Sudbury research centre gets moving: workplace simulator and mobile lab will expand centre's coverage and capabilities.

AuthorMyers, Ella
PositionMINING - Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health

Nicholas Schwabe kept a close eye on the road ahead, but his underground vehicle suddenly picked up speed on the rocky mine terrain, jolting him alarmingly forward in his seat before he hit one of the walls.

Fortunately for the Laurentian University student, this was just a learning experience using the new workplace simulator introduced by the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health (CROSH). He was safe in a lab in Sudbury wearing goggles and surrounded by fascinated spectators.

France Gelinas, Nickle Belt MPP, who was at the centre of the April 29 announcement, showcasing this new piece of learning technology, took the opportunity to have some fun with the controls.

Laurentian University's CROSH is ramping up their research efforts thanks to more than $1.2 million in funding for two new initiatives: the workplace simulator Schwabe used--called W-SIM--a mobile research lab called M-CROSH.

The funding breakdown consists of $500,000 from the Ontario Ministry of Labour for M-CROSH, plus another $492,000 in research capacity grants. The Canadian Foundation for Innovation is contributing $143,000 for the simulator and Goodman School of Mines is providing $50,000 each for the simulator and mobile research lab.

The workplace simulator consists of a robotic motion platform that mimics machinery motion and vibrations, an environmental chamber that replicates temperature and humidity, and a virtual reality eye tracker that creates an image for the trainee, but also measures where they are looking.

The different components can be used together or alone to imitate more than just a mining scenario. Typical, and atypical, mining, forestry, steel manufacturing, transportation and firefighting environments are some that be recreated to allow workers to gain practical experience in field-like conditions.

The goal of the W-SIM is to support research in areas including vibration-related injuries, mobile equipment accidents, workplace exertion, fatigue and recovery.

The simulator will likely be available for use by 2018, but CROSH is currently waiting on more funding to complete that project. The W-SIM, on the other hand, should be ready around June 2017, and the request...

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