The human aspects of computer based monitoring and control of mining operations. Final report on CEC Contract 7206/00/8/01

The human aspects of monitoring and control of mining operations will change as a direct result of the introduction and use of computerised information and control systems at collieries. The overall aim of the project was to identify where these changes occur, and where possible, the likely consequences of these changes in order to identify those aspects which could benefit from more attention during the design stages of future systems.The aim has been achieved through three studies. Two studies investigated the effects of the new technology on the job of the control room operators: the first being the design of the man:computer interface and, the second was the changes to the control room operators’ perceptions of their job as a result of the introduction of computer control and monitoring systems in the control room. The first study highlighted areas where the reliability of the manrmachine interaction could be improved. Problem areas were identified with alarm system design and the presentation of routine plant information on VDUs. The alarm system design problems included the lack of a hierarchy of alarms related to alarm importance, presentation, acceptance and erasure procedures which do not reliably ensure that the operators’ attention has been gained before the statements are erased. Differences in the design of formats for routine information have been shown to have major effects on the error rates on information retrieval under some circumstances.The studies on the control room operators’ job perceptions using the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) have shown a reduction in general satisfaction, internal work motivation and a need for individual development for those control room operators in computerised collieries. The control room operator’s role is seen as supportive to the computer and this may have removed some of those intrinsic job content factors which are necessary for a satisfying and motivating job, and which were present for operators at traditional non-computerised collieries. The JDS has also identified adverse job perceptions as a result of insufficient attention being paid to revising supervisory style and procedures for information dissemination following the introduction of these systems. Further studies to identify the causes and likely consequences of these effects would help maximise the contribution of the control room operator using these computer systems.The third area which was investigated was the effect which the new technology had on the information flow about the colliery and its utility to different managerial groups. Differences in distribution and content problems have been identified for different management functions in collieries with traditional and computer systems. Perhaps surprisingly, computer information was rarely used by engineering or management staff as their prime source of information. The results also showed that management groups regularly used information primarily concerned with other colliery functions and that different groups had differing requirements for similar areas of information. This suggests, therefore, that a greater flexibility for tailoring information to this range of user needs is desirable.