COLLISION AVOIDANCE
Strata ' s Gen 2 HazardAvert is already being trialled in SA hard rock mines as well as being deployed in coal mines that have been using Gen 1 for years
Today , as it is the only real benchmark available , Cillie said the key mining customers looking at PDS are setting EMESRT as the main bar to start testing and trials , whether those are independent tests or through UoP ’ s Vehicle Dynamics Group . EMESRT protocols are very similar to those cited in the ISO21815 standard , which will take over in the next few years as the bar to meet once all parts have been published , given that it is issued by the International Organisation for Standardisation . And while South Africa is the current focus due to the DMR mandate , Cillie said the Strata engineers in Australia are already getting a lot of questions and there is a lot of work being done , not just by EMERST but also ACARP and Mining3 . “ But the focus is very much still on SA due to the legal deadline looming , despite having been extended . A lot of the mining players are watching what the others are doing .”
In collision avoidance technology , Strata has a long history of running Level 9 systems going back 13 years – a long time before it was called Level 9 . It was referred to as full slowdown and stop . This autonomous stopping technology was first applied in the underground coal industry in SA and has been running very successfully ever since . Strata says it has always been the leading PDS supplier in that market . “ The larger underground coal miners in South Africa chose Strata from the beginning , and the learnings we achieved have enabled us to meet a lot of the EMESRT demands today . One of the differentiators over other PDS is our system is incredibly practical and easy to run . It doesn ’ t need a high skill level to change out components and set up fields or to resume operations if there is an issue .”
It happened in UG coal first as the initial DMR mandate required all trackless electrical equipment to have the technology installed , well before it was required on diesel machines . In SA this meant mainly continuous miners , roof bolters , feeder breakers and shuttle cars . Cillie conceded that this is an easier form of interaction to manage with PDS due to the machines being slower moving , tethered and often more “ intelligent ” than a lot of the ageing diesel LHD and truck fleets . That equipment requires the addition of an interface to be able to use the technology .
Strata has also worked closely with key OEMs like
Sandvik and was the first PDS supplier in SA coal mining to start working with diesel LHD machines . Level 9 was achieved on these units several years ago at Anglo Coal operations . Overall , Strata says it has over 1,000 HazardAvert systems in South Africa running for more than a decade and these are true Level 9 . “ Getting from Level 7 to Level 9 is a big jump in terms of technology , system intelligence and reliability . It cannot be bypassed by the operator . Our systems do self-diagnostic checks to make sure there are no faults with the machine , and if there are , HazardAvert will put the machine into complete stop . This forces the mine to keep up with high level maintenance . We knew the market would evolve to Level 9 so we focussed on that from the start . We have been very successful in coal and are now focusing on hard rock .”
Looking at hard rock , Cillie said it has recently completed the most comprehensive testing in the industry to date at an underground manganese mine
in the Northern Cape province . “ This is been a highly successful test with an incredible set-up utilising the EMESRT protocols and expert consultants . They have been able to pull it all together and make risk assessment reports for the client . Following a technology review only two PDS suppliers were selected in the end for the trials , Strata and one other . Tests started on the surface then moved underground . The mine is still reviewing the results but both companies performed well .”
Some South African mines are waiting for a more cost-effective solution for collision avoidance . Hightech Level 9 systems include costly sensing technologies to ensure they reach the required standards . Other mines are still dominated by underground rail haulage and in these cases , less sophisticated systems are more than adequate .
Strata ’ s Gen1 HazardAvert system for coal mining was primarily V2P ( vehicle-to-person or pedestrian ). This is where the coal industry originally saw the most risk . But things are changing , and coal miners are now looking at V2V ( vehicle-to-vehicle ) for faster moving diesel units . Strata has now developed the Gen2 system that includes V2V and it says it is the first company in the industry to start V2V PDS rollout . Strata now has V2V flameproof and non-flameproof options . The Gen2 system has been available in coal mining for about three years and will be used in hard rock .
Cillie said key to its success with customers in coal and now in hard rock has been the incredible
( Level 9 )
Sees What People Can ’ t & Reacts When People Don ’ t .
• Vehicle-to-Vehicle
• Vehicle-to-Person
• Underground & Surface
• All people and equipment in the working section
SA : + 27-12-450-0960 • info @ strata-safety . co . za www . strataworldwide . com
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JANUARY 2021 | International Mining 61