COLLISION AVOIDANCE
indurad ’ s mobile machine automation expertise and OEM-agnostic autonomy platform combined with Hexagon ’ s existing technologies will help accelerate the shift to fully autonomous mines .
But to look at Hexagon ’ s CAS journey and how it fits into its wider safety ecosystem , including its fatigue management solution OAS ( Hexagon Operator Alertness System ), we talked to Hexagon ’ s Josh Savit , Principal Advisor ; and Michael Hatfield , Head of Product , Safety .
Savit started by talking about safety systems ’ evolution : “ Over the past ten years we have seen , just from a sociological point of view , that technology is advancing very quickly – you only have to look at the journey of the iphone and other smartphones to see that – in many ways they are doing most of the things a laptop used to do . So the expansion of collision avoidance and fatigue monitoring technologies are experiencing similar technological evolution plus a wider technology adoption across all areas . Mining is quick to adopt formulaic methodology with technology perhaps being a bit slower . Things started to accelerate about five years ago when there was a real increase in the number of private LTE networks being deployed in mines – today , this connectivity is an absolute prerequisite for mines that want to deploy autonomous fleets , but also digital advancements related to safety as well . The industry has demanded that we at Hexagon innovate and lead at the speed of technological evolution . Customers want us to ensure that our solutions represent the latest technology built on our early acquisitions of SAFEmine and Guardvant , taking the best of these systems and making them fit for today ’ s mining industry – the same is true of our OAS as well on the fatigue side . We are able today to see things that many other systems do not . While mining is conservative , once something is proven , adoption is very fast . And regulation , led by the DMRE in South Africa , is moving fast as well . As an indication of adoption , the EMESRT standards , including the terms Level 7 , 8 and 9 , are now commonly used and understood in mining .”
Mines today see that the CAS and fatigue technology is very effective and recognise the safety and productivity impact it can have . Savit : “ CAS is not just about keeping vehicles from interacting too closely for safety reasons , maintaining distance between machines also makes for a much more fluid operation – mines are now deciding right of way based on CAS data . Other mines have increased speed limits as they have the ability to appropriately and safely manage that through the system . A safe mine is also a profitable mine and the owners are seeing more and more the operational benefits of CAS .”
Hatfield added : “ As automobiles have become increasingly intelligent , many now feature advanced driver-assistance systems ( ADAS ). The same individuals operating heavy equipment in mines or leading safety teams are driving these vehicles to work , and they ’ re beginning to seek similar safety features on their work equipment . This familiarity is driving the accelerated adoption of Collision Avoidance Systems ( CAS ) and Vehicle Intervention Systems ( VIS ) in the mining industry .”
But is a full Level 9 VIS actually required at most mines ? Hatfield : “ Vehicle Intervention Systems are designed to serve as the final layer of defence in a comprehensive safety strategy . VIS should be implemented as part of a holistic , layered approach that includes robust traffic management processes , fatigue monitoring , and Collision Avoidance Systems . When these solutions work together , they create a powerful synergy that significantly enhances safety outcomes .”
Moving on to interoperability and standards , Hatfield states : “ Achieving consensus on standards like ISO21815 among stakeholders , can be challenging , often resulting in a narrower set of capabilities . We fully support these standards and advocate for their adoption . At the same time , we develop OEM-agnostic interfaces to extend beyond the standard ’ s base capabilities to achieve integration across mixed fleets of both new and legacy machines . This ensures that we not only align with the standards but also deliver enhanced functionality and broader applicability across diverse fleets .”
Savit added that Hexagon ’ s safety systems always start with the operator . He says the importance of EMESRT Level 5 , which mainly relates to being fit for duty and even back to Level 1 and planning including road designs , cannot be underestimated . “ And we would never look to offer a Level 9 system for any mine that has not already been on that journey . We recommend that operations have at least 6 months to a year of using Level 7 and 8 to really
understand those systems before taking the final step .”
He says Hexagon itself has transitioned a lot as a company to become a solutions provider across all mining workflows – and the technology on its own is just one aspect of its solution . “ Supporting customers with the management of change and delivery of data and insights also form an important part of our layered safety offering . And the combination of fatigue monitoring ( OAS ) and CAS is very powerful in bringing down incidents drastically . In fact , starting with OAS and adding CAS to the safety ecosystem brings a big improvement from the outset and helps the mine to get familiar with these types of systems – but you still need the CAS to go the extra mile and get to the next step in where you want the mine to be .”
Hexagon says neither OAS or CAS in isolation are as effective as when they are applied together . Savit : “ But even then you must do the work with the operators in terms of engagement . We also have multiple long term users that we are regularly re-engaging with as they grow and we grow in terms of offering , experience and capabilities . While EMESRT is a linear process , at Hexagon we view layered safety as a cyclical , continuous improvement process . Revisiting with customers also helps increase what we call its ‘ stickiness ’ meaning keeping up with the latest technology and ensuring it is being used and applied in the most effective way possible .”
Hatfield also talked about Hexagon ’ s maturity in this market : “ We ’ ve made significant progress in integrating independently acquired products like OAS and CAS into broader safety solutions . We ’ ve worked closely with our customers to implement them as part of comprehensive safety programs , incorporating change management and operations monitoring services . Regional Smart Centres consolidate these solutions and their data , enabling us to provide our clients with actionable insights and continuous improvement recommendations .”
Hatfield adds : We ’ ve moved beyond traditional reports that simply list alerts . Now , we aggregate and analyse events bringing data together to help you identify where the trouble areas on a site , and advise a way forward such as making changes related to traffic management or segregation , perhaps together with addressing fatigue issues . We are now pulling that
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International Mining | JANUARY 2025