Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd to provide VR-based safety training to workforce

Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) announced on Friday that it will impart virtual reality-based safety and operational training to its 17,000-strong workforce. The introduction of VR-based training will assist in "digitalisation in business processes", MCL said.

A budget of Rs 6.5 crore has been earmarked for the skill enhancement of coal miners, the company said.  Concoct Human Resource Practitioners, a Hyderabad-based VR technology company has been given the contract for providing safety training to workers.

The 3D simulated VR platforms are envisaged to provide safety training to the workers before they take up jobs in the coal mines and workshops while reducing exposure to hazardous activities. The company also said that VR-based training for the workers will help in saving costs and time.

Om Prakash Singh, chairman and managing director of MCL said that regular training and upgradation of skills is required by leveraging cutting-edge technologies to match the introduction of new technology in the mining sector.

The Coal India subsidiary said that it plans to upgrade the technical skills of the workforce involved in operational activities, to achieve 300 million tonnes (MT) of coal production by 2026 and enable Coal India Ltd to achieve its production target of one billion tonnes. The initiative has been jointly launched by MCL’s Innovation Cell, and the departments of safety and rescue, electrical and mechanical excavation, and electronics and telecommunications.