Abstract
In spite of distractions from glamour areas (e.g., ground control, computers), excavating and bulk hendling in mining remains paramount but is now undergoing dramatic advances. The massive intervention of mining and civil engineers as “engineer-users” into the tight, exclusive, and specialized bond between the equipment operator (“operator-users”) and the manufacturer (mechanical engineers and sales “reps”) has now OCcurred. Three developments have accelerated this: 1) larger, more costly, corrplex, specialized, and innovative equipment; 2) a more profound understanding of the equipment, operations, and working conditions (encumbered space); and 3) a concurrent thrust into “high-tech,” (automatic and remote controls, sensors, automation, artificial intelligence, and even robotics) and human factors (workload intensity, work-station design). This has produced a well-defined professional discipline, including construction and even military eJ'lgineering. The mine plant, and to a lesser extent, the mine face, is now being monitored. Equipment cOnferences, journals, and centers at universities and agencies have multiplied. The discipline's impact on future mining now becomes more apparent.
Original language | English |
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Pages | 79-85 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Volume | 2 |
No | 2 |
Specialist publication | International Journal of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Environment |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 1 1988 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
- Soil Science
- Geology
- Earth-Surface Processes
- Management of Technology and Innovation