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June 2016 www.coalage.com 45 escape training continued A Study of Trainer-led MEET Exercises In 2015, an operator of underground coal mines aware of but unexperienced with the MEET exercise asked NIOSH if the operator's mine trainers could use it during their annual training. In return, to help us improve the exercise and further our research, we were permitted to document observations of the training sessions. All sessions were held in a single room around a table with four trainee workstations. As a result, re- searchers were able to easily observe the trainees and listen to them strategize with one another, react to the simulated environment, and ask questions about the exercise. After receiving Institutional Review Board approval for the study, researchers observed roughly 500 miner trainees across 57 sessions taught by several different in-house com- pany safety trainers. All of the trainers were new to the MEET software. To enhance research accuracy, most sessions were observed by a pair of NIOSH researchers, each moving sys- tematically from workstation to workstation, using checklists to record trainer and trainee interactions with the technology and with each other. Once back at our facility, researchers tal- lied observations and analyzed written notes to answer such questions as "When did the trainees have difficulty with the exercise?" and "What did trainers do well, and what could they have done better?" Trainee Difficulties: 'Tech Trouble' and 'Escape Trouble' Most often, trainee groups completed the escape simulation and reached safety in about 15-20 minutes. But some groups had difficulty, taking as long as 45 minutes to finish. Observ- ers identified two distinct categories of difficulty, which is called "tech trouble" and "escape trouble." Tech Trouble: Helping Trainees Navigate Simulations — "Tech trouble" meant any difficulty related to the simulation, such as trainees not being able to successfully attach to the lifeline although they were standing next to it, or mistakenly donning an SCSR when they were trying to check the gas levels. "Tech trouble" robs trainees of time and attention they can devote to the scenario problem, and can lead to frustration that dampens trainees' motivation to participate and to persist when the scenario itself is challenging (Ambrose et al., 2010). Therefore, trainers should minimize "tech trouble" as much as possible, both before an exercise through instruction and practice using the software interface and during an exercise through giving assistance. Researchers observed "tech trouble" both before and during the exercise. The trainers effectively addressed it by giving trainees time to practice using MEET's "preshift" prac- tice mode, supplementing the on-screen instructions with encouragement and personalized tips, and offering individ- ual help where needed. Some trainers advised trainees to switch seats so that all avatar teams had someone comfort- able with the controls. When "tech trouble" emerged during the exercise, the trainers helped freely. This help ranged from giving a quick reminder about how to toggle some control to actually sitting down with a group for the remainder of the exercise and running all the controls in response to the trainees' directions. In this way, trainers prevented irrelevant "tech trouble" from derailing the lesson, helping all involved SOME THINK LONG-DISTANCE TRANSPORT IS INFRASTRUCTURE- INTENSIVE. WE THINK DIFFERENT. Transporting materials from remote locations has traditionally required signifi cant infrastructure investments in road or rail links, vehicles, personnel and fuel. BEUMER of ers an economical, ef cient and environmental alternative – long-distance overland conveying. This gives you a dedicated, around-the-clock transport link at the fraction of the cost of infrastructure development. The reduced noise and air pollution minimises environmental impact and improves personnel safety. Add to that a high degree of design fl exi bility and customisation and you can see why overland conveying makes a big dif erence to operational ef ciency and environmental protection. For more information, visit www.beumergroup.com