Plant operator simulation: Benefits and drawbacks for a construction training organization

The civil construction industry in Australia is under pressure to attract, train and retain high numbers of skilled personnel. At the same time it is recognized as one of the most dangerous industries in the country. To counteract the safety issues and the labor shortages, plant operator training augmented by simulation is being investigated as an alternative to current training methods. Construction worksites using heavy excavation and earthmoving equipment are at risk of a multitude of potentially dangerous situations. A review of the literature on simulation reveals high benefits across other areas of industry using heavy, human-operated machinery such as rail and mining. This paper presents an initial preliminary case study to investigate the benefits and drawbacks experienced in the use of simulation in a current construction training program prior to the commencement of a rigorous larger-scale study being undertaken to investigate the human factors benefits of simulator training in construction. While building and construction's use of simulation is in its infancy, a major training provider in Australia has introduced simulation as a key feature in their training programs to attract new entrants into construction careers, enhance safety and introduce the benefits of technology to a traditional area of training. Finally, the paper discusses the research approach that will be used to assess the larger study of simulation use in construction to train heavy plant operation. © 2010 Springer-Verlag London Limited

Enabling Unconstrained Omnidirectional Walking Through Virtual Environments: An Overview of the CyberWalk Project

The CyberWalk treadmill is the first truly omnidirectional treadmill of its size that allows for near natural walking through arbitrarily large Virtual Environments. The platform represents advances in treadmill and virtual reality technology and engineering, but it is also a major step towards having a single setup that allows the study of human locomotion and its many facets. This chapter focuses on the human behavioral research that was conducted to understand human locomotion from the perspective of specifying design criteria for the CyberWalk. The first part of this chapter describes research on the biomechanics of human walking, in particular, the nature of natural unconstrained walking and the effects of treadmill walking on characteristics of gait. The second part of this chapter describes the multisensory nature of walking, with a focus on the integration of vestibular and proprioceptive information during walking. The third part of this chapter describes research on large-scale human navigation and identifies possible causes for the human tendency to veer from a straight path, and even walk in circles when no external references are made available. The chapter concludes with a summary description of the features of the CyberWalk platform that were informed by this collection of research findings and briefly highlights the current and future scientific potential for this platform