Behind the scenes of the NSW Mines Rescue Service
Recently Coal Services Pty Ltd caught up with New South Wales Mines Rescue Service and Regulation & Compliance General Manager, Paul Healey, to get to the coal face of how Mines Rescue operates.
Paul Healey says recent events in New Zealand have highlighted the important role that Mines Rescue and Coal Mines Technical Services' (CMTS) personnel play in protecting worker safety and health. Their focus has always been, and will continue to be, ensuring the best possible outcomes for those involved in the mining industry.
"Mines Rescue provides underground incident response, an area in which we excel as a result of our decades of experience in the business," says Healey, whose diverse background in the mining industry gives him a unique perspective on mining emergencies and the role of Mines Rescue in NSW. "It is also complemented by our use of the most modern equipment and training facilities," he says.
"Mines Rescue also has a long and proud history in training and educating NSW Mines Rescue Brigadesmen, miners, statutory officials and emergency services' personnel about the complexities associated with the mining industry and other hazardous activities. As a result of this training, the safety performance of the NSW mining industry has continued to improve and now has one of the lowest incident and fatality rates in the world."
NSW Mines Rescue has an ongoing commitment to developing the best in safety training and using the latest technologies, and the organisation has more than 90 years' experience assisting the mining industry to manage risk and operate safely. As part of NSW Mines Rescue's ongoing commitment to developing the latest in training techniques in partnership with its parent company, Coal Services Pty Ltd, and its Virtual Reality Technology division. NSW Mines Rescue has developed the most advanced real world simulator of its kind, taking VR (Virtual Reality) training technology to a new level in mineworker safety.
The VRT facilities have three unique VR platforms. First there are VR Domes, which are ideal for individual up to three-person use. The Domes capture the participant's field of view, with manoeuvring via a user friendly joy stick. Second is the 110° Curved Screen, which accommodates up to 30 people in a tiered seating lecture room. Third is a 360°cylindrical theatre which can accommodate 15 to 20 participants in a fully immersive environment. An in-house initiative has been the Rugged Operating Console (ROCk), a wireless touch screen tablet for delivering training in the simulation environment. The ROCk features include real time GPS navigation, full module detail and scenario triggers at the touch of a button.
The unique VR Training facilities provide Easy Access to the VR mine, Safe Exposure, Extended View, Extended Retention and Recall, and Competency Based Assessment. VRT training covers all aspects of mining industry requirements. The virtual mines capture the mining process from the cutting of the coal face right through to surface processing.
All this provides the full flexibility for training modules to suit specific customer needs, and the methodology is adaptable to any hazardous industry. The VR images in these modules are accurate and lifelike for improved immersion which enhances the learning retention for participants, a powerful advantage for customer training value. Extensive knowledge in working in dangerous and environmentally challenging environments is drawn upon to educate the broader business community.
Coal Services Pty Ltd knows what works and what doesn't - as industry leaders, they have made a major investment in the development of this VR world-leading technology. The VR facilities allow controlled exposure to potentially life threatening scenarios, where trainees can witness the consequences of their decisions - and this is a capability that Coal Services Pty Ltd is proud to offer to organisations worldwide. If it is essential that your team is trained and ready to respond to working in a hazardous or technically challenging environment, then Coal Services technologies and knowledge can assist.
