FATIGUE MONITORING
monitoring watches for personnel . In 2018 , PBM mining installed the DSS on five haul trucks at the Phu Kham operation and implemented a trial of the Cat Smartband . They also partnered with Caterpillar on a Fatigue Risk Assessment , which used data from the DSS and the Smartband to provide real information that would reveal the scale of the problem .
After seeing the results of the trials at Phu Kham , the company made the decision to move forward with DSS system across the entire truck fleet at both operations In 2019 , PBM approved the purchase of the DSS , with equipment delivered to the site in July and implementation completed just 66 days later . Unlike the previous in-cab system , the DSS doesn ’ t deliver a live feed that requires someone to be watching the operators at all times . The DSS is not closedcircuit television , and someone is alerted only if there is a fatigue or distraction event detected .
In the first six months after full implementation at Phu Kham to end-December 2019 , the mine saw a 41 % reduction in overall fatigue events and an 80 % reduction in truck operators being required to be relieved from driving due to fatigue . This data indicated that events attributed to fatigue were being reduced , as were the times operators were experiencing fatigue . This points to a successful cultural shift that the site safety team had been seeking . The metric Mean Time Between Sleeps , which measures the average fleet trucks hours against the microsleeps , shows that both sites are continually improving and have not yet plateaued .
Other operations recently deploying Cat fatigue management tech include Glencore ’ s Lomas Bayas copper mine in Chile , which is now using Caterpillar ’ s Smartband to complement the DSS on the haul truck fleet . Head of Dispatch , Percy Sierralta , said the system will help the operator to notify , in advance , the Head of Shift in case of not being in a condition to operate their shift . “ Our Superintendents of Mine Operations , in conjunction with our Dispatch and Technology teams , have developed a pilot program with a group of operators in training from the Mujeres a la Carga program . With this Caterpillar technology , in the form of a wristwatch that is equipped with an accelerometer , plus a telephone application , our operators will know how much they slept and what was the quality of their rest . In this way , they will be able to quantitatively determine whether or not they are in a position to operate ,” explained Sierralta . “ I use it as a watch and as a sleep monitor . It is a device that helps us to verify fatigue and drowsiness on the cell phone . In this way , I can keep track and report if I feel fatigued ,” says Karen Escobar , Mine Equipment Operator .
This innovative tool , which is also Smartband ’ s first implementation in Chile , the mine said will provide peace of mind to all its operators , who will be able to achieve a healthy lifestyle without risks , which requires maintaining control and a permanent history of sleep behaviour and hours .
Glencore Coal ’ s fatigue monitoring journey in Australia
A detailed presentation entitled GCAA Operator Alertness System Implementation Project was given in April 2021 by Neil Pollard , Fleet Technology Superintendent for Glencore Coal Assets Australia that summarised GCAA ’ s journey in identifying fatigue as a problem and taking steps to address it through technology introduction . The presentation was given in a webinar organised by the ICMM , as part of its Innovation for Cleaner , Safer Vehicles ( ICSV ) initiative , which brings together 28 of the world ’ s leading mining and metals companies with the largest OEMs in a non-competitive space , to accelerate the development of a new generation of mining vehicles and improve existing ones .
The initial site-based trial began in 2016 and was an initiative of Ravensworth Open Cut ( ROC ) due to six fatigue related incidents involving heavy equipment occurring within six months at the mine . Heavy equipment operator fatigue was identified as an area of concern within the company but was unquantifiable , relying on selfreporting and / or operator confession that an incident involved operator impairment / fatigue . Two camera-based technologies ( Guardvant MineProtect-OAS and another system ) were trialled at ROC back to back over a two-year period . Glendell Open Cut also trialled
GCAA has now rolled out Hexagon ' s HxGN MineProtect Operator Alertness System Heavy Vehicle ( OAS-HV ) at 11 mines on nearly 500 mining trucks and water trucks
the Guardvant MineProtect-OAS system during this time . The OAS or Operator Alertness System is a non intrusive eye closure and distraction monitoring solution built for the mining industry with onboard hardware including cabin camera and front facing camera , infrared sensor and in cabin motion alarm and audible device . Based on the information gathered during the Ravensworth Open Cut trial , which provided a better understanding and appreciation of the fatigue risk , the decision to implement the OAS technology across the entire truck fleet was committed to by the GCAA SLT in July 2017 with all systems to be installed by end 2019 – one of the most significant fatigue management system rollouts in mining involving no less than 11 open cut coal mines in Queensland and NSW . Between July 2018 and November 2019 , some 448 units had been installed on mining trucks and water trucks . In that period Guardvant was also acquired by Hexagon in August 2018 , and the system became known as HxGN MineProtect Operator Alertness System Heavy Vehicle ( OAS- HV ). Glencore Coal says this system was selected based on achieving numerous functional and performance criteria including its ability to accurately and consistently ID eye closure events as determined through the trial as well as eliminating false positives . A light vehicle unit trial was then carried out by GCAA at its Newlands operation in 2019 .
The summarised project benefits – it created an environment where fatigue and inattention events for mobile equiment operators are
66 International Mining | JANUARY 2022