SHWI aims to create brain-friendly work environments in the mines of the future

As work in the mining industry becomes more complex and cognitively demanding, new tools are needed to protect operators’ brain health. The SHWI project’s feasibility study now takes the first step toward an index that can help the industry create sustainable and attractive work environments – and lay the foundation for a digital platform capable of monitoring cognitive load in real time.

The feasibility study Genomförbarhetsstudie för ett Socialt Hållbart Arbetsindex inom svensk gruvindustri (SHWI) was one of the projects funded in the first calls from Swedish Metals & Minerals and was carried out between November 2024 and June 2025. The project involved the companies flow2thrive and CDE, as well as the research institute RISE.

The SHWI project was based on the insight that the mining industry is undergoing a shift where work is becoming increasingly cognitively demanding. As more vehicles are remotely controlled, digital systems develop, and operators must manage more screens and more complex control systems, the risk of mental overload, stress, and fatigue increases.

“This in turn increases the likelihood of mistakes and poor decisions. At the same time, there is currently no standard or shared method for measuring and monitoring how ‘brain-friendly’ a work environment truly is. The project team therefore identified an important challenge with strong potential to develop something that could become practically useful for the industry,” says Hampus Schäring, Technical Lead at CDE and coordinator for SHWI.

The importance of addressing this challenge is significant, as the industry’s development is moving directly into the realm of human cognitive capacity. As machines become smarter and work environments more automated, humans remain responsible for monitoring systems, making critical decisions, and managing unforeseen events.

“If we do not take brain health and cognitive sustainability seriously, we risk increased decision errors, more stress-related ill health, and a reduction in employer attractiveness. We want to ensure work environments that enable us to retain and attract new operators,” says Linda Jarnhamn, founder of flow2thrive and project lead for SHWI.

The main purpose of the project was to develop the first framework and methodology for the Sustainable Human Work Index (SHWI) – an index that enables structured measurement of cognitive load and brain health in the work environment.

“Our ambition was to lay the foundation for a future digital platform where companies can collect, analyse, and act on data linked to the physical and digital work environment, work methods, and lifestyle factors that influence recovery and load,” says Linda Jarnhamn.

However, the work also brought several expected and unexpected challenges. One of the biggest concerned data – everything from subjective assessments to sensor data and biometric signals needed to be combined in an ethical, comprehensible, and useful way. To manage this, close dialogue with researchers, work environment experts, and operators was essential, providing practical grounding and guidance. In the next phase, the project has chosen to involve even more academic partners to further strengthen the research connection.

Integrity and ethics were another central challenge. As the project explored cognitive metrics and behavioural data, clarity regarding boundaries and purpose became critical. Here, RISE played an important role in proposing guidelines and continues to contribute to creating confidence for both organisations and individuals. In addition, the maturity level of the sector proved to be a challenge in itself. Although many recognised the need for SHWI, they were at the same time cautious about being first. Despite this, the project has now established several valuable collaborations with end users.

Collaboration within the consortium is highlighted as very strong, not least thanks to how the different competencies complemented one another. CDE contributed expertise in workplaces, ergonomics, and the design of control-room environments. flow2thrive brought knowledge in brain health, behavioural science, and cognitive performance, while RISE was responsible for the scientific foundation and ethical perspective. Together, the partners were able to address the challenge from three perspectives – practical, cognitive, and research-based – creating a dynamic and effective working process.

Key results from the project include strong support from the industry, gathered through interviews and dialogue with companies such as Boliden, LKAB, SSAB, Volvo, ABB and Sandvik. In addition, the project has developed the first SHWI framework, covering variables and choices of data sources – an initial version of something previously entirely absent in the sector.

The results from the feasibility study are now being taken forward into a recently approved full-scale project, SHWI – Phase 2, within Swedish Metals & Minerals.

“The feasibility study provided both direction and a toolbox, and the next step is to build the first functional version of the SHWI platform based on the methodology developed. This means that the project is moving from early technical readiness to validating the solution directly within the industry,” says Hampus Schäring.