COLLISION AWARENESS & AVOIDANCE
through the ISO & ICMM (which has set a 2025
aim of making CMS available to all mining
groups). The VDG plans separate testing of
sensing and decision-making as well as on-site
testing of underground CMS with new
experimental equipment as well as multiple
interactor tests and value adds to CMS (fleet
management, fatigue monitoring, data analysis
tools).
Wabtec on regulation & its testing
activity to date
In an article arguing proximity detection and
collision awareness technology makes for not
only a safer, but more productive mine, Craig
Hoffmann, Senior Product Manager – Collision
Awareness & Geospatial Systems at Wabtec
Corp’s Digital Mine division, has revealed that
the company is currently working on conducting
single and multiple machine testing on a
production mine site using its collision
awareness system.
In an opinion piece titled, Pioneering collision
awareness technology enables safer mining
practices, Hoffman gives a good account of the
history of this technology, as well as the
milestones the Wabtec team have achieved.
Mining has always been seen as a risky
business, whether undertaken above ground or
deep beneath the earth’s surface. But, thanks to
a combination of government regulation in South
Africa and a concerted industry effort by mining
companies and original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs), further enabled by
Paul Moore spoke to Fabien Kritter, Product Manager, Autonomous
& Marcos Bayuelo, Product Manager, Safety at Hexagon Mining
Q It’s been a while since the stories came out about your VIS Level 9 CAS system being used at
Sishen. Are there any updates on VIS, where else it has been tested, results achieved and to what
extent it is being implemented fleet wide at any sites?
FK: We have achieved full operation at Sishen mine on more than 100 haul trucks, which have
been running with the system activated for more than a year without impacting production. The
system has compelled some operators to be more vigilant and to follow the rules. We do have
other deployments lining up in South Africa, but also in other countries where mining houses see
a lot of benefit to the system. Aside from equipping haul trucks, VIS has also been adapted to
ADTs and loaders.
Q What are the current legislative requirements for CAS in the main mining markets? Am I right in
thinking South Africa is leading the way?
FK: There are various initiatives, but first let’s clarify the definitions. For many years, South Africa
has led and pushed mine safety boundaries. But there was no coordination among industry
members. In this regard, EMESRT has done great work gathering people from different OEMs and
PDS (proximity detection suppliers) around the table to define and communicate a standard
machine for the industry. This standard has now been broadened to an ISO standard. ICMM is
leveraging the EMESRT work at larger specifications and across a broader audience. But yes, at
the moment, only South Africa has regulated. Many other countries are looking closely at what is
happening there.
MB: ICMM and EMESRT are doing a great job trying to regulate and coordinate the industry.
Machinery OEMs and technology providers are moving towards a more holistic understanding
and approach to vehicle interactions and engineering controls. This is resulting in a more
coordinated understanding of the risks and how technology can help; and the success criteria for
technology to minimise risks in the different control levels. There is still no sign of legislative
requirements in the short term. However, we expect tighter regulations and higher safety
expectations from regional regulatory bodies and markets in the coming years. Legislative
requirements in mines exposed to a high risk would require engineering controls as collision
avoidance, fatigue monitoring and pedestrian-detection technologies would be enforced.
Hexagon is working with major OEMs and mining companies to ensure a proper solution is
available to cover their needs and minimise their specific risks with different features/benefits
and price tags.
The third key milestone that the Wabtec team is
currently working towards for Level 9 CAS is to
conduct single and multiple machine testing on
a production minesite. It already has Level 8
systems at Telfer, Lihir and elsewhere
cutting-edge technology, it’s becoming a lot
safer, he writes, as detailed elsewhere in some
depth in this report.
In several respects, South Africa is leading the
way in this drive towards the ideal of a mining
industry with zero avoidable fatalities. Collision
awareness is a crucial component of this quest,
contributing to the layers of protection against
significant risk associated with vehicle
interactions.
“A collision awareness system (CAS) is an
integral part of mine safety management tools
that helps workers make the right decision at the
right time in order to mitigate vehicle interaction
risk while helping to increase productivity and
improve situational awareness. The need for a
CAS in South Africa was identified as far back as
1995, when the Leon Commission of Inquiry into
Safety and Health in the Mining Industry
identified haulage and transport accidents as the
second largest category of accidents in mines.
The government wasn’t slow to respond. A year
later, the Mine Health and Safety Act was
enacted, which places the responsibility on
employers to ensure mines are safe and
workplaces healthy.”
“At the same time internationally, there was a
concerted move towards making interactions
between vehicles, vehicles-to-persons and
vehicles-to-environment significantly safer. The
Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table
(EMESRT) was established in 2006 by six global
mining companies. From the outset, engagement
with OEMs was seen as crucial to the success of
its efforts. Since its formation, EMESRT, as part
of the Vehicle Interaction Systems Performance
Requirements PR-5A, has defined 24 surface
vehicle interaction scenarios and established
nine levels of vehicle interaction defensive
controls, namely: Level 1 – site requirements,
Level 2 – segregation controls, Level 3 –
operating procedures, Level 4 – authority to
JANUARY 2020 | International Mining