● Documentation review, to perform a detailed investigation of the work domain. ● Semi-structured interviews in the field to collect data about the automation transition experience (from a manual to the current automated system situation), decision-making, data-processing activity and communications. ● Observations (video-recording) without intervention in the task, focused on workers engaged in their tasks, interactions with technologies and field workers. The findings are based on a thematic analysis of interviews and observations, as well as the Control Task Analysis of the system, specifically the Decision Ladder technique. Control Task Analysis (ConTA) is the second phase of Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA), a structured framework used for the analysis, design, and evaluation of complex sociotechnical systems (Elix & Naikar, 2008). ConTA focuses on what needs to be done in a work domain to achieve its purposes, priorities, values, and functions with a given set of physical resources, rather than how or by whom the activity is carried out. A key tool used in ConTA for identifying control tasks and modelling decision-making is the decision ladder (Naikar, 2006). 4. RESULTS The findings are derived from a case study of an autonomous loader system operating in an underground mine. The study involved ten interviews with key personnel, including control room operators (n = 5), a dispatcher (n = 1), an electrician (n = 1), an automation team (n = 2), and a site operations supervisor (n = 1). In addition, three days of on-site observations were conducted. The findings discuss how situation awareness, team communication, and mental workload have been affected, and what opportunities exist to improve current and future automation implementation processes. At the mine site, automation implementation began in 2022. Automated loaders operate in a separate area from manual loaders. The implementation process has been led by an automation coordinator and a team of project specialists, a maintenance superintendent, project engineers, and automation provider specialists. Findings discuss the dynamics of communication and its impact on operators' situation awareness in automated mining systems. How much of SA is informed by technology? By other operators? Or is it hybrid? Operators develop their situational awareness in a hybrid manner. First, operator-automation interaction provides information through various visual alarms displayed on available screens. These screens show camera views, real-time loader parameters, and system alerts (such as traffic light indicators). It is important to note that there are no auditory alarms. Second, human interaction plays a crucial role, especially during handovers and ongoing operations. Human-to-human interaction primarily occurs through verbal communication with colleagues, including dispatch office personnel, control room operators, the shift boss, supervisors, foremen, automation coordinators, and, occasionally, superintendents. How do knowledge and processing activities contribute to Situation Awareness? 25
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