An Adaptive Immersive Training Framework for Miner Self-Escape Readiness in Underground Mining Emergencies

Details

• Journal Article:
  Mining
• Personal Author:
  Raza, Muhammad Azeem ; Frimpong, Samuel ; Ghazal, Saima
• Description:
  Underground mining environments are complex and hazardous operations where emergencies continue to happen. Underground mine emergencies require rapid, high-stakes decision-making under conditions of uncertainty, stress, and limited visibility. Conventional mine emergency training largely relies on instruction-based approaches which provide insufficient exposure to the cognitive and behavioral demands of real underground emergency situations. There has been an identified need to train miners for knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs). This study proposes an Adaptive Immersive Training Framework (AITF), a cognitively grounded architecture that integrates cognitive task analysis (CTA), KSAOs, and situational awareness assessment for miner self-escape training and readiness. The AITF aligns NIOSH-identified self-escape competencies with immersive training scenarios designed to assess and develop cognitive readiness and decision-making. CTA of historical mine accidents is introduced as a foundational design method for translating accident investigation findings into simulation scenarios and performance metrics. A CTA of 2006 Darby Mine No. 1 explosion is presented as a proof of concept. The proposed framework supports individualized assessment, iterative scenario refinement, and data-driven feedback. The AITF advances miner training toward cognitive preparedness during mine emergencies and provides a foundation for future training systems that leverage digital tools, digital twins, and artificial intelligence for the mines of the future. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Disaster Planning
  • Mining
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
  • Staff Development
• Keywords:
  • Mine escapes; Mine safety; Underground mining; Training; Virtual reality; Situational awareness; Human factors engineering; Emergency preparedness; Artificial intelligence;
  • Author Keywords: mine safety; self-escape training; virtual reality; situational awareness; cognitive task analysis; immersive training; mine rescue; human factors
• Source:
  Mining 2026 Mar; 6(1):22
• ISSN:
  2673-6489
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Kansas City Region OSHA ; Missouri
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  28 pdf pages
• Volume:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071624
• Contact Point Address:
  Muhammad Azeem Raza, Department of Mining and Explosives Engineering, Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rolla, MO 65409, USA
• Email:
  maraza@mst.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Performing Organization:
  Missouri University of Science and Technology
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20210901
• End Date:
  20250831
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259399/cdc_259399_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.35 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1d9c44ea33597f04badc90f114da8d064c067a83aa04c5ad0e63888d38ff9d918cea855196cd8ed616de975b4b0d979d475200446ac98bf445a005143e3c6270