INSIGHT
FLY DRONES
SAFELY
Edited by Leon Louw
With more mining companies using drones
to undertake various tasks on mines, their safe use should be
foremost on the minds of safety offi cers, who need to know
the laws and regulations governing the safe use of the machines.
S
urface mining association, Aspasa, recently held a series
of talks to educate their members on the safe use of
drones on mines. On the agenda was some of the most
pressing requirements of air law (Civil Aviation Regulations),
weather conditions (meteorology), navigation and airspace
rules, safety assessments, and drone operations, as well as
more general requirements to do with the human factor
such as workforce awareness of drones, pilot characteristics,
training programmes for safety offi cers and communication
from civil aviation to the industry. so safety offi cers (pilots) are given a thorough grounding in
meteorology, as well as how to navigate drones in the available
airspaces of a high-risk mining environment. Having taken all
the above into consideration, a safety assessment can then be
made to decide whether to fl y the drone or not.
Mandy Tebbit of Cranfi eld Aviation Training, who presented the
talks, focused on the Safety Offi cer Drone Awareness (SODA)
training, and explained that safety offi cers in non-aviation
environments need an understanding of aviation regulations,
operational challenges, risks, threats, considerations and site
assessment criteria in order to eff ectively fl y drones on mining
company property. She says the basics required for the safe
fl ying of drones include technical requirements, human factor
requirements and teamwork. “Human error reduction awareness in the industry must
evolve to mind-state management. This is a concept that can
be subdivided into various areas of a mine’s functioning such
as how the culture, leadership and teamwork aspects of the
mine will infl uence drone operations, the communication and
co-ordination history of mine operations, as well as the decision-
making and risk assessment culture of a particular mine.
“Safety offi cers must be aware of four requirements: air law as
set out by Civil Aviation Regulations; followed by the weather
conditions (meteorology); what the navigation and air spaces
look like at their particular mine; and a safety assessment of that
day’s operations.
“Starting a drone’s workday, for example compiling geological
information, mapping vegetation or stockpiling measurements
requires the pilot to be aware of the operations pertaining to
drones as set out by Civil Aviation Regulations. Examples include
how to fl y drones in the vicinity of private property or structures
or in the vicinity of public roads or night-operations and the
pilot’s duties while fl ying the drone.
“Weather conditions are important, not only for the physical
safety of the drone but will infl uence the operation of the drone
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“Pilots also need to undergo training, specifi cally the SODA
1 and 2 training programmes as the human factor in fl ying a
drone in a high-risk environment is important, not only to pilots
but to general mine employees as well.
“The personalities of pilots (Safety Offi cers) are equally
important. They need diverse abilities such as concentration,
accuracy of fl ying and having a positive mindset, among others,
to successfully fl y a drone on a mine.
“Finally, pilots must be aware of offi cial communications
from civil aviation to the industry such as the Aeronautical
Information Publications (AIP’s) and Notices to Airmen
(NOTAMS),” says Mandy.
She concludes that if a workforce is not committed to
compliance, if they are tired or stressed, and if they fear
dismissal, they are going to make mistakes or cover them up.
However, a positive, compliant workforce should be team-
orientated, communicate with one another, have innovative
briefi ngs and leadership and maintain situational awareness
of drone operations and safety in order to use this type of
technology successfully.
African Mining
African Mining November 2019
1