Hexagon Personal Alert ensures 360° visibility of pedestrians around heavy equipment. (Image: Hexagon)
Advancements in Collision
Avoidance Systems
Improvements with detection provide operators with better situational awareness
By Steve Fiscor, Editor-in-Chief
Fortunately, several collision avoidance systems (CAS) have been developed that allow equipment operators to detect objects and people in their blind spots. Some of these systems are so sophisticated that they can identify whether it’s a person, an object or another piece of equipment.
Another aspect of collision avoidance is preventing incidents through the early detection of fatigue. Most people have experienced a microsleep when they are exhausted, and the event can last anywhere from 2 to 20 seconds. If an operator sitting behind the wheel of a 400-ton haul truck traveling 50 km/h experiences a 10 second microsleep, that truck will travel 140 m unguided. The lights are on, and no one is home as they say.
Fatigue, however, can be difficult to identify and manage. Operators are reluctant to self-report for fear of reprisal. Sometimes bravado perpetuates a risky behavior. With better detection systems, mine managers are finding ways to reduce the risk without alienating the operator.
Hexagon Adds 4D Radar
to CAS
Hexagon recently announced the newest
generation of its advanced CAS,
now supporting 4D radar technology,
enhanced insights, and interoperability
with the Hexagon Personal Alert tagging
system. The company said the significant
upgrade positions Hexagon CAS as the
most advanced collision prevention system
on the market.
“Our commitment to creating a zero- harm mining environment is at the heart of everything we do, because the most important thing to come out of any mine is the miner,” said James Dampney, vice president resource optimization and material movement at Hexagon. “The enhanced CAS system and its interoperability with other Hexagon safety solutions will provide our customers with the monitoring, interventions and actionable intelligence they need to ensure not only the protection of people working on their sites but also the efficiency and sustainability of their operations. It represents another significant stride towards safer, smarter mining.”
The upgraded CAS has already been installed in 15,000 vehicles around the globe. Its standout feature is inclusion of advanced 4D radar technology, which enables vehicle-to-object detection and vehicle-to-vehicle alarming in GNSS-denied areas. As the name implies, the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) depends on the use of satellites, and there are areas of mining operations where satellite reception is inaccessible or unreliable. The 4D radar feature in Hexagon CAS means the select customers who have installed the updated system as part of its initial release now have the capability to help prevent collisions in these challenging areas.
At the same time, Hexagon is introducing CAS Insights — a robust insights platform available for use with CAS — which offers customizable, filterable reports that pinpoint the unique collision- risk issues faced at the customer’s site. CAS Insights provides timely information about device health and identifies high-risk event areas, enabling operations to make targeted interventions for refining their processes and infrastructure to avoid vehicle collisions.
The upgraded Hexagon CAS also includes interoperability with the Hexagon Personal Alert system. Personal Alert uses ultra-wideband technology for vehicle- to-person protection. Together with CAS and the Hexagon Operator Alertness System (OAS), it provides a critical additional layer of safety. The advanced Hexagon CAS system, already recognized for its simple installation and accurate alarming, retains its EMESRT Level 7 and 8 compliant vehicle-to-vehicle alarms while offering a scalable pathway for safety upgrades to Level 9 protection.
OmniPro Vision AI Names
New Product of the Year
Matrix Design Group recently announced
that its OmniPro Vision AI had been recognized
with the Occupational Health &
Safety (OH&S) New Product of the Year
Award for facility safety. The company
said the prestigious award underscores
its dedication to delivering cutting-edge
technology that enhances safety and
productivity in industrial environments.
The New Product of the Year Award is presented annually to the companies leading innovation in workplace safety with outstanding product developments. The Matrix team said it worked tirelessly to ensure OmniPro Vision AI exceeded expectations, offering cutting-edge collision avoidance featuring Visual AI technology that sets a new standard.
Matrix introduced this technology several years ago, initially in the industrial space on forklifts. OmniPro Vision AI is the second iteration of the system and Matrix has been testing the technology on articulated haulers at Alliance Coal’s Riverview mine. The system looks for other vehicles and pedestrians and alerts the operator. The system provides spatial awareness to identify people or equipment that may be sitting in blind spots.
The latest version on OmniPro was designed specifically for more rugged environments and the camera itself is smaller than the previous version. Matrix also wanted to create a scalable platform and the use of power-over-ethernet cameras enables that advantage.
A single connection allows quicker install times and easier camera maintenance. Rather than having cabling and wiring with terminations, OmniPro is a single plug connection that technicians just twist and connect. According to Matrix, the latest version has many form factor improvements as far as camera design, size, arrangement, etc., which makes the system easier to install and maintain. It also allows users to scale up performance.
Analyzing 30 frames per second, the chip sets in the cameras provide high accuracy along with high-speed detection. The system can be deployed with one or two cameras on a light vehicle, and it can be expanded for use on heavy equipment with multiple cameras without power degradation.
Detecting Objects and
Operator Awareness
Caterpillar offers Detect as part of it Mine-
Star platform. Adding an extra layer of
protection, MineStar Detect provides visibility
for the immediate environment surrounding
manned and remote-controlled
equipment. In addition to providing the
operator with situational awareness, it
also identifies, manages and mitigates
operator fatigue and distraction.
Cat said Detect Proximity Awareness uses the latest peer-to-peer communications to deliver reliable information quickly about other machines in the area. Object detection combines radar and camera systems to warn operators about light vehicles or stationary hazards on each side of the machine.
DSS feeds data to a 24/7 monitoring center, where safety advisors analyze the data and alert personnel on-site. The system can be integrated with change management to build a fatigue and distraction management program. On average, Cat’s DSS identifies 238 fatigue incidents per day at mines around the world. Caterpillar said mine operators using DSS have seen a 97% reduction in significant fatigue events, an 80% reduction in average fatigue evets and a 91% reduction in distraction events.
Cat recently published a case study on fatigue management, “90 Days to 94% Fewer Fatigue Events.” The study explains how identifying the risk accelerated cultural change at a mine in Australia. The mine installed DSS units in four long-haul trucks to establish baseline data. During the first 40 days, 157 sleep events were identified. Collectively, four operators drove more than 0.25 km while sleeping.
A Fatigue Risk Assessment allowed the mine to visualize the fatigue. Mine management wasn’t surprised that DSS confirmed fatigue, but they found the prevalence alarming.
During Phase 2 of the program, DSS activated alarms, sometimes three or more times per shift, but the drivers continued to operate their rigs. Eventually management began to openly discuss the problem. During Phase 3 of the Fatigue Risk Assessment program a non-punitive Fatigue Intervention Plan (FIP) was initiated. Under the FIP, a supervisor contacts the operator, and the two work through a checklist to identify factors that caused the fatigue. They would then agree on next steps. After implementing the FIP for 30 days, the mine saw a 94% reduction in fatigue events.
With greater personal awareness and encouragement to speak up, the operation has seen a continuous reduction in fatigue events. The entire study is available at: http://cat.com/driversafety.