Related Experiment Videos
Summary
Mechanization in coal mining reduces energy expenditure for miners. While some tasks increased manual work, full mechanization significantly lowered overall energy use and metabolic rates.
Area of Science:
- Occupational physiology
- Mining engineering
Background:
- The Institute has a long history of studying the physiology of mining work since 1953.
- Understanding the impact of mechanization on underground coal miners' workload is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate underground workload in coal miners.
- To analyze the effects of various mechanization levels on time, energy expenditure, and heart rate.
Main Methods:
- Investigated coal miners' workload under different mechanization conditions.
- Measured time, energy expenditure (kcal/hour), and heart rate.
- Analyzed specific tasks like haulage, loading, hewing, and supporting.
Main Results:
- Mechanization of haulage and loading at chamber faces reduced energy expenditure by 50-100 kcal/hour.
- At longwall faces, mechanization shortened shoveling but increased manual supporting work, leading to metabolic rates of 300 kcal/hour.
- Fully mechanized coal working, including support tasks, resulted in a significant decrease in energy expenditure.
Conclusions:
- Mechanization in coal mining has a varied impact on workload depending on the type and degree of implementation.
- Full mechanization, encompassing all tasks, offers substantial reductions in energy expenditure for miners.