Page 117 - Advances In Productive, Safe, and Responsible Coal Mining

Developing effective proximity 7

detection systems for
underground coal mines

Joseph DuCarme
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

7.1 Introduction

Accidents involving underground mobile mining equipment striking a worker or col-
liding with another piece of equipment can often be attributed to the operator’s lack of
visibility around the equipment, or, in the case of remote-controlled equipment, the
operator positioning himself or herself in close proximity to the equipment during
operation. To help address this problem, systems known as proximity detection or
proximity-warning systems (PDS) are used to detect nearby objects or workers and
provide this information to the appropriate equipment operators. PDS are also some-
times referred to as collision warning or collision avoidance systems. The use of these
systems can augment safe operating procedures such as monitoring mirrors, checking
blind areas before moving a piece of equipment, and selecting a safe operating loca-
tion for remote control machinery.
The last several years have seen a rapid increase in available proximity detection
technology for the mining industry. Early methods to assist operators in avoiding col-
lisions consisted mainly of closed-circuit video camera systems. Now, detection and
warning systems based on radar, radio frequency identification, magnetic-field detec-
tion, and computer vision are becoming available [1–3]. Major trials and deployments
of these technologies for mobile machines are occurring worldwide in both surface
and underground mines. This technology can also be applied to monitoring hazardous
areas around stationary machines. Thus, intervention research and development has
focused on the detection of personnel near machines.
After a brief illustration of why proximity detection systems are needed in under-
ground coal mines, a discussion of the technology follows, including a summary of
related National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research
and future directions.

7.2 Fatal accidents at underground coal mines

Originally, continuous mining machines (CMMs) were operated from a seated posi-
tion in an on-board cab that protected operators, but severely restricted their visibility.
Unfortunately, this configuration also exposed operators to machine vibrations, dust,
Advances in Productive, Safe, and Responsible Coal Mining. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101288-8.00003-1
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