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Safety equipment manufacturer upbeat about 2015 prospects

NO COMPROMISE Mine safety is important for mining companies to prioritise and is strictly enforced by the Department of Mineral Resources

PEDESTRIAN DETECTION SYSTEM Legislation is being fast-tracked to compel the implementation of pedestrian detection systems at sites where trackless mobile machinery is in use

23rd January 2015

By: Ilan Solomons

Creamer Media Staff Writer

  

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Once pending occupational health and safety legislation is passed by the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), mining companies will be compelled to implement pedestrian detection system (PDS) technology at any site where trackless mobile machinery (TMM) systems are in use.

As a result, electronic mine safety equipment specialist Booyco Electronics MD Anton Lourens believes 2015 will be a good year in terms of PDS sales.

“This impending legislation will provide us with significant long-term opportunities to supply, install and maintain many PDSs at local mine sites,” he tells Mining Weekly.

Lourens emphasises that prioritising mine safety is important for mining companies and is strictly enforced by the DMR, which means that mining companies cannot afford to reduce their safety equipment requirements.

Therefore, despite 2014 being a challenging year for the local mining industry, Booyco Electronics was fortunate that, as a provider of safety technology to the mining sector, its operations were not negatively impacted on.

PDS Emphasis

Lourens notes that, while the US and Australia drive legislation globally in terms of the minimum specifications for the functionality of PDS technology, the deployment rate of PDSs in South Africa is one of the highest in the world.

He further points out that mine personnel being injured by machinery is one of the major local causes of fatalities in underground mines.

“The high TMM accident rate in the South African mining industry in the past has compelled the DMR to establish a task force within the Chamber of Mines’ Mining Industry Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) environment,” states Lourens.

He explains that the MOSH task force represents the interests of the DMR and mining houses, as well as PDS and TMM suppliers.

“The MOSH task force is currently fast-tracking draft legislation to compel the implementation of PDS technology wherever TMM is deployed, whether in underground or surface mining operations. We expect formal legislation to be enacted in terms of the use of PDS by the end of the second quarter of this year,” says Lourens.

He further notes that a major challenge when it comes to applying PDS systems is that many mines have a combination of older and newer TMM equipment, which makes retrofitting the system to machines difficult.

However, Lourens believes this can be done.

He points out, though, that some mining companies are also waiting to see what will transpire in terms of the legislation before they commit to any significant capital investment in PDS technology.

Meanwhile, Lourens highlights that Booyco Electronics has engaged the services of third-party experts and test laboratories to verify the quality and functionality of its products.

He says the company is also educating end-users on the use of the correct PDS technology, and how to differentiate between varying systems and technologies so they can “compare apples with apples”.

Lourens further notes that the company’s PDS range is based on very low frequency, or VLF, technology, which is well suited to the mining operating conditions when deployed as a PDS solution.

“We have developed our fourth PDS generation, the CWS900, which has the required functionality to interact with machinery, whereby, it can signal to stop a vehicle, or as a warning to the vehicle of the detected pedestrian,” he states.

Lourens highlights that the CWS900 includes a data capturing, or logging, functionality, which, he says will also be listed as a DMR requirement in the near future.

“The original PDS that Booyco Electronics introduced in 2006 was focused mainly around warning systems. The system would warn pedestrians that they are in close proximity to a vehicle,” he notes.

However, the machine operator still relied on the human factor to ensure that the detected person removed him/herself from the danger zone.

“Over the past year, we have seen a big drive towards automated intervention systems to remove the need for human intervention, which is one of the main reasons that the CWS900 functionality was developed,” states Lourens.

Indaba Attendance
Lourens tells Mining Weekly he will be attending the indaba as a regular delegate, where he will discuss the impending implementation of the new mine health and safety legislation and the impacts this will have on mining companies’ operations.

He will also be paying close attention to new mining developments and projects under way in South Africa and the rest of Africa, while promoting the company’s range of mine safety equipment.

The Investing in African Mining Indaba will be taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from February 9 to 12.

Edited by Samantha Herbst
Creamer Media Deputy Editor

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