ABB is launching the latest technology development in its portfolio of mine hoist safety products by introducing the fully SIL 3 certified ABB Ability™ Safety Plus Hoist Protector Version 3.0. This solution is part of the ABB Ability™ Safety Plus for hoists suite, the first fully SIL 3 certified mine hoist solutions with highest level of safety on the market​.

With this release, independently certified according to IEC 62061 Ed. 2.0, ABB has increased the number of safety functions to include many that are applicable to smaller hoists and Blair multi-rope hoists, as well as functions based on the continuous monitoring of the rope load.

It is now also applicable to the full hoist lifecycle. The life of a hoist normally starts with sinking the shaft. Digging and creating the shaft carry different risks to operating the completed hoist. Previously, operators needed separate safety products to deal with these two life stages of underground hoisting equipment, but the latest version of ABB Ability™ Safety Plus Hoist Protector can handle the full lifecycle of the hoist, from shaft sinking all the way to the end of life.

The 3.0 version also means a step change in the productisation of hoist safety technology, which has two major benefits. Compared with designing a bespoke safety solution for every hoist and its site and having to perform the complete functional safety verification and validation on each project, Safety Plus Hoist Protector V 3.0 is already validated and third-party certified for 25 different safety functions, off the shelf, at a significantly lower cost to customers. If other custom safety functions are required for a particular site, the product is already prepared for a simple integration of these functions into its ecosystem.

Having products that handle the whole mine hoist safety across an ever-expanding number of customer sites allows ABB to receive feedback from a global user base, and redeploy improvements made based on the learnings to all sites.

ABB states: “Whether you are required to comply with local regulations or simply want to improve your standards, we have designed ABB Ability™ Safety Plus for hoists. It is the first fully SIL 3 (Safety Integrity Level) certified suite of solutions for hoists, rigorously examined and certified by an independent functional safety certifying body, and strictly developed in accordance with the International ‘Safety of Machinery’ standard IEC 62061.”

It is composed of three solutions offering the highest level of safety available on the market: Safety Plus Hoist Monitor, Safety Plus Brake System, and Safety Plus Hoist Protector.