Human factors engineers

The design of mining equipment unnecessarily restricts the range of potential employees who can operate and maintain the equipment, and create a higher potential of injury for those who do currently undertake tasks associated with operating and maintaining the equipment. The primary focus of the project is with equipment designs which inadequately accommodate potential operator and maintainer physical characteristics (static anthropometric variability); and with equipment operation and maintenance tasks which do not sufficiently accommodate potential variability in operator and maintainer strength, flexibility and reach distances (dynamic anthropometry). Additional human factors design issues which will be examined include equipment designs which inadequately accommodate diversity in perceptual/action skill levels; or variability in literacy and numeracy.