Aye, S.A. (Sylvester Aondolumun)Heyns, P.S. (Philippus Stephanus)2012-05-032012-05-032011-11Aye, SA & Heyns, PS 2011, 'The evaluation of whole-body vibration in a South African opencast mine', Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, vol. 111, pp. 751-757.0038-223X (print)http://hdl.handle.net/2263/18670Vibration levels on a variety of equipment in a South African opencast mine were measured in this study. The well-established ISO 2631-1 (1997) standard methodology was used for the computation of weighted root mean square (WRMS) and vibration dose value (VDV). This method was used to evaluate the wholebody vibration (WBV) on a wide range of equipment in the opencast mine using the two main parameters, namely the daily exposure A(8) which is based on the WRMS concept and the VDV which measures shocks. The results obtained show that while the majority of the equipment rendered exposure levels that are below the exposure limit value (ELV), exposure levels on about half of the equipment do exceed the exposure action levels. The study also highlights the importance of shock in the observed responses.en© The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 2011.Opencast mineExcavatorsOther equipmentWhole-body vibration (WBV)Load haul dumpers (LHDs)Strip mining -- Electric equipment -- VibrationMachinery -- VibrationShock (Mechanics) -- MeasurementExcavating machinery -- Vibration -- South AfricaDump trucks -- Vibration -- South AfricaStrip mining -- South AfricaArticle