Mining companies manage considerable risk on a daily basis. Whether it’s worker safety, site security, or managing production, companies are looking for solutions that help mitigate risk and drive efficiencies. Here we explore how advanced surveillance systems are doing just that.
Safety and efficiency are top priorities for mining companies. But mining sites are inherently hazardous places. Extraction, processing and refinement, logistics and transport, waste management, and the day-to-day site operations all involve specialized, and potentially dangerous, processes that demand careful management. Quarries and mines are also often found in remote locations with harsh environmental conditions. This all makes safeguarding your workers, production, and sites themselves particularly challenging.
Smart surveillance systems, however, are helping mining companies across the world meet these challenges in a safe and reliable way. A combination of network video cameras, often with onboard AI-powered analytic capabilities, work in conjunction with network audio, radar, and even thermometric (heat monitoring) sensors. Together they drive all manner of efficiencies, new functions, trigger real-time alerts, and initiate automated workflows, especially when built using open standards which facilitate integration with wider industrial control systems.
A camera’s ability to analyze footage in real-time makes it able to identify events instantaneously. This in turn improves the scalability of monitoring systems as staff can now safely and effectively oversee a large number of feeds, as well as expanding the system’s potential applications. In addition to securing access to critical assets, smart surveillance systems can enhance site health and safety practices, drive significant operational efficiencies, and serve as a force multiplier for existing operations. In this blog post we will explore some of the key use cases mining companies across the world are deploying and the benefits they are seeing.
Health and safety support
Keeping workers safe is always the number one priority. Given the hazardous nature of the working environment, mining sites have strict safety procedures. Surveillance technologies can help monitor adherence to these protocols, as well as helping with their enforcement, detecting hazards, and alerting workers to dangers.
- Dangerous area alerts: Video analytics can detect when a worker accidentally strays into a restricted or dangerous zone, such as near active heavy machinery. It automatically sounds an alert and notifies supervisors to intervene. These alerts are particularly useful in low-visibility areas or underground mines, or when large, mobile machinery with poor driver visibility is in use.
- PPE compliance: Smart cameras can detect whether workers are wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). For example, they can detect if helmets, reflective vests, or safety goggles are missing. As well as alerting supervisors to any discrepancies and broadcasting pre-recorded messages reminding staff to wear appropriate equipment, systems can even prevent access, locking doors to particularly high-risk areas such as chemical stores.
- On-site traffic management: From heavy equipment and giant haul trucks through to light vehicles and service fleets, mining sites experience heavy vehicle traffic. To help avoid collisions and accidents, sites can employ traffic monitoring systems to ensure drivers follow speed limits and stick to designated routes. These systems typically employ a combination of network cameras and radar to facilitate accurate identification and tracking of vehicles and pedestrians. Supporting audio and lighting can then be triggered to warn drivers and people of any potential dangers. The data generated by these traffic systems means they can also analyze traffic patterns, informing light signal timings, preventing congestion, and optimizing traffic flow. This all adds up to a much safer experience for both pedestrians and drivers.
Security, access controls, and theft prevention
Securing mining sites is no simple feat. Often spanning hundreds of square miles, enforcing a strict perimeter presents a huge, yet imperative, challenge. Unauthorized access not only risks theft, illegal mining, and disruption, but also poses significant danger to intruders. Smart surveillance technologies bolster perimeter security, providing deterrence and alert and response capabilities along with robust access controls. This can all be managed via a centralized user interface provided by the video management system (VMS). Operators can monitor live feeds, access recorded footage, control network speakers and intercom systems, and receive real-time alerts all in one place. Feeds from various sites can even be centralized, allowing security firms or operations management to monitor multiple locations at once.
- Vehicle access control: License plate recognition (LPR) technology enables automatic vehicle authorization and access controls, ensuring only pre-approved vehicles can access sensitive areas while helping eliminate entry point bottlenecks.
- Audio warnings: By integrating IP-based audio solutions with your surveillance system, you can automate intrusion deterrence warnings such as, “You are entering a restricted area,” when unauthorized individuals cross any predetermined boundaries. These solutions also allow security staff to directly address individuals when alerts are triggered.
- Illegal mining prevention: Inactive tunnels are often targeted for illegal mining. Advanced video analytics can detect and alert security staff to intruders in real-time. Automated flood lighting and audio solutions act as powerful deterrents while high quality cameras capture valuable forensic evidence.
- Stopping material skimming: Sometimes organized crime groups will attempt to “skim”, that is to steal, materials from haulers during transport. A combination of weighbridges and LPR can keep precise logs of which vehicles are used and whether the load weights at departure and delivery are consistent. Surveillance systems with intelligent analytics can also track truck movements, ensuring they adhere to designated routes. Any deviations or delays can trigger immediate alerts, ensuring materials are not diverted or stolen.
Production downtime and predictive maintenance
Mining sites are massive, resource-intensive operations. Any disruption and unexpected downtime can have a significant impact on production levels. Smart surveillance technologies play a vital role in preventive and pre-emptive action, helping keep the site running smoothly.
- Monitoring for signs of wear: While they are extremely resilient, mining tools and machinery take an extraordinary amount of punishment. As such, spotting signs of wear, breakages, or failure are of paramount importance in order to maximize and maintain production uptime. Cameras can spot early signs of wear and tear on machinery, such as conveyor belts or loaders, or leaks from piping or material storage. These capabilities allow for more predictive maintenance scheduling and can prevent issues from escalating.
- Preventing overheating: Machine temperature is often an indicator of machine or system health. Thermometric cameras capture temperature data, alerting machine operators and workers to unsafe or unusual heat levels. Not only does this protect workers from potential harm, but heat levels can also be tracked over time and used to inform maintenance decisions.
By integrating surveillance systems with operations networks and using them to augment existing processes and procedures, mining companies can protect their assets, improve worker safety, and drive significant efficiencies.
Built for the future
Video surveillance technology will continue to play an increasingly important role in mining operations. As mining becomes more digitally enabled, the automation capabilities, transparency, and safety and security benefits of these systems will only grow in value — and this is just the beginning. These technologies generate vast amounts of rich, detailed data that can be merged and analyzed across multiple sites. This information fuels a range of advanced applications, from review and modeling to the identification of hidden trends and new dimensions of insight for site management. The potential for future innovation is near limitless.
Already surveillance technology is creating safer, more efficient working environments, saving lives and money.
