Digital technology – a new level of safety in the mines

One way or another, the main trends in the development of world production are associated with industry. Today, global companies minimize the functions of human participation in production, replacing it with automated ones. In conditions of digital industry transformation, automation of labor in the modern enterprise involves the use of automatic remote control of production processes. Intellectualized technologies are coming to the fore, which is inextricably linked with the introduction of cyber-physical systems – the so-called smart technology, which brings the industry to a new level of productivity

 

The collection and processing of data, monitoring, and self-diagnosis – this is the basic direction of smart technology, in which the equipment communicates about its performance to the staff. Such digital technologies are becoming increasingly popular in the world, including for ensuring industrial safety in the mining industry.

 

Integration of communication, automation and process monitoring systems into a unified information field with integrated safety and security systems makes it possible to optimize taking simple decisions and provide multiaspect data for predictive analytics.

 

This is the first step towards the modernization and global integration of equipment and control systems in a complex of mining industries. The provision of miners with wireless security systems, operational communications, and automation is a vital need for safety and control of production processes in the mining industry.

However, it is people who are currently the main and indispensable resource. No matter how modern the mine is, it will not be able to work without people.

Most specialists of mining enterprises agree that to achieve the greatest effect in occupational safety, it is necessary to combine the systems and subsystems operating in the mine into a single technological solution. In this article, we will share the experience of building and operating such solutions in the field of industrial safety in the mine and describe the use of digital technologies that are in demand at the present time and are actively being introduced by us at the mining industry facilities.

 

The main components of industrial safety:

 

Underground voice communication
Emergency alerting
Positioning of the personnel and equipment
Monitoring of environment parameters
Industrial television

 

Since the mining enterprises are subject to increased danger and technological risk, providing the miners with an operational communication system – as well as emergency warning systems – are vital to ensure safety and control of production processes at mining enterprises.

 

The system of integrated security and operational communication of the production site has already been organized at the largest fields in Russia in order to ensure production safety, automation, and coordination of personnel actions. For example, at the Mayskoye field owned by Polimetall OJSC.

 

Industrial communication underground provides:

 

emergency alerting;
protection against loss of controllability by underground units and personnel in the event of emergency situations;
fast exchange of information between staff and dispatcher;
transfer of information and instructions between employees of the enterprise;
remote control of safety parameters and production processes.

Qualitative changes in the issue of safety in mines appeared with the introduction of digital radio standards. The digital format provides enhanced voice transmission quality, noise and interference suppression in extreme conditions of industrial facilities, as well as extended coverage area. The traditional functionality of radio stations – in particular, call control – is also expanded by a system of multi-level call prioritization, the “Late Entry” mode.

 

The most important function of telecommunication systems is prompt emergency alert.

 

Options for alert and warning alarming:

 

to an individual subscriber device by flashing the head lamp;
to a radio terminal by beep and vibration;
to a stationary telephone using an audio and light signal;
with the help of an inert aromatic substance, which is released into the air in a mine (mercopte alarm).

 

The signal can be addressed individually to an employee, a group, or all miners.

 

Positioning system is designed to determine the location of personnel and equipment in the underground part of mines and quarries. An individual subscriber unit, which is a program-controlled micro transceiver, is assigned to each miner and each unit of equipment, the location of which you want to monitor. The mine dispatcher can highlight a section of the site plan, determine the number of people in a given mine opening, the necessary information about the workers and their location at any time.

 

 

In conditions of automation and increasing the complexity of labor production, the number of vehicles underground is continuously increasing. This process is associated with an increased risk of accidents due to the increased danger of finding personnel near the machines. Vehicle collision avoidance system and a system for prevention of vehicles running over people allows to exclude injuries of the personnel due to their entering into a working zone of processing equipment, as well as significantly reduce the cost of vehicles recovery after a collision by an enterprise.

 

 

However, data on the location of personnel and transport is not enough to fully assess the situation, because in the difficult conditions of underground workings, it is necessary to have the most complete information. Real-time data collection from all remote devices in is an important complement to the bundle of operational communication and positioning systems for fulfilling this condition:

 

mine atmosphere monitoring
detection of early signs of fire
measurement of air velocity in underground workings
"on demand" ventilation

 

For example, sensors for tracking indicators of the upper-air situation in the mine serve to prevent the most common emergency – namely, the explosion of methane in the coal mine. In the event the permissible concentration of methane is exceeded, the personnel alert system is automatically triggered, and the dispatcher can quickly take measures that help to neutralize this danger or organize the evacuation of people.

 

 

Additional improvement of labor safety monitoring in an enterprise is also possible due to the installation of a video surveillance system. The system allows continuous monitoring of the main technological areas in order to monitor work safety in the pit eyes, at the main points of haulage and transportation of goods, at the landing points for people in vehicles and conveyors, and in warehouses.

 

 

The transfer of the mining industry to the digital environment radically transforms the company’s operations, making them efficient and safe. The introduction of intellectualized technologies and the use of smart technology allows to make better decisions and provide automation and collection of more accurate data on operating activities at the mine to improve the integration and synchronization of the task flow, thereby providing a new level of industrial safety and optimizing the entire process of managing mining operations.

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