Capital Equipment News September2022

“Automated drones have made a huge contribution when it comes to mining,” says Odendal. “Some of the functions include stockpile volumes and end-of month reconciliation; terrain mapping and change detection; asset management and scheduling; situational awareness and emergency response; infrastructure and equipment inspection, and security and surveillance.” Lindholm says safety on capital equipment at mines and quarries is fundamental. “These can be dangerous environments to work in and Volvo and its customers want staff to go home to their families safe and well at the end of every shift. Safety is one of the core Volvo brand values and Volvo CE has a vision of zero accidents, alongside zero unplanned stops, zero emissions, and 10 times greater efficiency. We design safety into every machine and strive for continuous improvement in this respect.” Digitalisation and mining safety Odendal says digitalisation on capital equipment and the resultant safety at mining and quarrying operations is an area where more development needs to be done. “South Africa is behind this development and mining companies sit on loads of good data collected from their equipment and operations, yet they hardly do anything with it.” He says this data is a gold mine of insight that can help mines better manage their operations. “The more information they have, the more they can make decisions that are tailored to their mine’s specific needs.” He says data analytics can be used in practically every stage of the mining process – from extracting the ore and processing, to separating and concentrating raw materials. A digital strategy will become the basis for applying the data in a way that will improve energy usage, productivity, reliability, and safety, and reduce outages, emissions and costs. Mogisen Iyer, operational technology lead for Accenture Industry X.0, says that, over the last few years, significant improvements in sensor technology, data analytics and wireless communication have made it possible to enable smart safety solutions to be retrofitted to both existing and new capital equipment, to make operations safer for plant personnel and to reduce the risk of damage to critical heavy mobile equipment (HME). “Fatigue monitoring of operators can be improved with wearable devices which track body vitals such as physical activity, sleep, medical condition and stress. In addition, using complex data algorithms on real

Improvements in sensor technology, data analytics and wireless communication have made it possible to enable smart safety solutions to be retrofitted.

An autonomous haulage system (AHS), Cat MineStar Command for hauling takes advantage of the most sophisticated technologies available to boost safety, productivity and availability at busy mine sites. It enhances safety by removing operators from hazardous or remote sites. There are roughly 540 autonomous trucks equipped with Command for hauling, and these autonomous trucks have hauled more than 4,5-billion tonnes of material and safely travelled approximately 170-million kilometres with zero lost-time injuries. Caterpillar recently collaborated with Guardhat to expand safety solutions for miners with Cat Connected Worker. The technology uses wearables to provide precise location of all workers to the mine monitoring system. It also allows communication between individuals, teams and sites. The connected devices include hardhats, personnel tags, asset tags and smartphones using Guardhat applications. Safety on capital equipment in mining According to thyssekrupp’s Krex, there should be no issue more important than safety in the operation of the mine or quarry. On the one hand, everything must be done to protect the employees in the mine but, on the other hand, mining equipment is also expensive and must be protected. Odendal says digital technologies have opened up a new world as we see it every day. “The modern person nowadays collects data and is very familiar with the law of averages and probability theory. Data allows auditors to analyse broader industry data sets that were previously inaccessible.” He says this enables auditors to better identify informational outliers and increases their ability to generate business insights and focus on business and financial reporting risk. This is also a huge contribution to the safety of workers, he says. Odendal says technology has enhanced the ways in which the mining industry does this through, firstly, spatial data visualisation, which helps the mining industry to steadily move toward a future where it’s possible to virtually construct and deconstruct buildings, plants, and mines before even breaking ground, to create a more sustainable and truly intelligent mine. Secondly, geographic information systems (GIS) are a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth’s surface. “By relating seemingly unrelated data, GIS can help individuals and organisations to better understand spatial patterns and relationships.” Thirdly, artificial intelligence shifts raw materials mining from a people-oriented operation to a process-oriented one, which is critical to ensure appropriate health and safety conditions for the mineworkers, a high level of accuracy, error elimination, and a faster decision-making process.

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