Training Systems Integration, which delivers best practice program implementation, Continuous Improvement Projects, to quickly deliver quantified mining operational improvement, and program management support.

The Complete and Scalable Solution launch also saw the release of a range of new products created to increase training throughput and effectiveness:

• SimCloud™ allows mining operations to maintain complete visibility over local or global simulation training programs via a secure website.
• Global Operator Benchmarking allows mining operations to benchmark their equipment operators against global norms based on data captured from over 23,000 mining equipment operators. This in turn provides valuable insight for targeting business improvement initiatives, curriculum refinement and measuring improvement.
• Trainer Productivity Stations help miners to do more with the experienced trainers they have, a significant initiative in an environment of trainer shortages.
• SimDesktop™ takes the powerful simulator data analysis and scenario configuration tools synonymous with Immersive Technologies’ Advanced Equipment Simulators and gives trainers and managers a tool that lets them take advantage of the technology anywhere, anytime.
• SimMentor™ facilitates briefing before and debriefing after simulation training sessions, increasing training effectiveness and freeing up simulator time.

This complete solution has been shared to the mining industry via a re-launch of the Immersive Technologies’ Products and Services web page (https://www.immersivetechnologies.com/products/index.htm).

Immersive Technologies’ Complete and Scalable Solution