Modern Mining October 2022

information shines light on opera tional aspects such as standing time and availability,” he says, adding that where management can pick up these problems, they can identify proactive solutions. The exponential rate at which technology is generally develop ing globally is also leading to more data for PDS suppliers to analyse, test and improve their solutions. Lourens notes that the growing global application of PDS is put ting more systems into action, and a great deal is being learned very quickly. As the number of PDS users expands, technologies can be proven and improved in relatively short timeframes. Underlying much of this progress has been the facilitation provided by the Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table (EMESRT), a global initiative of major mining compa nies to improve mine safety. Since around 2013, EMESRT has guided the process of achieving compat ibility between PDS systems and the OEMs of trackless mining machines. At the forefront of PDS technology

Above: According to Booyco Electronics, there is a growing urgency in the application of PDS on South African mines. Left: The core function of PDS and CPS technology is detecting and avoiding collisions.

since 2006, Booyco Electronics has been a col laborator with, and keen supporter of, the EMESRT process. “EMESRT initiated an industry project to improve vehicle interaction controls – based on Design Philosophy 5 (DP-5) on Machine Operation and Control,” he says. “This project first built up a series of operational scenarios that mines faced with ensur ing safe TMM movement. Subsequently a Minerals Council task team has coordinated and then created a set of performance requirements for evaluating commercial PDS technologies.” Among the most exciting aspects of advancing industrial technology is the field of sensors, says Lourens. Booyco Electronics has designed its evolv ing CXS range of PDS solutions to allow for the easy addition of sensors to the system architecture. Through various combinations of sensing technolo gies, the company can deploy specific and flexible solutions that add to safer working environments for different customer requirements. “This gives us the choice of using long-distance detection technology, or a close-up and more accu rate sensing approach,” he says. “These options allow us to provide our customers with the most suitable technologies for underground and surface operations.” He points to a platinum mining customer in the Steelpoort area of South Africa where Booyco

Electronics is serving the mine’s surface and underground requirements. Working closely with the customer, a rigorous assessment of solutions is conducted on a regular basis – with constant improvements being made to raise the performance bar. “It is important to realise the integral connection

The location-based data provided by PDS technology gives a powerful dimension to traffic management flow analysis and future planning.

October 2022  MODERN MINING  21