The Guardian™ Proximity System is an innovative solution designed to address the challenges faced by drivers operating in challenging environments with poor visibility. The system provides a cost-effective, reliable means to detect proximity, ensuring safety and efficiency in underground operations.
Designed for underground environments, Guardian™ operates seamlessly through curtains, is tamper resistant, and provides detection accuracy within inches with auto-adjusting detection coverage areas. No driver intervention needed – just controlled safe stops.
Ditch the shortcomings of legacy proximity detection systems and move to the advantages offered by Guardian. Legacy proximity systems present several challenges that impede their effectiveness in underground environments. These challenges include widely varying detection zones, making it difficult to ensure consistent coverage. Moreover, susceptibility to electromagnetic interference poses a significant obstacle, particularly in mine settings with numerous sources of electromagnetic activity such as AC power lines and electric motors.
Maintenance of these systems is often expensive and complex, and personnel are asked to wear cumbersome, bulky tags. Addressing these challenges is crucial for advancing proximity detection technology to meet the needs of mine operations today.
IWT’s Guardian™ Proximity System redefines safety for underground mining with advanced high-bandwidth technology for collision prevention without driver assistance, setting a new standard for mobile haulage safety in the mining industry.
The main system components include:
Ensuring personnel safety and complying with regulatory standards are paramount considerations for the operation of underground vehicles, making the implementation of a proximity detection system indispensable. From a personnel safety perspective, the confined and often complex environments in underground settings pose inherent risks. A proximity detection system serves as a critical tool in mitigating these risks by providing real-time alerts to operators when they are near personnel or obstacles. This proactive approach significantly reduces the likelihood of accidents. At the end of the day, all workers should go home to family and friends.
Beyond personnel safety, regulatory compliance is a key driver for the adoption of proximity detection systems on underground vehicles. Increased awareness of vehicle-related deaths and injuries have prompted a legislative regulation review in many states. Incorporating a proximity detection system not only aligns with these regulatory requirements, but also demonstrates a commitment to prioritizing safety measures.
By integrating Guardian™ Proximity Systems into underground vehicles, operators can ensure compliance with industry standards, fostering a safer working environment and avoiding potential legal consequences associated with non-compliance.
The adoption of proximity detection systems is both a pragmatic safety measure and a strategic move to meet regulatory obligations in the operation of underground vehicles.
Accidents involving underground coal haulage machines and scoops have resulted in 49 deaths from 1984 to 2021.
The Guardian system is designed to be used with a variety of underground
mining equipment and is being commercially launched by IWT to the meet the MSHA
requirements for permissible use on Continuous Miners, Shuttle Cars, Scoops, and
other mobile haulage equipment. However, the Guardian technology is adaptable
to other uses, and IWT is continuously scoping requirements to market the
Guardian system for critical equipment that needs proximity detection to
enhance the safety of a mobile workforce.
There are two type of components of the Guardian system. The first type is the miner wearable component, or tag, which is used to identify the location of each individual being tracked. Miners and equipment operators wear the Guardian tag on their upper body. The second type of component is hardware installed on the equipment or vehicle, which communicates with the tag, calculates the location (relative to the vehicle) of the tag, and interfaces with the equipment controls to stop equipment when a tag is too close. The main types of equipment components are equipment-mounted sensors, a driver or operator display unit, and the equipment control unit and intrinsically safe barrier XP assemblies.
Guardian uses RF high-bandwidth transceivers to communicate and determine (relative to the vehicle) the location of miner, the driver, and the continuous miner operator tags to the equipment sensors. RF transceivers continuously track the tags within the coverage areas, updating the relative location multiple times per second. This information, in turn, is used by the equipment control unit to slow or stop the equipment when a tag is too close to the equipment.
The Guardian system uses distance thresholds to limit equipment speed or stop the equipment. These thresholds are configurable based on the maximum equipment speed, and mine safety policies. For example, a mine may have a forward warning threshold that, when a shuttle car is at full speed, begins warning miners of an approaching shuttle car at a distance of 50 to 75 feet from the front of the car. As the shuttle car get closer, the Guardian system will automatically decrease in speed and at 20 feet will be completely stopped. The threshold behind the equipment – regardless of the direction that the equipment is traveling – can be closer to the equipment.
The miner tag that is within
the warning threshold will illuminate with a yellow warning light and a warning sound will be emitted by the tag. The sensors on the equipment will also illuminate with a yellow warning light, and, if throttle control is available, the equipment will begin to slow down. As the distance between the miner and the equipment continues to decrease, the equipment will continue to slow down. If the continues to approach the equipment and crosses the emergency stop threshold, the tag and the sensors will illuminate with a red light, and the equipment will shut down to a complete stop. As the miner moves away from the equipment, the tag will illuminate back to yellow and, if the minor moves far enough, back to green, indicating that they are no longer in a breaking area and the equipment will be able to resume travel.
A miner, driver, or continuous miner operator above ground can check out with any tag at the beginning of the shift. All tags are issued as miner tags, and a driver or continuous miner operator must assign their role to their tag by pairing with the equipment through the Guardian display unit on the equipment.
The Guardian™ Proximity System offers a cost-effective way to enhance safety and meet regulatory compliance.
Make IWT’s Guardian™ Proximity System your trusted partner for maximized underground safety.
Contact us today for more information or to arrange a demo.
See the Guardian Proximity System’s journey from development to delivery.
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