Metal Tech News - The Elements of Innovation Discovered

Immersive Technologies, one of the world's largest, proven and tested suppliers of surface and underground advanced mining equipment simulators, and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. have extended their longstanding relationship.

The exclusive technical license agreement between the two companies provides a framework for Immersive Technologies and Hitachi to further collaborate in the development of simulator equipment solutions to meet mining industry demand and requirements, as well as provide training information to support Hitachi in product enhancements.

"We are proud of our relationship with Hitachi Mining Equipment and the value that we collaboratively bring to mining companies," said Immersive Technologies CEO David Anderson. "By providing the best training technology and working closely with mining customers, we continue to quantifiably improve the safety and profitability of mines."

With 20 years of delivering the most accurate Hitachi advanced equipment simulators for mining customers, Immersive has had a long history of providing a solid return on investment to Hitachi mining equipment owners, something no other simulator provider has so far showcased.

These long-standing customer relationships have shaped the requirements for best-in-class simulation. Fleet management data and other metrics show that mines utilizing Immersive Technologies' Hitachi mining equipment simulators have an average of:

• 4% reduction in fuel consumption (fleet management data).

• 39% reduction in haul-truck load times (fleet management data).

• 19% improvement in BCM/HR (fleet management data).

• 68% improvement in AHS wait time (SimData).

As a result, the two companies report that dozens of mines around the world with Hitachi equipment and Immersive simulators benefit from improved production, safety, and cost per ton achieved through operator skills optimization. With solutions having significantly evolved over the years, to include a range of haul trucks, excavators, shovels, and autonomous panel add-ons for loader operators to manage autonomous haulage trucks.

By allowing future operators to gain experience handling heavy equipment before ever sitting inside a cab, competence can be assured before hitting the job site, increasing safety and performance, which improves the lives of drivers and companies alike.