BLIND AREA HAZARDS AND MITIGATION MEASURES FOR HAULERS

Compiled by Nagesh Shenoy, DGM Mines, MSPL Ltd.

Introduction: During the past few years there have been a number of fatalities on mine sites, which have been the result of interaction between humans and mining equipment. In an effort to address this problem there is a drive to develop and install systems to prevent these collisions/interactions. Mining machines continue to grow in sophistication and complexity. Regulatory requirements also have had to be incorporated into designs, which add to the complexity of the machine. DGMS vide circulars no 09 dt 02.12.2008 and no. 05 dt 13.10.2010 has stressed the need incorporating blind area mirrors in addition to rear view mirrors. In many cases, little effort has been put into how the introduction of new technology to the machines affects the human operators of this equipment. Human considerations should be addressed and incorporated during the conceptual design phase. Operators of large mining equipment have trouble detecting obstacles in the direct vicinity of their vehicles. This is due to the size of their equipment, which results in large blind spot areas, as well as the dusty environment. Therefore, operating on a mine site can be a challenge, even for experienced drivers. Furthermore, an operator may get distracted by information from the in-vehicle-management-system, the navigation system, the radio or could simply be suffering from fatigue. In addition, operators have to deal with information from the environment the vehicle is operating in, like traffic signs, behaviour of other pit users, large rocks or potholes. Just a moment of distraction is enough to cause a collision. The only protection against collisions in the blind areas of a truck at the moment are procedural or "soft" barriers, such as no-go zones for Light Vehicles, standard parking and start-up procedures, and audible reversing alarms. Even with these procedural controls and noisy reversing alarms in place, the problem of Heavy Vehicle collisions has not been eliminated. In addition to the requirement for an improved collision avoidance system, the noise from these smart reversing alarms have recently come under review in mines operating in close proximity to residential areas. The advent of large mining trucks has accentuated the ongoing problem of collisions from poor external vision and limited maneuverability. Determining the blind zones/area/spot around a vehicle is one important step toward defining which Proximity Warning System (PWS) or blind area viewing aids can best be used for a specific situation. What is blind zone/area/spot? A blind spot in a vehicle are areas around the vehicle that cannot be directly observed under existing circumstances. Blind spots exist in all types of vehicles. The area in grey in the figure below is the blind area of a dumper.

Fig 1Dumper blind area at ground level

Blind Area Viewing Aids Until a few years back, bigger was better in surface haulage. The bigger the machine, the more it could haul. The more it could haul, the better the production numbers. The statement has now been made that bigger is better only if bigger is better. There comes a time when the sheer size of a piece of equipment exceeds the limits of the infrastructure (such as haulage road widths), loader configurations, and maintenance costs. This engineering feat of increasing the payload by minimally increasing truck dimension is welcomed not only for its efficiency in using existing mine resources, but also because the truck operator is not blinded for quite some distance around. All large and heavy mine haulage trucks operate in less-than-ideal weather and geotechnical conditions. The extensive blind areas of such trucks have been documented years ago. These blind areas are dependent on the size of the truck, position of the operator, obstructions, and modifications obscuring the operators vision, etc. Figure 2 is a generalized look at the blind areas around a rear-dump haulage truck. A 6-foot tall person will not be seen by the driver of a 150-tonne haulage truck within 20 m from the right side of the truck and ground level is not visible for 30 m.

Fig 2. Front view of vision limitations from the cab of a 150-tonne dumper. Studies to improve the visibility system for large (100+ tonne) haulage trucks in surface mines have been conducted in the US for a very long time. The components designed and tested were a flatplaned, left-hand drivers mirror; a right-hand, rectangular, 30-in radius convex mirror; a right-frontmounted Fresnel lens blind-area viewer that allowed the driver to see the right front side of the truck; and a closed-circuit television for viewing the rear of the truck.

Monitoring of blind area: The Hazardous Area Signaling and Ranging Device (HASARD) was the first NIOSHdeveloped PWS. HASARD was created to protect operators and workers around continuous mining machines. A number of different types of commercially available PWSs were considered and tested for the job. They included radar, ultrasonic, capacitive, and visual types of sensors and systems. Any object that got into the detection zone would cause the alarm output to trip. A lot of research is being carried out in US for investigating technology and methods to monitor the blind areas around large haulage equipment used in opencast mines. An improved approach is to provide enhanced driver vision supplemented by an automatic detection system that looks in all high risk directions at once, identifies potential problems and attracts the drivers attention to those areas where potential collisions could occur. In addition, a further level of effectiveness is to provide warning information to both the Heavy Vehicle driver and the objects at risk, as any hazardous situation involving two parties, in which one party does not have the ability to take action, is inherently unsafe. Today, there are several off-the-shelf technologies for monitoring areas that an equipment operator cannot see from this seat. They include radar, video cameras, radio-signal detection systems, etc. 1. Video cameras:

Fig 3. Rear view Camera

Side view camera

Fig 4 Rear and Side view cameras Video cameras have been available for mining equipment for several years, and many improvements have recently been made that include reduced size and cost. They are being used on mining dumpers with success. Two to three cameras are needed to monitor the blind areas around the front, right side and rear of large dumpers. The lenses of these cameras must be cleaned regularly and more often in wet and bad weather conditions. A good system will allow all the cameras to be connected to a single video display which switches views depending on the dumpers direction of motion or gear selection. Even though cameras are an effective means of monitoring blind areas, there are challenges in using them in mining dumpers. One of the challenges is the operating conditions of mines. Shock and vibration can shorten the life of a video camera and video monitor. Cables much withstand high heat and abrasion from flying rock. Cameras must be housed in tough enclosures that can handle impacts from flying rocks and mud and that are resistant to the direct, high-pressure water spray used during washing. One improvement that can be made in the video cameras is the addition of collision warning system that senses when an object or person is near the equipment and sends and alarm. The alarm would prompt the operator to check the video monitor before moving the equipment any further.

2.

Radar:

Fig 5 Radar system mounted on a loader Radar is a popular technology for collision warning systems, but only a few systems are specifically designed for heavy mining equipment. These systems are simplified and lowerpowered versions of traditional radar used in tracking aircraft and measuring the speed of vehicles. Radar systems can detect people, rocks, buildings and foliage and especially good at detecting metal objects. An alarm, usually flashing lights and an audible warning, is mounted in the operator cabin to warm the operator of an object or person nearby. Advantages of using radar include low price, reliable operation in all weather conditions and dusty environments, and reliable detection of large objects. However, radar is susceptible to false and nuisance alarms. 3. Radio-frequency identification (RFID):

Use of RFID in collision warning system is a relatively new approach. Two systems have been introduced that were specifically developed for heavy surface mining equipment. Both the systems operate on the same basic principle, but use different communications schemes.

Fig 6 RFID reader and camera.

Both the systems require the use of electronic tags attached to light vehicles, pedestrian workers, other mining equipment, or stationery objects, such as utility poles and buildings. Every person or vehicle entering the mining area should be fitted with a tag to be protected. Heavy equipment in the mine is fitted with tag reader to detect the presence of a tagged object or person that is near the equipment. If a tag is detected an alarm is generated and displayed to the equipment operator. A unique identification can be transmitted from each tag so that the type of obstacle can be presented along with the alarm. Advantages in method include: 1. 2. 3. 4. The rare occurrence of false or nuisance alarms. The ability to identify the cause of alarm through its unique identification code. Better detection of objects near the equipment and The ability to monitor around the entire piece of equipment with just one or two tag readers.

Drawbacks of the system include, higher price that other options and the requirement that all workers and objects are to be fitted with a tag, which further increases the price and maintenance. Also the available system can differentiate between alarms from the back or the front of heavy equipment, the exact location of the tag that caused the alarm will not be known. Manufacturers of these systems provide a video camera system as an option so that the alarm locations can be verified. 5. Global positioning system:

Fig 7 GPS positioning coverage in deep open pit mines.

Investigations are going on for technologies that could be used in future collision warning systems for heavy mining equipment. One technology that shows promise is based on the GPS. The system consists of a GPS antenna and receiver, a computer interface, and Internet protocol (IP) radio communications. This system would be installed on all vehicles and heavy equipment in the mine. The location of each vehicle is determined and then transmitted to all other vehicles and equipment in the area. The data processing and alarm display uses a Windows CE computer platform. The display shows two warming areas in concentric circles around the vehicle, represented by an icon in the center of the screen. The outer circle warns the operator that a vehicle is nearby, but not in immediate danger. The inner circle gives a more emphatic warning that another vehicle is very near. One of the disadvantages of this system involves the loss of GPS signals because of the potential for poor satellite access. This can occur in open pits where equipment can work near the high walls or in the shadow of other heavy equipment. It can also occur during certain times of the day as satellites move in and out of view. Conclusions
Devices are available to help eliminate blind spots and associated accidents involving large offhighway mining equipment. Camera systems and, more recently, radar and RFID systems designed specifically for heavy equipment, are now on the market. Successful implementation of these systems can be achieved if their shortcomings are realized and anticipated. Cameras can benefit from the addition of a sensor system, so that the equipment operator is prompted to check the video monitor while moving the equipment. Radar is good at detecting people and small vehicles, but it is susceptible to nuisance alarms, requiring cameras to verify the cause and exact location of the nearby object. RFID, while more expensive than other solutions, is very reliable, and its increased functionality and integrated camera system make it an attractive long-term solution. No collision warning system can replace the training and caution necessary for operating heavy equipment. However, technology can aid in reducing some of the guesswork required when operating equipment that has extensive blind spots. References: 1. 2. NIOSH website MSHA website