Abstract
Collision awareness systems have been in operation in mines around the world for years now, but the next step in this technology turns those awareness systems into avoidance systems. Operators can have a tendency to ignore critical alarms that an awareness system will alert them to. Too many false alarms or nuisance alarms cause operators to ignore or go out of their way to circumvent systems leading to potential incidents on the mine. Level 9 Avoidance introduces intelligence into the system to integrate with the machine to apply braking as needed to avoid operator oversight and create a safer environment for operators. Level 9 machine intervention needs to be intelligent enough to only intervene at the most critical of circumstances to avoid loss of productivity. While this type of Collision system is new to mining it exists in most newer model on-highway vehicles sold today and is a technology that can make mines safer to operate in.
This paper will look at the evolution of technology from Collision Awareness Systems of Level 7 and 8 and explore the possibilities of Level 9 in today’s mining environment. This paper will explore the concerns of nuisance alarms and their effect on operators and why Level 9 machine intervention is the next step collision prevention and why this technology has been mandated in some jurisdictions already.
This paper will look at the evolution of technology from Collision Awareness Systems of Level 7 and 8 and explore the possibilities of Level 9 in today’s mining environment. This paper will explore the concerns of nuisance alarms and its effect on operators and why Level 9 machine intervention is the next step collision prevention and why this technology has been mandated in some jurisdictions already.