![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/HUMAN-PIC-07-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\u201cAs one of the pioneers in Proximity Detection Systems (PDS) and Collision Prevention Systems (CPS) on mines, Booyco Electronics is rightly regarded as a technology company,\u201d says Lourens. \u201cIn truth, however, we are also in the \u2018people business\u2019 \u2013 because it is the people who wear and operate our technology who are vital to its effectiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moderated by the Minerals Council South Africa, the panel discussion focused on how mines should be keeping up with the new legislation on PDS. Lourens emphasises that Chapter 8 of the Mine Health and Safety Act was now very clear that compliance was non-negotiable, and mines were increasingly embracing technology in applications where mobile equipment posed \u2018significant risk\u2019 to health and safety.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\u201cThere have been great successes in the implementation of collision prevention strategies, but at the same time the overall industry picture is uneven,\u201d he explains. \u201cEven on one mine site, we have witnessed variable success rates between one shaft and another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This highlights the wide spectrum of adoption which needs to be achieved, he says, not just with the operators but right through the mine\u2019s different departments. There can even be disruptive expectations between the mining production team and the engineering team , for example, if the management-driven strategy has not been clearly communicated and accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nHe emphasises that everybody on the mine has a part to play, with the production department usually being the owner of the vehicles fitted with PDS. A successful PDS strategy will facilitate a good understanding of the respective roles \u2013 including planning, engineering responsibility, technology implementation and maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is important for everyone to be on the same page, as the mine\u2019s production suffers when a machine stands, including due to a PDS issue \u2013 and that affects the whole mine and everyone\u2019s future,\u201d he says. \u201cThe good news is that the mines and their professional associations are engaging much more about CPS, and they recognise that the way forward should involve closer links between mines, their suppliers and the regulator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe key message is that no single player in this equation can achieve better safety levels on their own. Lourens points out that South African mines may be quite unique in the way they engage multiple Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and technology partners on each site. This creates some complexity when applying PDS technology, as each PDS supplier has to work closely with a number of mobile equipment OEMs to achieve the customers\u2019 requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He highlighted, however, that the building blocks for successful compliance were already in place. These include ISO standards adopted by OEMs, as well as best practice guidelines on PDS developed by the Minerals Council South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe technology is available to address significant risk, and the tools are there to apply these solutions,\u201d says Lourens. \u201cWhat is important, though, is that the application of this technology is recognised as a process of change \u2013 not just a flick of a switch or a silver bullet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He reminded African Mining Indaba delegates at the panel discussion that people generally do not like change, and that this was natural. It is therefore necessary to carefully assess the conditions and attitudes on each site, and to design a change management plan aligned to operational culture that will satisfy all stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll parties are committed to the same goal \u2013 Zero Harm \u2013 so they need to reinforce this and find the best way forward in applying PDS solutions,\u201d he concludes. \u201cThis is not to ignore the technical complexity of the solutions, but the main result is to drive safe and efficient production.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He noted that modern PDS also generates extensive data on machine and pedestrian movements on mines. This is contributing to \u2018digital twin\u2019 simulations for mining operations, which can be harnessed to inform ongoing safety improvements in traffic management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With Zero Harm as an industry priority, it was no surprise that this year\u2019s Investing in African Mining Indaba session on Collision Prevention was full to overflowing. In a sector led globally by South Africa, local Proximity Detection Systems (PDS) technology leader Booyco Electronics reminded the audience at this session why the human factor remains central to achieving safe mining.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[40],"class_list":["post-8621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-client-focus","tag-booyco-electronics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coralynne.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n