This 3 metre cubed structure has enough space to fit 10 people comfortably. It sports a 360 degree view that can help visualisation.

It almost sounds a bit like the Volvo line from the Dudley Moore movie Crazy People where people with mental issues got into the advertising industry and espoused the crazy idea of truth in advertising: “Volvos. They’re boxy but they’re safe”

In Fifth Dimension Technologies, or 5DT for short, its Cube is boxy but it can really help you train people.

Indeed, 5DT believes it is a key part of providing a total training solution to mining companies around the world.

South Africa-based Fifth Dimension is one of the big three equipment simulator makers, competing with Perth-headquartered Immersive Technologies and fellow South African Thoroughtec.

Fifth Dimension already has had some success in Australia with its equipment simulators.

The Mining Industry Skills Centre and Fortescue Metals Group have taken on its products.

It developed a Wirtgen surface miner simulator specifically for FMG so it could better train its workers to operate the machines.

However, 5DT chief executive officer Paul Olkers admits training simulators alone are not enough and that a broader offering is needed.

This more holistic approach is what 5DT has embarked on with its own training solutions offering.

The 5DT training offering includes visualisation, familiarisation and, of course, simulator training.

Those simulators allow mining trainees to learn to operate a range of mining equipment without damaging the real equipment.

Its simulator bases come with either three or six degrees of motion.

The six degrees of freedom includes yaw, which can simulate a truck skidding all too well.

Olkers said the familiarisation process was important.

“Before a trainee gets into the simulator they should be able to operate the controls of the vehicle [they are training on],” Olkers said.

“The industry is reacting very positively to this.

“We’re getting close to finding the most optimal way of training. I believe we have to have this sort of structure.”

This is where the company’s Cube comes in very handy.

The Cube has enough space to fit 10 people comfortably, an improvement on the one person that normally fits into a standard equipment simulator.

It gives a 360 degree view.

“It’s good for underground mining,” Olkers said.

“There also is a push for the Cube to go to Wirtgen surface miner users.

“We’re also using the Cube for the visualisation part. It can give people an idea of how the whole mining operation fits together.

“It can show the shovel operator how being a couple of seconds slow in a loading cycle can ripple through the whole process.”

Another area 5DT has been particularly strong in is the underground coal market.

Many of its early successes were in this area.

The company made a name for itself using virtual reality headsets to simulate a continuous miner and longwall.

Olkers said the Head Mounted Displays would gradually be replaced by the Cube.

“We’re about one month away from having the continuous miner in our Cube,” he said.

“We’ll be doing away with the HMDs for the underground coal simulators.”