BUSINESS
has commissioned Thys Greyvenstein as
a consultant. Any system is required to be
verified against a reference at the University
of Pretoria to prove the capability of the
PDS system in terms of how it will behave
in a level 9 scenario. Thereafter it will be
required to demonstrate the solution
in an active protocol between the
diverse systems.”
This latter step can be quite
complicated, explains Pretorius, as many
older, purely mechanical vehicles are still
in use, which do not have the electronic
facility to interface with the PDS. The
draft ISO 21815 standard will be used as a
standard between these diverse systems.
Period of trial
The system will then go through a process
of trials before going into production.
Pretorius lists a couple of important
developmental challenges in terms of
change management to prevent the
challenges experienced with the level 7
systems when installing level 9 systems.
“The system has to have the buy-in of
drivers, who therefore need to be involved
in the design process. Secondly, traffic
management must be well designed to
prevent nuisance alarms. The latter could
occur where the vehicle slows down or
stops when alerted to a non-existent
danger, such as warning of a tagged man
20m away. No accident could realistically
occur. This is a ‘false positive’.”
These ‘false positives’ can undermine
the entire system, explains Pretorius,
especially if it results in the drivers not
trusting the system. “Unless they buy-
in, mechanical failures will be initially
reported as PDS-related breakdowns,
which could unfairly reflect on the level 9
implementation. So, while there appears to
be plenty of time until end-2020, the reality
is that it is a complex process and no time is
to be lost. The same applies to companies:
they need to start in their next financial
year to set aside a budget and set aside a
full year to implement the system, to ensure
their drivers understand and buy into it.
This urgency places pressure on the current
R&D process.
“From our experience, some vehicle
OEMs have been reluctant to commit to the
development for level 9 compliance due to
all the risks and liabilities associated with
these solutions. However,” Pretorius says,
“they are coming around as it is evident
that the aim for level 9 legislation in South
Africa will become a reality.”
Schauenburg’s strategy has been to
have regular meetings with the vehicle
OEMs represented on our mines, as well
as dealing with two or three of the third-
party interface companies on implementing
level 9 solutions. Pretorius indicates that
Schauenburg Systems is committed towards
the necessary development involved for
level 9 compliance.
“There is a lot of work left to do,
especially on surface mining systems,”
he concludes. ■
QUARRY SA | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 _ 11