Smart Solutions for Modern Mining
Innovative technologies enhancing safety, productivity, and monitoring in underground mining.
Are you Level 9 Safety Compliant?
EMESRT Level 9 – Intervention Control for Collision Avoidance Systems
Improving control systems to oversee the operation of mobile equipment and the transfer of personnel and materials is a significant obstacle to minimizing deaths in the mining sector. Approximately 30 – 40% of industrial deaths are attributed to failures in vehicle interaction controls, with the majority of these involving pedestrians in underground mines.
a connected mine overview
Our vision is to bring the 4th industrial revolution of digitalisation into the underground mining space
Underground Communications Infrastructure
Nerospec SK’s range of communications solutions has been refined over our many years of supplying solutions to mining as well as tunnelling. This includes leaky feeder, and WiFi or LTE networks technologies developed for underground uses that require narrow or broadband greater data transmission.
Our product solutions have been specifically designed to cater for every mining and tunnelling method. Whether it is supported, room and pillar, sublevel and longhole open stoping to unsupported; longwall mining, sublevel mining, block and panel caving not
to mention artificial supported like bench and fill stoping, cut and fill stoping, and shrink stoping you can be assured that we have a product solution for you. Catering for the full range of requirements from low bandwidth long range to high bandwidth backbone connectivity (this includes leaky feeder, WiFi or LTE networks technologies). The ability to combine the appropriate standards-based radio system into a single interoperable system is the key to maximising underground data network coverage in any given scenario.
These many methods bring challenges on itself and then we introduce moving machinery and personnel into these restricted and confined areas. If reliable mine wide communications can be achieved, it will only be possible using more than one communications medium and this is what we at Nerospec SK can offer.
Nerospec SK, the hybrid solution approach to suit every application your mine or tunnel may have.
Enhanced wireless underground communication is a fundamental step in enabling:
- Modern Safety Practices
- Instant Data Insights
- Productivity Gains
- Preventative Maintenance
- Machine Automation
- Streamlined Operations
A TRULY CONNECTED MINE HAS NO COMMUNICATION BOUNDARIES
What makes Nerospec SK’s Underground Communication unique is its Hybrid Offering, we are pioneering the use of ubiquitous communication technology underground.
Our neroMAN (Mine Area Network) underground communication network is fully agnostic with any standards defined and applied communications hardware, but is best paired with Nerospec SK’s communication hardware.
Fluid Connectivity Options:
The core of The Connected Machine
The neroHUB is designed to be a ruggedised multipurpose specialised vehicular controller, data communications hub and black box data recorder.
The neroHUB provides a universal interface for Trackless Mining Machine (TMM) and Collision Warning System (CWS). It increases productivity and improves mine safety with the intelligent use of CRAWL and STOP processes as well as providing uniform and secure records to promote operational efficiency.
The neroHUB acts as a Black box recorder, allowing for immediate incident analysis which results in less production stoppage. Machines have limited space – and the challenge was to fit a myriad of functions into a small form factor unit. This is all made possible via our HUB suite range
Improved Safety through Vehicle Intervention Control (VIC)
Speed Brake Interlock
Overspeed Monitoring and Control – prevents runaway scenarios
The Speed Brake Interlock monitors, controls, and maintains the speed of Trackless Mining Machines (TMM’s) at all times. This works on:
Level State
The speed set point is configurable for the specific machine type and road conditions.
Incline State
Should the operator stall the machine and a rollback occur, SBI will bring the machine to a stop.
Decline State
This reduces the possibility of losing control of a machine running away on a Decline State.
Speed Limiting Interlock
Change machine driving conditions e.g. Limit speed, based on pre-programmed rules within specific locations.
On different slopes the speed set point is configurable for the specific machine type and road conditions. In the case where a condition has changed like excessive water causing a once dry area to be muddy and slippery the range of BLE beacons can be deployed overriding all machine speeds in the area to one set speed.
safety
Use Case
neroEDGE (Berm Intervention Control)
Throughout history, dump truck drivers have been faced with the dangers of inadequate Berm management. There is an increasing risk and danger of a landslide, or a dump truck going over the edge. Often accidents of this nature have been due to the lack of warning/intervention systems on dump trucks in conjunction with the loose, thick layers of materials commonly associated with mine dumps.
When a driver gets too close to the edge of a Berm, neroEDGE alerts the driver of danger, then vehicle intervention control (VIC) is activated by first crawling and then stopping the vehicle so that it does not go over the edge.
The only Vehicle Intervention Control System that takes full environmental conditions into account to reduce the chance of machine failure or operator error resulting in machine safety incidents.
Increased Productivity
Productivity
Use Case
neroNEWTON Solution
When an 8 ton bucket is filled to only 6 tons per trip, this results in more trips than necessary and causes a 25% loss of productivity.
With both in cab and control room visibility enabled, tracking the LHD operators progress, enables real-time adjustments that immediately increases productivity.
With the neroNEWTON solution, by eliminating inaccurate loads, a machine operator can add 30 to 90 minutes of additional haulage time per shift.
Remote to Full Automation
World leading products for the remote control and tele-remote control of underground mining equipment. From semi or even fully autonomous mining equipment to machines that perform completely unsupervised by humans.
Proactive Maintenance
Machine condition monitoring
With our solutions you can unlock:
Real-time Insight On Mine Machines
Monitoring Mine Machines Condition
Look At Machine Values From OEM
Monitor Events For Warnings e.g. Brake wear
- Hours Running, drill down hours engine running vs idle time.
- Benefits high stress machines with limited life span.
- On-the-fly diagnostics.
Monitoring
Now you can look at long term fleet trends to aid capital investment decisions. Have the information needed to make comparisons between machines and OEM’s and classes of vehicles at your finger tips.
Monitor things like:
- Fuel Used
- Max Temperature
- Brake Wear
- Weight and Number of Loads Transported
SIMAC is a state-of-the-art software package that allows operators and managers alike to access in-depth overviews and insights via dashboards that are expertly tailored to a specific mine.
Dashboard:
By harnessing the innovative SIMAC software, managers can compare machines with one another, highlighting which machines are the most productive and which machine/ operator combinations are the most optimal for productivity. The dashboard overview highlights key metrics that allow managers to easily identify negative indicators and quickly react and remedy.
Short Interval Control
SIMAC provides critical operational insights that can be constantly optimised to increase productivity, unlocking the measurable benefits of Short Interval Control.
With Short Interval Control integrated into the SIMAC IA, managers and operators are able to view machine statistics in real-time. Should the IA predict that the machine could potentially have issues in the future, an alert will notify the user, leading to an early intervention that ensures production remains uninterrupted while new parts
are on their way, minimising maintenance times.
PDI Integration
In tandem with the SIMAC software, the neroHUB Proximity Detection Interface (PDI) is enabled to autonomously take control of the machine with it’s Crawl and Stop intervention, contributing a positive net worth to the mine’s productivity.
The neroHUB PDI also introduces Speed Brake Interlock (SBI) and Speed Limiting interlock (SLI), which helps the system reduce the number of speed related incidents, as well as restricting the risk of a rollback condition. The total number of SBI, SLI, and rollback events is automatically recorded, and available for viewing in real-time, allowing for quick decision making and analysis of driver behaviour.
Connected Machine Benefits
The SIMAC software aims to augment and enhance the connected machine, as well as the human operator/manager. By collecting, processing, and analysing all of the metrics collected by the many sensors of the connected machines, detailed reports
and data analysis can be done for the user.
The application of intelligence Amplification in the SIMAC software allows for monitoring certain parts of equipment on the connected machine, collecting realtime data and analysing previous records, enabling the software to predict possible breakdowns or failures.