Bringing a rounded view to safety

HEXAGON’S COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM HAS ADDED UPGRADES TO HELP MAKE MINES SAFER THAN EVER BEFORE.

When it comes to safety, workers can always use another set of eyes to protect themselves on the mine site.

HxGN MineProtect Collision Avoidance System (CAS) offers that exact type of security to miners where they need it with added upgrades delivering improved performance.

The latest version of Hexagon’s CAS gives operators a 360° view of their surroundings via a non- intrusive display, with the goal of eliminating collisions, speeding incidents and metal-on-metal contact on a mine site.

The new system has been equipped with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and radio frequency (RF) technologies, as well as Wi-Fi and real-time radio antennae to provide users with more data than ever.

Operators will have all of the information they need to make the most informed safety decisions.

According to Josh Savit, global manager, MineProtect, Hexagon’s mining division, the improvements have been enabled by the company’s dedication to pursue new technology upgrades like the optional tracking radar.

“The original CAS was really defined in multiple pieces. You had an antenna, you had a computer and multiple other pieces, but the CAS uses what we call a smart antenna,” he told Safe to Work

“The computing and all components are contained in one unit, which provides more context for the on the display.

“The display provides a lot more information to the operators, so they can understand their surroundings, and where imminent risks may exist.”

Improvements in the new system come after the prevalence of vehiclerelated incidents and fatalities came to light in recent years.

A report from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety found that parked or stationary vehicles were the leading cause of crashes, while reversing was the second leading factor in Western Australia in 2019. Vehiclerelated incidents accounted for almost a quarter of fatalities in 2019 across WA mining sites.

Hexagon understood from conversations with its clients that they, along with the resources sector more broadly, were after a smarter system to help ensure miners could get home safely, one that was more informative and more cutting-edge but also allowed for more streamlined decision-making on the mine sites.

With this focus in mind, Hexagon has improved the CAS display to show visual icons of vehicles that are commonplace on a mining operation.

They system can provide positional information on every vehicle fitted with the system within 500m, enabling real-time updates and alerts. The zone protection feature works in addition to predicting potential collisions in advance to alert drivers.

Savit said the new display’s capabilities would help improve the safety decision-making process on-site.

“If you’re approaching a haul truck, you will see a haul truck on the display, so you have that intersection of information and know about vehicles coming towards you that you may not be able to see yet,” he said.

“You’ll actually know what kind of vehicle is approaching, which adds a lot of context for operators to understand the risks and potential mitigations they need to take.”

Hexagon has taken a customerorientated approach to the integration of CAS and its analytics program by decluttering and improving its usability ahead of the move to the company’s Power of One platform.

The Power of One, according to Hexagon, will increase the accessibility of CAS and associated programs.

“Before, using this data before would have involved three or four reporting programs and a full-time employee to be able to do anything with it,” Savit said.

“We’ve been able to collate it in a much more streamlined, informative manner.

“The idea as we move to the Hexagon Power of One platform, which will be one platform that operates our hardware platform and pushes to our analytics platform, is we’re decluttering the cab.

“We’re creating a non-salient world in that way.”

The initial results have been promising, with clients “excited” about CAS’s potential to improve safety.

“These technologies are about decision-making and to helping operators make better decisions, to keep them aware,” Savit said.

“We’re offering them context, so that decision-making becomes easier.”