Improving Safety in Mine Operations
With heavy equipment and dozens of people operating in rugged terrain at remote locations, hazard potential runs high. Modern technology can help mitigate these hazards, making the entire mining process significantly safer. Advancements in mine systems can bring heighten situational awareness, assist in collision avoidance, and support data-driven decisions for better safety across site.
Heighten Situational Awareness
The onboard technology used in modern mining provides incredible gains, but it can occasionally prove distracting. Frequent alarms and notifications can divert operator attention from the complex task of running their equipment. This inattention can contribute to increased risk of safety issues.
Wenco has designed its technology to keep these distractions to a minimum. The MDT device that forms a core part of the Mine Performance Suite works to keep operator interactions low. As equipment carries out its tasks, the MDT switches its current status automatically. The system then uses this data to display the particular operating screen required to perform each activity effectively. Operators track their progress at a glance, conserving their attention for maneuvering along haul roads or loading material. Wenco’s open API actually allows other onboard technology to use this touchscreen as well, reducing the need for further displays and distractions.
White Paper: Operator situational awareness: increasing performance and safety through user interface design
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Detect Hazards with Collision Avoidance
Of course, the greatest safety risks at mine sites involve vehicular collisions. The devastating possibility of a vehicle-to-vehicle impact warrants a specialized system dedicated to its prevention. New collision avoidance systems use state-of-the-art technologies to detect potential hazards and alert operators — long before those risks become reality.
Wenco’s collision avoidance system uses direct peer-to-peer communications to sense mining equipment as it travels through site. This technology maintains 360° awareness around all equipped vehicles, detecting units even without a line of sight connection. The system protects heavy and light vehicles alike, so they can pass one another and approach intersections without fear — even in poor visibility. To ensure trust in the system, Wenco collision avoidance goes even further. It incorporates scenario risk logic based on the guidelines of the Earthmoving Equipment Safety Round Table. These calculations allow the system to detect and mute the false alarms that interfere with effective use of the technology, making mines even safer.
Advanced Collision Avoidance
Avoid collisions between vehicles, equipment, and personnel. Collision avoidance detects early signs of potential collisions and alerts your operators long before risks become reality with constant 360° awareness to other vehicles and infrastructure.
Gather Insights for Safer Operations
Better situational awareness and collision avoidance can obviously improve safety. Yet, rules and policies often have the greatest effect on real safety outcomes. The wealth of data collected by Wenco systems allows you to ground these policies in fact, ensuring superior safety throughout your entire operation.
The strongest safety insights come about when you aggregate all your mining data into the Avoca mine intelligence suite. This advanced analytics engine joins together data from all your mining systems — collision avoidance, fleet management, asset health, mine planning, and more. Connecting these systems’ data empowers you to explore correlations you never before considered, all through a point-and-click interface. In examining your data, you can easily discover a haul road intersection or a unique set of circumstances that provokes a high number of safety alerts. Mine managers and corporate executives then have real information to support new rules and policies that transform the safety record of your entire company.
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Learn More: Avoca Business Intelligence
Learn more about how Avoca business intelligence unlocks more value and insight from your mine's data, enabling you to improve safety.