Troy O’Reilly – Risk, Safety & Compliance Advisor, Stanwell
37 videos found
Rod Lansdowne
Outbye Electrical Coordinator
The Problem
A recent incident report identified a “Near Miss” at an underpass intersection between the 2nd main travel routes of the mine, involving a loader and a man transporter. Safety meetings with crews identified that with the LED strip lighting underground, it made it difficult to identify vehicles entering the main headings from blind corners, and suggestions were made to remove strip lighting from around the underpass intersections to allow identification of vehicles at the intersection (via headlights on the vehicles).
The Solution
After further consultation, it was decided not to remove the current lighting from the intersection but to find a solution that would work within all the current controls under the Mine Transport Rules. Work was already being trialled on using coloured LED indication for belt monitoring purposes, and testing began on using the same string of LED to use an amber light to give an indication of movement from around the blind corner. An ultrasonic system was chosen, as a way of removing human behaviour, and testing to confirm functionality, so that either vehicle or pedestrian would activate the warning lights. A trial was put in place at 30ct underpass to test overall functionality and allow feedback from the workforce as to what changes were required prior to implementing through out the mine.
Benefits/Effects
By adding an autonomous warning system, it gives a visual warning to vehicles/pedestrians in the travel roads of movement around the blind corner. Being autonomous, there is no reliance on people’s behaviours or attitude.
Transferability
Already looking at using the same system to change existing block lights on site to ultrasonic, replacing existing drift lighting with the same LED strips, use of LED strips to indicate gas levels at TG machine doors.
Innovation
Combined current technologies to achieve working system.
Approximate Cost – $2600 for single control box and lighting
Michael Lennon – Mechanical Technician
Glen Jacob – Mechanical Technician, Evolution Mining – Mt Rawdon
Leppard – Synthetic Light Weight Couplings
Josh Leppard
Overburden Supervisor, BMA Saraji Mine
Tragically Saraji Mine had a fatality on New Year’s Eve 2018 involving a bulldozer rolling down an embankment. The first responders to this incident required the use of heavy duty slings and shackles to upright the dozer. This involved personnel traversing down a steep embankment on undulated ground during the night carrying D-shackles that weighed approximately 62kg each, this created a significant manual handling risks to the people involved.
Post incident, Saraji became aware of light weight synthetic couplings that are made specifically for the marine industry that significantly reduced the weight whilst providing exceptional strength properties.
We reached out to the manufacture of the light weight synthetic couplings in New Zealand in an attempt to replicate this technology within the mining industry. By substituting the existing steel D-shackle with a custom made light weight synthetic design, we have reduced the potential of a manual handling incident when recovering surface mobile equipment or the potential for stored energy within the steel to become airborne should the steel D-shackle capacity be exceeded.
The soft couplings were tested to 175,000 kg for a maximum breaking force (MBF) of 510,000 kg without breakage and have a total weight of 8.2 kg compared to the 62 kg steel D-shackles that are normally used.
The synthetic couplings have been successfully trialled on site to extract various pieces of surface mobile equipment. They have been included as mandatory items in the emergency equipment recovery trailer along with other items to aid in the immediate recovery should the need arise.
Leppard – Synthetic Light Weight Shackles
Josh Leppard, Managing Director, Soft Rigging Solutions
Mele/Guinea – Rim Lock – Eliminating Crush Zones during Tyre & Rim Assembly Fitment
Francesco Mele & Joseph Guinea
BMA & JJ&D Innovations
Metz/Garlando – T282C Hytorc Reaction Post Set
Warren Metz – Graduate Engineer – Mechanical
Matthew Garlando – Manager – Maintenance, Thiess
Noble – Data Log Hydraulic Tuning of Excavators
Jon Noble – Health Safety and Training Manager, Glencore – Clermont Open Cut Mine
The Problem
In February 2017 a Coal Mine Worker (CMW) was injured when a hydraulic hose fitting failed under pressure during the use of a hydraulic flow meter. The CMW was positioned inside the pump room and was undertaking the task of a hydraulic tune up. The task requires a calibrated flow meter to be installed in line with the main hydraulic pump system to read the hydraulic flow and pressure the machine is producing. The operator of the flow meter is required to manually adjust the flow meter by hand and watch the pressure and flows on the meter, making it impossible to be out of the line of fire. On the day of the incident a hydraulic fitting failed at the flow meter under 50bar of pressure and shot back contacting the maintainer in the knee luckily only causing minor bruising. During testing procedures the maximum pressure ranges up to 300bar.
The Solution
The implementation of a data logging system that reduces the need to have a person inside the pump room during hydraulic testing. There are two pumps to each main pump. Each pump can now be “turned on” remotely via an electronic remote control. The first individual pump can be cycled and loaded through all curves required to satisfy testing and the change to test, then the second pump can be tested via the flick of a switch. Load to the pumps is applied proportionally through a remote control lever on the test box remote and the pump performance can be seen by the operator outside of the pump room. If adjustments need to be made to the pump regulators the pump is destroked to minimum flow and
to standby pressures using the remote control lever. Once the adjustments have been made the operator can once again remove themselves from the high pressure hose area inside the pump room and return outside and complete the tests again.
Glenn Owens
Project Manager, BMA Engineering
Dave Zanette
Project Supervisor, BMA Engineering
The Broadmeadow Proximity Detection (PDS) Project was initiated to address the risk of vehicle to pedestrian and vehicle to vehicle interactions in a low visibility environment. There have been numerous deaths and injuries which have occurred due to workers being contacted or crushed by mobile equipment in the underground environment. Following the fatality at the Moranbah North Coal Mine (2007), a Shuttle car incident at San Juan and the fatality at Escondida in 2016. Broadmeadow is committed to the implementation of an engineering solution. Proximity Detection Systems have the potential to reduce the risk of underground mobile equipment injuries and fatalities.
The project has completed stage 1 trials of a Proximity Detection System (PDS) fitted to vehicles (Shuttle Car (SC), Loader (LHD) and Personnel Transporter (PJB)) designed to detect the presence of a pedestrian or vehicle in a hazardous location around a machine. Should a worker enter this zone, the system will issue a warning signal – a combination of audible and visual alarms – to notify the individual as well as the machine operator of potential danger. The system was also configured on the SC to automatically slow and stop when a pedestrian was detected in the warning and danger zones of the machine. Stage 1 of the trial was conducted both in surface and underground testing areas in isolation from production activities.
The PDS is currently in stage 2 trials at Broadmeadow. During this stage the PDS (with auto slow\stop enabled) has been installed on an operating shuttle car currently in production underground in a Broadmeadow Development panel. This is the first SC in Australia to run in production with a PDS in full auto slow\stop mode.
A LHD fitted with audible and visual alarms is also being trialled underground in a production environment, this trial involve fitting various attachments to the LHD including personnel-baskets, pipe trailer and stone dust pod. Various attachments require configuration changes to the system to ensure the machine zone sizes can grow and shrink dynamically to suit the attached implement or machine speed. One of the most challenging parts of the PDS trials is the application of silent zone technology which enables an operator(s) to work within the fields of the machine in what is designated as a safe area i.e. cab or inside a personnel-basket. This silent zone technology has been applied to a bolter\miner and at Broadmeadow and it effectively makes all operators standing in safe zones on the bolter\miner platform invisible to the shuttle car PDS as it docks to the machine for loading.
During the course of the trials over 200 different vehicle to pedestrian and vehicle to vehicle scenarios have been tested. If a pedestrian comes within 7 to 8 metres of a shuttle car it will slow to 50% speed and if a pedestrian comes within 4 to 5 metres of the shuttle car it will automatically stop before hitting the pedestrian. Feedback from operators has been that the system gives them a greater awareness of machine NO-GO Zones and operators are standing further back from the machine.
The PDS is current installed on the following machines at Broadmeadow:
- Full Auto-Stop Mode – 2 x Shuttle Cars (with a 3rd installation in progress)
- Warning only Mode – 1 x Underground Personnel Transporter, 2 x Underground Loaders (LHDs), 1 x Electric Vehicle, 1 x Moxy Articulated Truck
PDS Tags are currently installed in 180 Caplamps.
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