Collision Awareness Systems (CAS) has the end goal to create safe and productive mines.
It then makes sense that South Africa is leading the to implement the high-level collision awareness systems in the Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table (EMESRT) Vehicle Interaction Defensive Controls Model Level 9 (intervention controls).
A probe IMT Mining vehicle.
Level 9 means an electronic system automatically slows down the machine and applies a controlled stop when a dangerous interaction is detected if an operator failed to act before Level 7 (operator awareness) and Level 8 (Advisory Controls) alerts.
Proximity detection and Collision awareness are crucial to reduce fatalities, contributing to the levels of protection against the risks associated with vehicle interactions in a mine.
“With 30%-40% of mining industry deaths globally attributable to failures of vehicle interaction controls, this is no surprise. Advances in collision awareness are arguably already showing results, with one TMM-related death reported this year to date in South Africa,” says Gert Roselt, CEO of Probe Integrated Mining Technologies (Probe IMT).
“At Probe IMT, we have been working with carefully selected industry-leading solutions to help our clients ensure that they can meet the requirements of the Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table (EMESRT) Level 9 intervention controls using the mining industry developed ISO-21815 protocol,” he adds.
The International Council on Mining & Minerals (ICMM) aims to eliminate all fatalities from vehicle interactions in mining by 2025, so the race is on to ensure the implementation of systems in capital equipment used at mines.
“Implementing reliable integrated systems that can comply with Level 9 requires long-term commitment and solid investment in sophisticated CAS systems that provide high integrity object detection, operator warning and automatic intervention, when necessary, to prevent an accident,” says Roselt.
“It must be far more than a box-ticking exercise, with integrated technology implemented in a holistic way that avoids the challenges of operator alarm fatigue, sensing technology inaccuracies, unnecessary alarms during normal operations and reduced system availability – all of which can impact production.”
Probe IMT is a value-added partner for Wabtec Corporation.
“The Wabtec Collision Awareness Solutions Suite is a sophisticated and adaptable collision awareness and reporting system developed specifically for the mining industry to make mining operations safer while helping to ensure optimal performance at a lower sustainable cost,” says Roselt. “Software algorithms that can interpret and anticipate the complex vehicle interaction scenarios presented during normal mining operations enable the Wabtec systems to operate seamlessly with the operator based on a human-centred design for new mining technology. Using advanced technology field hardware and communications software, with real-time system health monitoring and event reporting, the Wabtec Digital Mine’s safety technology provides an industry-proven reduction in vehicle interaction risk. With the right reporting and analytics tools to monitor and manage operator behaviour, safety culture and compliance can rapidly be improved.”
Gert Roselt is the CEO of Probe Integrated Mining Technologies (Probe IMT).
