A now well recognised example of modern control room design and operations this control room allows remote operation of the company’s Pilbara mine, rail and port facilities and plant. From here, some 15 iron ore mines, four independent port terminals, a 1,700 kilometre rail network and related infrastructure.
Instead of having to fly over 100 employees to the various sites they can live and work in Perth. The design, in which Ergowork’s Principal Ergonomist, Justin O’Sullivan, played a critical role needed to provide comfort and efficiency for 10 hour shifts. The opportunity presented itself to design state of the art ergonomic console shapes for forearm support and trunk/neck posture. Due to cost constraints the capacity for height adjustment was limited, however, the wraparound design giving full forearm support allows for a limited height range to suit more people comfortably and fits with musculoskeletal research.
The design concepts prepared by Ergowork for 3 different consoles within the room were formalised by Lightbox Architects (http://www.lightboxarchitecture.com.au). Peter Hunt Architects (www.peterhunt.com.au) managed the overall design process.
The process involved analysis of various mine site control rooms, the processes, softwares, documentation, communication and other aspects before designing a concept, mockups for 3 different consoles, prototypes, final fabrication, positioning, desktop fitout and instructional materials. A human factors (HF) review of automatic train operation (ATO) and of the intended electronic train graph (ETG) were also part of the project. Lighting design specifications were also provided.
See link: http://www.riotinto.com/australia/pilbara/mine-of-the-future-9603.aspx