Modern Mining December 2020

Caterpillar and Guardhat to deliver expanded mine safety solutions

Caterpillar is collaborating with Guardhat to offer their proven safety solutions to surface mining operations through Cat dealers. The two companies are also developing a new system, Cat Connected Worker, which will use wearables to provide added protection for people. The new system will also deliver event-based monitoring and mapping to aid analysis and enhancement of the min- ing environment. “Leveraging Guardhat technology, proven in challenging industrial settings, will speed development of a comprehen- sive, digital solution sought by mining customers,” says Bill Dears, Cat MineStar Solutions marketing manager. “As a com- ponent of Cat MineStar Detect safety capabilities, Connected Worker will provide insight that will enable managers to create safer operations – and to respond quickly if an incident does occur.” “We are pleased to work with Caterpillar to deliver ‘smart’ technology to enhance miners’ safety,” says Indranil Roychoudhury, chief operating officer, Guardhat. “Our

safety monitoring and data analysis system is a multi-product, feature-packed intel- ligent safety and productivity system that integrates cutting edge wearable technol- ogy and advanced proprietary software. It is equipped to detect, alert and help pre- vent industrial work-related incidents, and it is designed to collect and analyse data to support and improve worker safety and productivity programmes.”

ply current Guardhat technology to surface mining operations of all types. Connected devices in the Guardhat line include hardhats, personnel tags, asset tags and smartphones using Guardhat applications. The system is Wi-Fi and cellu- lar compatible for communications with the Safety Control Centre. 

When developed, Cat Con­ nected Worker will provide precise location of all workers to the mine monitoring system, and it will allow communication between individuals, teams and sites. Data will enable monitoring personnel to understand the environment workers are facing in near real time, which will facilitate decision making. As part of Cat MineStar, Con­ nected Worker will be supported by Cat dealers worldwide. The same Cat dealers are equipped to sup-

Track mine site personnel with Cat Connected Worker.