FATIGUE AND COLLISION AVOIDANCE
personnel. By integrating Optalert’ s algorithm into the CAS, this would expand those parameters to include driver performance, improving the safety paradigm for heavy vehicle drivers.
“ Effectively, that means our quantifiable drowsiness score can help regulate the tolerance of collision avoidance, so if a driver is less alert, the distance allowed for collision avoidance would be increased,” Optalert CEO Scott Coles said.
“ This means a greater layer of safety and protection for heavy vehicle drivers and it also highlights a significant industry change, with scientifically-proven drowsiness detection now considered an important component of safety monitoring in mining. Optalert’ s technology concentrates on the driver, not just their behaviour, and can detect when a person is more at risk of becoming a drowsy driver, rather than wake a person who has fallen asleep. No other technology working in this space is able to measure drowsiness with any objective accuracy. Every mine has a goal of zero-harm. Together, Optalert and GE will work together to help bring the industry closer.”
GuardVant mining orders in Africa and Latin America
Operator fatigue and close proximity areas of reduced operator visibility ─ or blind spots ─ are widely recognised as two of the leading causes of mining accidents involving mining equipment. Turning to a more advanced way of monitoring fatigue and distraction, Southern Copper Company( an indirect subsidiary of Grupo Mexico) has installed GuardVant OpGuard systems on its mine fleet at La Caridad mine in Mexico.“ With the installation of the OpGuard system, Southern Copper Company expects a decrease in safety incidents and operating costs as well as an increase in equipment availability.” The OpGuard Operator Fatigue and Alertness Monitoring System uses a non-intrusive infrared camera to monitor the operator’ s eye closure and head movements for signs of fatigue and distraction. When a fatigue or distracted-driving event is detected the operator is immediately alerted by in-cab audio alerts and seat vibration. OpGuard automatically turns on when a haul truck is in operation, which helps operators easily and consistently adopt the technology.
Located 23 km southeast of Nacozari de Garcia, Mexico, the open-pit mining operation produces copper, molybdenum, gold and silver. Initially mined back in the 1800s, La Caridad reopened in 1979 and had an annual production of over 126,000 t of copper in 2014, contributing to Grupo Mexico’ s ranking as one of the top 10 largest copper producers in the world. La Caridad
The Guardvant OpGuard Operator Fatigue and Alertness Monitoring System uses a nonintrusive infrared camera to monitor the operator’ s eye closure and head movements for signs of fatigue and distraction
currently employs over 1,000 people at its mine site. Grupo Mexico has 14 mines and exploration projects across Mexico, Peru, the US, Chile, Ecuador and Argentina. GuardVant solutions are currently used at three other Southern Copper Company mines: Buenavista, Toquepala, and Cuajone.
Newmont Ghana has also selected GuardVant’ s fatigue monitoring, proximity detection and collision avoidance systems for its operating gold mines Akyem and Ahafo.“ By combining fatigue monitoring, close proximity detection and collision avoidance, Newmont Ghana is combatting two very common safety issues at mines. These systems prevent accidents and the data generated also enables managers to implement operational changes and develop employee programs that further reduce the number of accidents. The reduction in accidents also positively impacts equipment availability and productivity,” said Emmanuel Kwame Attifu, IT Country Manager for Newmont Ghana.
Kwame also added:“ After an intensive evaluation of solutions, GuardVant was selected as the most desirable solution for the African region based on the maturity of the system in terms of its functionalities, scalability, reliability and reporting structure.”
Newmont Ghana selected both ProxGuard and CollisionGuard to reduce close-proximity accidents caused by blind spots. ProxGuard uses long- and short-range radars and video to detect objects in close proximity. The in-cab video screen immediately displays the view when a sensor detects an object within its range. CollisionGuard uses GPS and peer-to-peer communication to display the relative position of any equipment outfitted with CollisionGuard on the in-cab monitor.“ As a result of implementing these safety solutions, the operator’ s situational awareness of other heavy equipment, light vehicles, and pedestrians will improve and increase.”
Peripheral vision
Hitachi Construction Machinery introduced a peripheral vision display system with object detection technology called Aerial Angle ® at MINExpo 2016. The technology enhances the visibility for operators of mining equipment by alerting them to obstacles when driving, stopping or starting their dump trucks.
“ Customers around the world are striving to enhance efficiency of the entire mining supply chain,” said Craig Lamarque, Division Manager, Hitachi Construction Machinery.“ As a result, there is an increasing demand for machinery manufacturers to incorporate information communications technology( ICT) into mining machinery and management systems, and to provide solutions that integrate these technologies. This technology addresses the important customer issues of enhancing operator awareness, improving productivity and reducing life cycle costs.”
Hitachi Construction Machinery previously provided full-perimeter display systems for dump trucks and hydraulic excavators used in mining. The new object detect assist technology features two operating modes – Stationary Mode, which incorporates camera image processing technology used in the Around View Monitor ® with Moving Object Detection System developed jointly by Nissan and Clarion; and Forward Mode, which incorporates millimetre wave radar technology developed by Hitachi.
In Stationary Mode, a warning is provided to the dump truck operator when the vehicle is stopped or starting to move, if any moving objects such as other vehicles are detected nearby. The warning is displayed in the driver ' s seat monitor with accompanying sound. Moving objects are recognised through images captured by cameras mounted on the front, rear, left and right sides of the dump truck. By quickly notifying the operator of any
64 International Mining | JANUARY 2017