Electricity and Control July 2022

SAFETY OF PLANT, EQUIPMENT + PEOPLE : PRODUCTS + SERVICES

Proximity detection systems in surface mining

Risk assessments by surface mines are fundamental to operating trackless mining machines (TMMs) safely, and are a requirement of the Mine Health and Safety Act. “It is significant that we see mines continuously con ducting risk assessments on their mobile vehicles and traffic management systems,” says Anton Lourens, CEO of Booyco Electronics, South Africa’s leading developer of proximity detection systems (PDS) and collision pre vention systems (CPS). “Such risk evaluations are essen tial in identifying appropriate risk mitigation responses and technology for each site.” Speaking from his extensive industry experience, Lourens says surface miners have largely implement ed Level 7 PDS and CPS systems, which can warn of possible collisions. They have also embraced Level 8 systems, which can identify and advise on corrective actions. Further testing is being conducted on Level 9 systems, which come with a controlled ‘slow-down and stop’ engineering control intervention. “The groundwork for this progress has been laid by years of collaboration between the Minerals Council of South Africa, mining companies, PDS suppliers and orig inal equipment manufacturers,” he says. “The process has allowed the available technologies to be reviewed carefully, with the necessary recommendations being made to the regulator – the Department of Mineral Re sources and Energy.” Industry has also made significant headway in the testing of PDS technology, Lourens says. Simulation test ing has been conducted by the Vehicles Dynamic Group at the University of Pretoria, in a process developed by the Minerals Council. This testing demonstrates the ca pabilities of PDS solutions so these can be submitted to the stakeholders. Booyco Electronics has conducted multiple tests as part of its continuous improvement in the performance of

its systems. This has allowed the company to progress to single and multiple machine tests on mine sites. The tests are ongoing at some surface mines, with positive results.

Risk assessments and the use of appropriate PDS and CPS systems are fundamental to operating trackless mining machines safely.

Another important step forward has been the integration of the CPS systems with OEM equipment, says Lourens. “Industry recently adopted the ISO 21815-2 (2021) standard, which deals specifically with how a CPS solu tion should integrate with OEM offerings,” he says. “This allowed for a common interface between all CPS suppli ers and the different OEMs.” As mines conduct their risk assessments in prepara tion for applying PDS, Lourens points out that the risks of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian collisions should both be fully considered. He notes that many surface operations seem to place more focus on using PDS to mitigate vehicle-to-vehicle risk. This may be due to mines applying mitigation strategies such as traffic management, fixed barriers or pedestrian walkways to address vehicle-to-pedestrian risk. “By creating a separation of people from moving machinery, part of the risk can certainly be mitigated,” he says. “However, with the development of our systems from Level 7 to Level 9, today’s CPS offerings make them a more comprehensive solution.” To ensure that mines around the world can make the most of CPS solutions, Booyco Electronics collaborates with a number of technology partners – or system integrators – in various regions to help mines apply CPS effectively, bridging the gaps in different areas of expertise to promote safety and efficiency.

For more information contact Booyco Electronics. Visit: www.booyco-electronics.com