COLLISION AWARENESS & AVOIDANCE
Avoidance System mutually agreed Level 9 trial
sites for surface and underground. The company
is adhering to the stringent Level 9
implementation process guided by the Minerals
Council of South Africa. Mine section trials were
conducted as early as 2015 but there is now
official engagement with three Level 9 trial sites
for both single & multiple machine tests. The
company is trialling its configurable dynamic zone
algorithm and offers interface solutions for both
older and new generation vehicles. There have
also been multiple engagements with the
University of Pretoria with regards to lab scale
and single machine tests. Schauenburg Systems
says it is “fully committed to provide an
adequate Level 9 PDS system to the industry
guided by the Minerals Council of South Africa
and the DMR in order to create a safer
operational environment.”
Strata’s proven HazardAvert system
Strata Worldwide is a global supplier of proximity
detection and collision avoidance systems for
both underground and surface mining. The
company states that HazardAvert has been
operating in South African underground coal
mines specifically since 2007 and was the first
system to be installed and used in South Africa
for coal, describing itself as the leading supplier
of PDS in this market. HazardAvert was also the
first Level 9 CAS system approved in RSA and
Australia for underground coal and is working
closely with customers to get them compliant
with the Chapter 8 legislation. Strata told IM that
it now has more than 1,000 Level 9 systems
running underground in South Africa.
The company sells direct to the customer and
provides its own service teams. The physical SA
office and warehouse is in Boksburg and it
services all of South Africa. HazardAvert is
available for underground coal, underground
non-coal and surface mining applications.
HazardAvert is an Electromagnetic (EM)
detection, warning and interlocking system.
Electromagnetic systems work with field
generators and personnel-worn receivers. The
generators are installed onto equipment and
create electromagnetic zones that surround the
unit. Personnel wear Personal Alarm Devices
(PADs), which detect these zones and trigger
alarms of warning to all parties when the zones
are breached. Electromagnetic enables
operations to identify different levels of
safety zones such as “warning” and “hazard”
zones.
When the “warning” zone is breached, parties
receive audible and visual alarms – individuals
receive alarms on their PADS, and vehicle
operators receive alarms on a display screen
inside the cab. Vehicles are also equipment with
large flashers that are turned on when alarms are
triggered. The system can also be interlocked
into the vehicle controls to automatically slow its
speed.
If the “hazard zone” is breached, the system
will alarm and can be programmed to completely
stop the equipment to avoid a collision. This
interlocking capability ensures the highest level
of personnel safety while working around
operating machinery.
EM has the advantage of being unaffected by
its environment and the atmosphere, and can
easily penetrate through coal, rock, construction
barriers, stoppings and ventilation curtains.
The company told IM: “HazardAvert is a highly
proven technology for ‘near field’ hazards. It
warns both equipment operators and personnel-
on-foot simultaneously. It has the capacity to
function with hundreds of vehicles and pedestrians
in close proximity without latency or delay.”
HazardAvert also has the ability to record and
store interaction data. This includes alarms
triggered, the individual(s) or vehicle(s)
triggering them, and the duration of time spent
in direct danger. On demand, the system can
produce reports for download and analysis,
which can assist in both enforcing safe practices
and new and refresher personnel training, and
the logged data can be transformed into reports
for measuring productivity, analysing equipment
operating status and maintenance patterns and
even incident reporting.
Becker’s tri-technology CAS offering
The patented tri-technology Collision Awareness
Systems (CAS) developed for the mining sector
by Becker Mining South Africa with three
proximity warning zones, has been designed to
overcome the limitations of existing systems and
can even bring the mine vehicle to a complete
‘STOP’, should this be necessary. “This reliable
system, which is installed in various mine
vehicles and cap lamp battery packs, acts as an
early warning indicator to both vehicle operators
and pedestrians, playing a vital role in enhancing
safety,” says Johann Smit, Chief Sales Officer,
Becker Mining South Africa. “CAS is a very
necessary safety system on the mines,
particularly underground, because in this harsh
environment, it is impossible for a vehicle
operator to always be fully aware of other miners
and vehicles in his immediate proximity.” Becker
collision and personnel avoidance systems
consist of personnel and vehicle tags and the
machine mounted devices which detect them.
Higher end tags warn personnel of an
approaching vehicle. These products may be
utilised as a simple stand alone or complete
system and can be deployed using a phased
approach, to minimise a huge initial capital
outlay. The CAS-400 series receiver provides first
in its class audible voice annunciation
(customisable in different languages - on
request) and a visual warning proportional to the
position of the threat. An onboard buffer enables
authorised personnel to download daily
movement details, either physically, or via a
wireless network, like a leaky feeder system.
Miners are cautioned by a transceiver tag
(Personnel Avoidance System or PAS) when they
come close to any vehicle, by means of a flashing
light and buzzer on a cap lamp. The number of
flashes, which is limited to five, indicates the
number of vehicles in a miner’s vicinity. The
detecting range can be set according to specific
requirements. The combination of this system
provides a warning where miners are warned of
machines, machines are warned of personnel
and machines are warned of other machines. A
further advantage of Becker’s new multiple
technology approach is that mines now have the
flexibility of being able to monitor both slow and
fast moving equipment on surface and
underground with one system. With the new
patented tri-technology Collision Avoidance
System, absolute distances constituting each
zone transition threshold are variable, but
default values for slow moving vehicles – less
than 10 km/hr – are clearly defined. In the critical
JANUARY 2020 | International Mining