COLLISION AVOIDANCE the Bell Equipment Electrical Engineering Department , which is open to working with suppliers on ‘ proof of concept ’. By having an interoperable machine and testing the proof of concept with suppliers , we are able to put compatible technology into the field at the lowest cost .”
Wabtec - a new CAS generation
Wabtec Digital Mine formally released its Gen 3 Collision Avoidance solution back in May 2023 , which was a major launch for the CAS sector and a big boost for Wabtec itself . Mitch Tanzer , Global Commercial Director - Digital Mine at Wabtec told IM : “ It led to some big project wins for us , as some major customers had been waiting for this solution to become available . This amounted to commitments in excess of 3,500 assets across several different mining customers – for equipment units to be fitted with our Gen 3 CAS .”
It was an important sign that the new product , originally developed in partnership with Glencore at its coal mining operations in Australia from as long ago as 2019 onwards , had been validated and accepted by the wider mining industry . Wabtec had been working quietly in the background to prove out the Gen 3 solution and iron out any issues , with Glencore Coal an ideal partner given its leading role in working with technology as part of projects funded by the Australian Coal Industry ' s Research Program ( ACARP ) as well as its leadership within the Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table ( EMESRT ).
Tanzer comments : “ Yes it took four years from the start to the release , but we took the decision we were not going to commercially release it until we got Glencore ’ s final seal of approval that we and it had ticked all the boxes and had done everything they had asked of it . We ended up with a very well rounded and proven product , and the feedback that we have had from operators at sites , along with the performance of the system in terms of the physical data , the lack of nuisance alarms and how low those alarm counts are – it is clear to us that there really isn ’ t anything like it on the market .” Its success also means it is now penetrating markets it hasn ’ t had access to before – Gen 2 was not cold temperature rated but Gen 3 is – that means it can now compete just as well in the Canadian oil sands for example , as it has done in the WA Pilbara .
Wabtec has had a great 2023 in the CAS world which Tanzer said had been driven by several tailwinds – first of course the product release itself , but also momentum created by Level 9 mandating in South Africa , plus a consistent theme in the industry of a very strong focus on safety . Glencore Coal Australia has publicly talked about its partnership with Wabtec on Gen 3 and has now standardised the tech across its fleets . Tanzer said the other customers today
were Tier 1 miners but could not be more specific due to NDAs and the fact that a number of these projects were still in the deployment phase but not yet operating . The 3,500 CAS Gen 3 figure following its launch has now risen to over 5,000 deployed or commitments to deploy – and Tanzer added that all its major customers want to get the system fitted as quickly as is feasibly possible , such is the potential positive impact on safety .
Looking at Australia specifically , the focus on safety is very high to the point where CAS is seen as a necessity despite it not being mandated . There is a fear that collision represents a major remaining unmanaged risk . Shareholders and the public in general , especially those with links to the mining industry , have put a lot of the onus on the mining industry to act in the safest way possible . Even if someone is not hurt but there was a near miss – it still gets a lot of press . Regulators are also taking a much firmer stance with mines when it comes to these types of incidents . Many of the state inspectors are basically saying that the CAS technology is available and it is performing well , so that mines should be doing something about it as soon as possible . They don ’ t want to see any sites that have a high potential for collisions that are not either actively looking at installing CAS or beginning to deploy it , to allow them to significantly reduce their vehicle interaction risk . An industry wide questionnaire has even been sent out to system providers , miners and other stakeholders , which includes the question of whether mandating is the way forward in Australia .
For his part , Tanzer feels that in Australia it may not be needed . “ We totally understand why the DMRE has chosen that route in South Africa due to the level of collision incidents they have historically had in that market , which had to be addressed . Plus it is had a unique catalyst effect on evolution of CAS in the wider mining industry . In South Africa , we will continue to do our utmost to support end users to meet their commitments . But in Australia and other places , we feel that if it is mandated it may result in some making decisions that are compromised by time , or cost , or both .”
Already there is a flurry of activity in Australia based on the feeling that CAS is something the mining industry should do , not just because it has been required to do it by law . Though even the possibility that it may be mandated is also powerful .
What about the feeling that Level 9 CAS deployment should only ever be a last resort , and that it most cases , a Level 8 system that alerts operators in some way as opposed to direct vehicle intervention ( Level 9 ) is enough ? Some have also suggested Level 9 is not a good idea as
One of the Wabtec Gen 3 CAS differentiators is its curved detection beams
operators will come to rely on it too much as a safety net . Tanzer had this to say : “ We align very closely with the EMESRT model . By that I mean we subscribe to the fact that if you have understood your other risks – and you have done the work to improve your fundamental controls at Level 1 through 6 , there is still a lot of benefit in implementing technology to reduce any residual risk at Level 7 and 8 . You constantly refine those 8 Levels all the time . If you have done all that , in many cases , the data will likely tell you that you don ’ t need Level 9 intervention . That being said , there may still be some discreet uses cases where it still has a major benefit . Ultimately , mines in markets like Australia are and will be using a very rich set of data to inform a decision around exactly when and where Level 9 will be needed , and this is likely to only represent a small subsection of their overall vehicle interaction risk .”
Looking at the other major surface mining regions outside of Wabtec ’ s main Australian market , Latin America for example has quite a mature CAS market in Chile and Brazil already so this is where mining groups are now also weighing up Level 9 as an option . Wabtec is working with one of its existing customers in Brazil on a Level 9 trial to potentially address a specific higher collision risk scenario that they have . Mines in Peru and Colombia are also looking at CAS technology . North America is hotting up , especially given fleetwide commitments to CAS that have been made in the oil sands . Wabtec is working on a new deployment in a coal mine in West Virginia as an example . Tanzer said Wabtec is also close to having several deployments in South Africa .
And this is reflected in Wabtec ’ s approach . Fundamentally , Gen 3 CAS is a Level 8 product but being Level 9 ready out of the box . By that it means Wabtec has prioritised the use of advisory
JANUARY 2024 | International Mining