GroundProbe says its launch of the SSR-Viewer 8.1 software next month “is an evolutionary step for slope stability monitoring ability, combining the latest in visualisation and alarm technology to provide the upmost safety at a mine site.” “Working in partnership with senior industry Geotechnical Engineers from around the world, SSR-Viewer 8.1 has been developed from the ground up to create a product in tune with the industry’s needs,” GroundProbe Software Engineering Manager James Usherwood says. There is a range of new features available with the GroundProbe SSR-8.1. Usherwood says one of the key features would be the combination of alarm triggers to continually monitor the movement of the wall. “We now have six different triggers that can be set per alarm. This greatly improves alarm persistence through changing conditions.”
The six alarm triggers are all based on detecting dangerous movement of a mine wall and include tools such as deformation alarms, a range of velocity alarms, tracking alarms and even alarms if the shape of the surface changes.
“The alarms include Deformation, Coherence, Tracking, Velocity, Inverse Velocity and Velocity Ratio,” Usherwood says. “The user is able to select a combination of alarm triggers to best suit their needs.”
Users also have the option for alarms to be personalised to alert certain users via server emails and text messages, further utilising the full range of IT resources that are available.
“Feedback from external geotechnical engineer and customers on site have also played an important role in the features in the latest version of the software.”
The software has also moved into a mobile space for the modern mining workplace, and is accessible on tablets, PCs, servers and virtual machines, while allowing continuous monitoring for up to 12-months.
“Such enhanced mobility allows for a greater flexibility and the opportunity for remote access,” Usherwood says. “You could have a geo tech in Brisbane assessing the movements of a wall in Perth in real time.”
Another new feature of the GroundProbe SSR-Viewer 8.1 is the automatically created realistic 3D photo-realistic DTM (digital terrain map), which gives the user the ability to create visual 3D representations to monitor the mine in real-time.
The comprehensive 3D maps and data sets are easy to use and provide the best tools for data analysis, while a change in the software’s architecture allows multiple data views displayed across multiple screens to provide for ease of analysis. Users are now able to view information instantaneously across platforms. This eliminates the need for copying, which essentially speeds-up the dissemination of information.
Taking on-board customer feedback, and the importance of being able to cater to a range of user levels and expertise, it was a priority for the team at GroundProbe to ensure that the interface of the latest software allowed for information to be collated in a clear and concise manner. For reporting purposes, the user can also easily export the data generated.
Usherwood says, the goal for the software is to assist in the prevention and management of risk and optimise safety and productivity through every level in the industry.