COLLISION AVOIDANCE
A matter of last resort
The Booyco PDS has grown into a fully fledged collision prevention system
The technology is there today to enable conventional manned machines , not just autonomous ones , to slow down or stop themselves to avoid collision with another machine or worker . But applying it in practice is not without its challenges , reports Paul Moore
Looking again at collision avoidance technology worldwide – the situation remains fluid . In South Africa , which was and in many respects still is leading the rollout of advanced CAS globally there is still no set legislated deadline by which Level 9 CAS ( where a machine takes fully automated action to slow down or stop to avoid an imminent collision ) must be implemented , despite an original tentative date in June then December 2020 .
The text covering the Level 9 requirement is in Chapter 8 of South Africa ’ s Mine Health and Safety Act ( 1996 ) that requires trackless mobile machines to warn the operator if a significant risk of collision exists . If the operator fails to heed the warning , the machine must automatically slow down and stop safely . The Minerals Council of South Africa told IM that a December 2023 deadline has now been put forward and is under discussion by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy ( DMRE ). That said , a large number of coal and metallic mines have now rolled out CAS – some to Level 9 functionality – and this experience and learning process has led to greater interest from elsewhere in the world in all the major mining hubs . It seems that currently , the DMRE is regularly requesting sites to upgrade to Level 9 despite there being no legislated requirement for the mines to comply .
Then there is ISO21815 – which is vital to the success of Level 9 in mixed fleets ( which is essentially all mines ) – this covers an on-board J1939 communication interface between a
connected device and mobile machines for use in mining applications to enable interventional collision avoidance actions “ defined in ISO 21815-2 based on the SAE J1939 protocol .” This interface is intended for use by a collision avoidance system ( CAS ) device integrated independently from the original machine providing intervention signals to slow down , stop or prevent motion of the machine . The ISO21815- 2 document was finally published in July 2021 paving the way for it to be used across the industry . The wider knowledge about ISO21815-2 and the protocol adoption by global mining will make progress with Level 9 CAS much quicker and more efficient . This is largely because up to now there has been no major incentive for OEMs to work with the protocol as ISO21815-2 was only in draft form ; now it has been published it formalises everything to a greater extent .
ISO21815 was largely driven by the efforts of stakeholders in EMESRT – the Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table which initiated an industry project as far back as 2013 to improve vehicle interaction controls . The driver for this work was the rapid development and marketing of Collision Avoidance Systems ( CAS ). The first step was to define the problems that the project would address and to illustrate these using operational scenarios . The next step was to build a set of performance requirements for evaluating commercial Proximity Detection System ( PDS ) technologies .
After two years , the project focus on
awareness , advisory and intervention technologies was expanded to include mine design and operational controls . This was driven by a systems level understanding that vehicle interaction controls are multi-level , interconnected , dynamic and that many are dependent on the decisions and actions of people .
The EMESRT facilitative approach has created an industry level project community made up of 150 + individuals representing mining companies , OEMs , third party PDS providers and other stakeholders . This group has developed the ISO21815-2 interoperability protocol between third-party PDS providers and equipment supplied by OEMs to establish a platform for the implementation of PDS controls in mixed equipment fleets . They also assisted with the design and content of ACARP Project C26028 to confirm a methodology for validating proximity detection technology , an international project with Australian and South African researchers . The International Council on Mining and Metals ( ICMM ) was identified in 2017 as a key stakeholder and EMESRT actively engaged with them in the formation of the Innovation for Cleaner , Safety Vehicles ( ICSV ) programme . The ICSV VI ambition statement : “ The programme aims to promote collision avoidance technology capable of eliminating fatalities from vehicle interactions so that it is available to mining companies by 2025 .” The ICSV initiative is focused at the higher level engagement in
52 International Mining | JANUARY 2022