According to Booyco Electronics, there is a growing urgency, as a vital element of the broader safety drive, in the application of proximity detection systems (PDS) on South African mines.
“The attention being paid to PDS today goes beyond even the direct avoidance of accidents,” says Anton Lourens, CEO of Booyco Electronics. “PDS is increasingly part of the development of ‘digital twin’ simulations, where mines are analysing big data to understand their operations better.”
In both surface and underground operations, mine management is embracing data solutions to improve safety on site. By leveraging digital technology, mines are essentially creating a simulated version of their mining operations, says Lourens. This allows more detailed observation of what is really happening on the mine and, ideally, is being based on real-time information.
“The location-based data provided by PDS technology, for instance, gives a powerful dimension to traffic management flow analysis and future planning,” he says. “This has been shown to enhance safety practices on surface and underground mines.”
By locating vehicles and personnel in real time, mines are better able to analyse traffic movement patterns. This, he says, is a crucial first step in traffic management strategies that keep people as far away as possible from trackless mining machinery (TMM). It can also, of course, help prevent machine-to-machine collisions. He highlights that effective PDS solutions are based on the careful identification of high-risk areas, followed by the mitigation of significant risk.
“Mines develop their codes of practice (COP) based on their assessment of risk,” he says. “These practices then specify the conditions required – such as the speed of vehicles in certain areas – to mitigate the identified risks.”
The COP will be specific to each mining operation, he emphasises, as no mines have identical conditions. This is why the big data derived from PDS is so important, as it gives detailed insight into actual traffic conditions, and into the hot spot areas that these traffic movements generate.
“An example of this is the Booyco Electronics Asset Management System (BEAMS) software suite, essentially a central information hub giving mines greater insight into their operations’ interactions,” he says. “By analysing large amounts of data from vehicles, unsafe patterns of behaviour can be identified, to which mines can respond through interventions that enhance safety.”
The data collected will reflect ‘hot spots’ for potential collisions, giving management the opportunity to improve safety through adapting the traffic management plan. There are also broader benefits to the operation, as this data is relevant to productivity as well.
“Real-time vehicle location generates data that can create productivity reports, for example, as the information shines light on operational aspects such as standing time and availability,” he says, adding that where management can pick up these problems, they can identify proactive solutions.
The exponential rate at which technology is generally developing globally is also leading to more data for PDS suppliers to analyse, test and improve their solutions. Lourens notes that the growing global application of PDS is putting more systems into action, and a great deal is being learned very quickly. As the number of PDS users expands, technologies can be proven and improved in relatively short timeframes.
Underlying much of this progress has been the facilitation provided by the Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table (EMESRT), a global initiative of major mining companies to improve mine safety. Since around 2013, EMESRT has guided the process of achieving compatibility between PDS systems and the OEMs of trackless mining machines. At the forefront of PDS technology since 2006, Booyco Electronics has been a collaborator with, and keen supporter of, the EMESRT process.
“EMESRT initiated an industry project to improve vehicle interaction controls – based on Design Philosophy 5 (DP-5) on Machine Operation and Control,” he says. “This project first built up a series of operational scenarios that mines faced with ensuring safe TMM movement. Subsequently a Minerals Council task team has coordinated and then created a set of performance requirements for evaluating commercial PDS technologies.”
Among the most exciting aspects of advancing industrial technology is the field of sensors, says Lourens. Booyco Electronics has designed its evolving CXS range of PDS solutions to allow for the easy addition of sensors to the system architecture. Through various combinations of sensing technologies, the company can deploy specific and flexible solutions that add to safer working environments for different customer requirements.
“This gives us the choice of using long-distance detection technology, or a close-up and more accurate sensing approach,” he says. “These options allow us to provide our customers with the most suitable technologies for underground and surface operations.”
For the rest of the story, check out the latest edition of Modern Mining:
https://user-54716422671.cld.bz/Modern-Mining-October-2022
