Imagine working 400m underground, surrounded by rocks, dust, and noise. Your feet step in water you can’t quite see.

Or maybe you’re lucky and work in an open pit, surrounded by trucks the size of a two story house - with tires measuring a gigantic 13 feet in diameter!

Nearby, operators who had to climb a full flight of stairs to get to the cab use massive hydraulic shovels, grabbing over 60 tonnes of material per bucket load.

There’s a lot going on! While mine sites operate on a scale that’s hard to comprehend if you’ve never been to one, it’s easy to imagine the safety challenges that come with it.

For operators, the biggest challenges are seeing others, being seen and staying focussed.

Cat machines are well-equipped with cameras from the factory to have a good view of their surroundings, but sometimes those cameras are not enough for more extreme mining extreme conditions, or when a mine is operating at a faster pace.

That’s where MineStar Detect comes in. Part of MineStar’s innovative suite of technological solutions, MineStar Detect helps make mines safer in two ways:

1. Proximity Awareness and Object Detection
2. Cat Driver Safety System

Proximity Awareness and Object Detection

Transmitter nodes installed on all equipment in service are synced with belt clip transmitters supplied to workers. As soon as something, or someone, gets close to the nodes, the operator gets a real-time alert, helping them prevent a potential collision or accident. 

The benefit here, versus simply relying on cameras or visual cues, is that the signal is emitted by transmitters worn by people and installed on machines. MineStar Detect doesn’t just give you sight, in other words – it’s like being able to look through walls, rocks and other machines.

Cat Driver Safety System

Operators often work long days in trying areas, making fatigue a real challenge. MineStar Detect’s in-cab Driver Safety System monitors an operator’s behavior and reactions to help manage fatigue and distraction in real time. If the system detects signs of inattentiveness, a safety advisor at the Cat control center will quickly analyze the data to decide the best and safest course of action.

MineStar Detect: Part of an Entire Technological Ecosystem

MineStar Detect doesn’t operate in a vacuum – like all MineStar applications, it’s part of a closed digital ecosystem that facilitates the sharing of data and information. That interoperability gives miners access to information collected. across MineStar’s applications. For example, Detect data shared with MineStar Fleet will help mining operations measure, track and improve their forecast and material movements, improving efficiency. That interoperability also opens the door to integrate more solutions to manage equipment condition with MineStar Health, while maximizing production and automation with MineStar Command.

Watch this video to learn more about how MineStar improves mine safety:

 

You can also read this blog to learn more about autonomous mining machines and how they make mining safer  Côté Gold: A Model for Modern Mining in Canada (toromontcat.com)