MINE SAFETY
Protection Outdoor scanning
Like any workplace hazard, employers should
look to the hierarchy of control and implement
‘control at source’ measures wherever possible in
order to reduce noise levels in the area, Field
says. In some environments, employees may
need to wear HPE even after such measures have
been taken, he added.
In such cases, it is vital HPE provides adequate
protection for the task at hand and is also suitable
for the wearer, the task and their workplace
environment, Field said. “Here, ‘adequate’ means
the equipment must protect against harmful noise
levels present in the given environment.”
Employers should also bear in mind the need
for essential communication and awareness of
audible alarms and warnings, plus compatibility
with any other personal protective equipment
being worn, and choose hearing protection
accordingly. SICK UK believes its outdoorScan3, the first laser
scanner in the world to be safety-certified for use
outdoors, could potentially be integrated into
autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles on
mine sites.
“Equipped with SICK’s safeHDDM™ time-of
flight infra-red scanning technology, already used
in SICK’s microScan3 family, the SICK
outdoorScan3 uses intelligent algorithms to filter
out the influences of bright sunlight, rain, snow
and fog,” the company said.
With a wide scanning angle of 275° and a
protective field range of 4 m, the outdoorScan3
achieves a total safe scanning area of 38.4 m²
with a minimum response time of 90 m, the
company said. The outdoorScan3 can monitor up
to 128 individual and freely-definable protective
fields, and up to eight fields simultaneously,
giving it the ability to respond dynamically to the
changing environment around it, SICK UK said.
Resilient to ambient light with an intensity of
up to 40,000 lux, the outdoorScan3’s intelligent
software algorithms filter out the influences of
snow (light to moderate) and rain to a
precipitation intensity of 10 mm/h (moderate
rain). Safety is ensured in foggy conditions by the
fogSight function, which detects when
meteorological visual range values eclipse 50 m
and turns off the safe outputs. The outdoorScan3
can be used in temperatures from -25°C to +50°C.
SICK UK concluded: “It is likely new
applications for the outdoorScan3 will be
developed as users explore the potential of a
new technology to operate in outdoor
environments.”
To support its customers, SICK has opened an
outdoor development and testing centre at its
headquarters in Waldkirch, Germany, to explore
and develop best practice in outdoor safety
sensing and systems.
Training
Training is as important as picking the right
equipment in the first place. For training to be
effective, it should cover several areas including
an explanation of the importance of HPE; the
specific noise hazards present in their workplace;
the control measures to be used; how to wear
and adjust their equipment; and any
maintenance and storage procedures required.
“This will help to make them more aware of
their own hearing safety and that of their
colleagues, as well as improving their ability to
protect against hazards,” Field said.
Validation
The level of protection provided by any given
piece of HPE will differ between users, largely
depending on their physical characteristics and
how they wear the equipment.
“For example, people with wider ear canals
may receive less protection than those with
narrower ones,” Field said. “Those who have not
been suitably trained on how to insert their ear
plugs may also face greater exposure to
hazardous noise levels. Fit testing can account
for all these factors, providing quantitative data
to show the level of protection achieved by each
worker.”
This is where the E-A-Rfit Dual-Ear Validation
System from 3M can test the effectiveness of ear
plugs or muffs while they are being worn, giving
accurate results in seconds, according to the
company.
Zero harm
Germany’s Dräger Safety AG & Co KGaA, which
has thousands of underground mining personnel
gas monitors to its name, has acquired a stake in
Focus Field Solutions Inc to extend its expertise
in the area of digital worksites.
Focus FS, which already has a strong presence
in the mining, oil & gas and transportation
sectors, has developed a Software as a Service
platform which digitises critical operations data
for people and assets.
It offers different modules such as HSE
(health, safety & environment), E-Mustering,
Incident Management and Asset Tracking, with
the customer able to choose from this range and
create a solution to suit their needs. There are
three main use cases that can be addressed by
the solution: worker safety, plant and asset
safety, and incident safety.
Dräger said the digital technology minimises
risk and delivery performance insights to create
safer and smarter workplaces. “Through
optimised workflow traffic and facility activities,
real-time analytics, and dynamic HSE process
worker safety accelerates from simple
compliance to safety culture dominance.”
Ann-Marie Edgerton, Vice President of
Segment and Product Marketing Emergency &
Rescue Services at Dräger, said behaviour-based
safety, situational awareness, and increased
operational productivity are challenges its
customers face on a daily basis. “With this
partnership, we have the ability to offer effective
solutions today,” she said.
She continued “Our vision for tomorrow is also
clear. We will ensure that not only do we offer
technology for life to our customers – we will
have an integrated offering that supports their
ambitions of building safe and efficient
worksites.”
Jeffrey K Brown, CEO and Co-Founder of Focus
FS, said: “We believe zero-harm is achievable –
and by aligning ourselves with Dräger, who also
believes workplace safety is paramount, we can
help our customers realise that ambition.”
Safe longwalls
Becker Mining Systems has many products
containing automation, communication, power
distribution, transport haulage and infrastructure
that protect miners during their work in
underground mines.
This was recently displayed on a state-of-the-
art longwall set of equipment the company was
involved in providing for Jastrzębska Spółka
Węglowa’s Budryk coal mine, in Poland.
Produced by its Polish subsidiary Becker Warkop
Sp. z o.o., the longwall set of equipment is one of
the most modern in the country.
Tomasz Budniok, CEO of Becker Warkop Sp. z
o.o, said innovative technical solutions have
been applied to the design of the longwall
system – which includes the 7LS22 longwall
shearer loader and face conveyor manufactured
by Komatsu (Joy) – that will ensure safe
operation and high efficiency.
OCTOBER 2019 | International Mining