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SRK Consulting on the learnings from the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management implementation

Environmental, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It has been just over four years since the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) was launched, and much is being learnt as mining companies and professional experts continue to maintain compliance, SRK Consulting experts are reporting.

The experts – Franciska Lake, Partner and Principal Environmental Scientist; Philippa Burmeister, Partner and Principal Environmental Scientist; James Lake, Partner and Principal Environmental Scientist; James Dutchman, Associate Partner and Principal Engineering Geologist; Kavandren Moodley, Principal Environmental Scientist; Andries Fourie, Principal Technologist in Disaster and Risk Management; Lindsay Shand, Partner and Principal Environmental Geologist; and Mondli Mazibuko, Senior Civil and Tailings Engineer – saw the GISTM has brought a more integrated approach to the design, construction, operation and closure planning of tailings storage facilities (TSFs). This has meant that an even wider range of disciplines now need to engage collaboratively in projects that relate to TSFs – from environmental, social and governance (ESG) specialists to practitioners in mine closure, climate change, hydrology, geochemistry, water stewardship and disaster management.

Integration

There was initially the need to raise awareness about the high level of integration required between the ESG aspects and the traditional, technical aspects of tailings management. The importance of trust and understanding between the mine and project-affected people also needed to be emphasised. Building cooperative relationships between mines and their stakeholders remains a continuous challenge but has been a crucial ingredient in meeting GISTM standards.

There also still potential misalignments between local regulatory requirements and the GISTM. In building the environmental knowledge base that the GISTM requires, additional information is often needed beyond what local regulations or historical legislative conditions may have demanded. In many cases, mines have focused solely on their project development areas, paying limited attention to the broader risks of a tailings breach. Closing these gaps requires collaboration between regulators, the mine and other stakeholders.

People at risk

Significant work and innovation have been dedicated in recent years to helping mines effectively comply with the GISTM. One of the key lessons learned from this process is the critical importance of ongoing engagement and relationship building with project-affected people throughout the lifecycle of a TSF. This approach fosters an environment where meaningful dialogue can take place around decisions that impact project-affected people, including the risks and potential consequences of a TSF failure.

SRK has observed that mines can significantly enhance their engagement and communication efforts when they have a well-established and effective stakeholder engagement plan in place. In contrast, strained communication with project-affected people makes it more difficult to deliver critical messages, often delaying the implementation of GISTM requirements. This in turn heightens the risk for people in the inundation zone, who are often the most vulnerable.

The basis for identifying which people are particularly at risk is determining the inundation zone, which the GISTM requires to be accurately modelled. This forms a key component of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (EPRP), which is also a GISTM requirement. Good communication channels need to be in place, she said, to allow not only for messaging from the mines on the risks associated with TSFs, but to clearly and effectively communicate during emergency situations.

Emergency capability

A further critical area of the GISTM relates to emergency preparedness and response, which requires mines to plan in detail for disaster scenarios arising from TSF failure. This process involves engaging other stakeholders in the required EPRP. One of the challenges that mines in countries like South Africa face is that capacity in the field of emergency response can be limited. The GISTM requires mines to consult with government and to obtain a commitment to be part of this planned response.

This means that mines must gauge the stakeholders’ capacity to contribute; given the lack of resources in certain areas, local mines have had to look elsewhere for partners in securing the necessary support in the case of an emergency. Instead, industry agencies like Mine Rescue Services South Africa have been able to provide that response capacity.

A further challenge is that in nations with high unemployment rates, mining operations often draw informal settlement of individuals seeking job opportunities. When the establishment of these settlements are not appropriately planned and managed, significant numbers of people establish homes and livelihoods near a TSF.

Monitoring and data

Another important challenge on many mine sites was the significant lack of meteorological monitoring. This meant that TSFs were being managed without sufficient accurate weather data, including the site-specific rainfall levels.

From a climate change perspective, one of the biggest gaps in meeting GISTM requirements is the monitoring of meteorological parameters. This is not just about having a functional weather station on site, but also about regularly analysing and acting on the weather data received. Water management is key to preventing TSF failures and this requires action associated with observed trends provided by meteorological monitoring.

The scientific instruments also need regular calibration if they are to remain reliable, and mines need to be actively engaging with the data stream. There is scope to use modelling in some contexts, but modelled meteorological datasets tend to have inherent limitations.

In the real world, however, there are situations where data levels are not optimal – and so SRK has developed an approach through which we can use modelled data in conjunction with the monitored data that is available. This can create datasets which are usable by some of the disciplines involved in TSF management and closure.

This lack of data also exacerbates the challenge of predicting future key weather conditions like rainfall, as projections tend to be a ‘best guess’. There is a need to improve the reliability of projections by comparing them regularly to current data collected from monitoring activities. Given this uncertainty, SRK collaborates with international peer reviewers and academics to improve confidence in forecasts.

Integration of data remains another central challenge, as the monitoring data really needs to be available to other disciplines. The GISTM requires climate change to be built into our TSF and water management designs, and for these designs to be continually updated and assessed as the climate changes.

Real-time technology

On the positive side, digital technology was facilitating a rapid move towards near real time monitoring of TSFs. This is an important source of information for better understanding the performance of each TSF and its risk profile; modern equipment and instrumentation is allowing monitoring systems to populate datasets that support the GISTM’s monitoring and surveillance requirements.

It is now possible to monitor the changing risk in near real time against the performance baseline. There has been a shift from manual, single-point data collection to high-frequency big data platforms – which provides an opportunity to examine micro-trends and the inter-relationships between the metrics that govern TSF safety and other conformance aspects.

Blue-chip mining companies are moving actively towards implementing real-time monitoring systems, which will help TSF owners, operators and engineers of record (EORs) to monitor and manage TSF risk more effectively.

The knowledge base has also emerged as a vital focus for closure aspects of GISTM compliance. SRK has noted that there are often gaps in mine closure knowledge bases, where assumptions must be relied upon instead of evidence. This of course undermines the confidence in the closure design itself.

The information deficit often applies to physical and chemical characteristics of the tailings material, the cover requirements and stability aspects. It is recommended that the necessary data be gathered and analysed regularly through the mine lifecycle, ensuring that the funds are more readily available. As mines reach closure phase, the financial conditions often become more constrained.

Flood risks

The introduction of the GISTM has brought a change in design criteria – particularly around water management. In South Africa, for example, closure plans consider a 1-in-100-year flood event, in line with local legislation; there is now a move toward a probable maximum flood consideration, which implies significantly more rainfall over a defined period.

From a technical engineering perspective, the more stringent demands of the GISTM are clearly raising the cost of TSF design, construction and management. Mines sometimes look to reduce upfront capital costs by cutting out certain aspects of work that is now becoming essential for GISTM compliance.

SRK has found that a more useful way of approaching this challenge is to generate a master plan for the life of the TSF. This creates the opportunity to mines to make provision for an annual investment in TSF safety, ensuring that the cost is manageable in terms of the expected result.

Long-term view

Mines are learning to take a longer term view of TSF compliance – from design and construction through to closure – and this is enabling a more cost-effective and multi-disciplinary workflow over time. This allows mines to strategically optimise their capital costs by having clear deliverables in place. In the past, mines have worked with consultants and contractors with a short-term view – whereas this probably needs to be considered as a medium-term to long-term view that encompasses the full range of disciplines required to meet the new global standard.

A key cross-cutting element in various aspects of the GISTM is clearly the management of surface and groundwater, including the geotechnical work that must consider how water content affects stability. There is also a water stewardship angle to be considered, which focuses on water quality and access in the broader river catchment.

While these elements of the GISTM are yet to be fully explored in projects in the African region, mines are cognisant that a holistic approach to water management is required. They are looking at strategic approaches to managing their impacts on the hydrological cycle, aligned with the water stewardship approach.

TSFs are often located in low-lying areas, which are susceptible to variable rainfall patterns associated with climate change. With the lifespan of TSFs expected to withstand weather conditions over hundreds of years, planners will need to consider water stewardship to mitigate the implications of changing surface water run-off and water quality impacts.

There is much about the GISTM which is not new to the mining sector, but which requires constant, integration, innovation and improvement. The expertise in the sector to do this is often stretched, but there has been clear progress made across many disciplines.

Murray & Roberts Cementation safety

Murray & Roberts Cementation stresses importance of culture in achieving safety milestones

Environmental, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , ,

In the mining sector’s ongoing quest for zero harm, Murray & Roberts Cementation has shown that a culture of safety is critical to meeting this target – over and above the progress made in safety systems and technologies.

In its own safety journey, the company has made great strides, according to Trevor Schultz, Risk Executive at Murray & Roberts Cementation. Among the key indicators of its success is that it has been fatality-free for almost a decade, a real accolade in the traditionally high-risk field of shaft sinking and mine development.

“It has been a journey that started long before 2015, when we reviewed the systems and processes, customising them to suit our business needs,” Schultz says. “Working closely with our Training Academy at Bentley Park, we also developed a new approach that would foster a culture of safety among our people – from their very first days in training.”

The Training Academy prepares employees to perform their work in the most efficient and safe manner, he says, including tailormade programmes for mining and engineering supervisors.

“We believe that to create the right business culture, we need to give employees the means and ability to do their work – and after that you can hold them accountable to do the work right,” he explains. “Our programs include License to Supervise, as well as Risk Management, to ensure alignment of our safety principles across the business.”

This approach has also achieved a steady decrease in the company’s Lost Time Injury rate. Graham Chamberlain, Murray & Roberts Cementation’s New Business Executive, concurs that the safety culture has been critical to these gains.

“An important shift in the mining sector has been to appreciate employees not only for their hands (to work) and their ears (to listen), but for their minds and hearts – which really drive safe behaviour,” Chamberlain says. “Systems and rules are important, but they don’t provide the vocabulary to show that management really cares about the safety of every employee.”

A caring culture is reinforced every day by the interaction between management and staff, he argues. This forms part of the company’s Visible Felt Leadership initiative, which ensures managers engage with their teams on a regular basis.

Underpinning the safety culture are the standards and systems, which remain an important foundation for safety at Murray & Roberts Cementation, according to Schultz.

“We have a robust health, safety and environment framework which covers key points such as systems, standards and internal and external audits,” he says. “We also have formalised strategies to learn from incidents on site – both within the company and externally – and we share best practice and learning across our regions.”

Comprehensive checks and balances are in place, including self-assessments for supervisors and managers, which help to determine the effectiveness of training in the workplace. Benchmarking against the highest standards, Murray & Roberts Cementation is certified in terms of ISO 9000, ISO 14000 and ISO 45000 in its internal systems and corporate governance.

Technology also has a role to play in supporting the safety culture, explains Chamberlain, especially in removing people from the ‘contact area’ where most safety hazards are found.

“We work to engineer the risk out of every working situation, which usually involves the use of equipment instead of manual labour,” he explains. “Equally, the solution may be to revise the methodology or the working cycle – as this affects the way the employee behaves.”

He notes that operating under excessive pressure, or experiencing undue frustration in their work, will have an impact on an individual’s safety performance. Part of the safety effort, therefore, is to alleviate these factors and improve the working environment – which in turn leads to the right behaviours.

Schultz points to a range of engineering technologies that Murray & Roberts Cementation has adapted and applied to improve safety. Lasers have been employed to continuously monitor clearances in some vertical shaft projects, so that winder speeds can be reduced where the clearance reaches limitations.

“We have extended the pre-sink automated tipping hook and kibble auto alignment to the main sink which removes the human interaction during tipping,” he continues. “The monitoring of our stage zone kibble winder slack rope has also been updated, by allowing continued monitoring during crosshead arresting. Electrical actuators are now being used where possible, instead of the noisier air and hydraulic system.”

Murray & Roberts Cementation is also an early adopter of technology that can improve safety, such as Proximity Detection Systems (PDS). In the early 2000s, the company saw the value of this emerging field of electronics, and was one of the first local companies to trial it on its trackless mining machinery.

“We were able to prove the efficacy of this technology, and quickly progressed to standardise PDS as a minimum requirement on our machines,” Schultz says. “This was years before it was made mandatory, which required all qualifying mines to install this equipment.”

The safety approach has even affected the kinds of projects and tasks that Murray & Roberts Cementation will take on, he explains.

“By reviewing our projects’ safety performance, we identified certain categories of work as being very high-risk,” Schultz says. “The decision was made that if the risk of harm cannot be reduced to an acceptable level – through mechanising, automation or safer methods – then we would simply not undertake such work.”

Anglo American Australia workers herald new frontline safety program

Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , , , , , ,

Anglo American has leveraged the experience of its coal mine workers to devise its new frontline safety program, the Fatal Risk Management (FRM) program.

Through a bottom-up approach, frontline workers have been empowered to shape FRM, a program that, the company says, is easy to use and doesn’t add another layer of red tape.

Anglo American Australia CEO, Dan van der Westhuizen, said embedding frontline workers in the project team was crucial in designing the simplified and standardised tools as they understood the risks better than anyone else. He said the team included a mix of operators, coordinators, supervisors, superintendents and contractors across its Bowen Basin operations.

“Fatal Risk is not a new concept for the mining industry and learnings from our people, peers and industry experts have informed our approach,” he said. “Our point of difference has been cultivating FRM from the operator level to leverage the insights and experiences of our frontline workers to ensure we have the best chance of getting it right.”

The FRM program comprises 14 Fatal Risks and 50 crucial Fatal Controls that sit underneath risks and these must be in place to help prevent a fatality from occurring at the frontline. Every job. Every time.

“These 14 Fatal Risks are sobering because they represent circumstances where a teammate in our business or industry has lost their life or been seriously injured on the job,” van der Westhuizen said. “It’s not often you get a chance to stop, take a step back and create a new way of working but we knew we had to make a change. Everyone deserves to go home to their families, friends and loved ones at the end of every shift.

“We know change is not easy and a culture doesn’t change overnight, but we know we are moving in the right direction.”

Anglo American was a finalist in the 2024 Prospect Awards for the rollout of its FRM project – created by the frontline, for the frontline.

Capcoal Exploration Supervisor, Will Parfitt, who has been in the mining industry for more than 17 years, said he had been proud to represent his colleagues as a member of the Fatal Risk frontline team.

“There is nothing more important than the safety of my colleagues across Anglo American and this is one of the most important things I’ve done,” he said. “I’m really proud to be involved. We now have one universal Take 5 book and Job Risk Assessment template across all operating divisions – among the last lines of defence when it comes to identifying and managing risk at the frontline.

“Five different variations existed before which was extremely confusing and painful for our workers and contractors who work across multiple sites. It wasn’t an easy process – we each brought our own views, perspectives and things we thought our individual sites wanted and needed. We recognised early on that we wouldn’t be able to please everyone or achieve perfection. We wanted to design the best tool that met the needs of the majority.

“When coupled with the other tools in our FRM system, our Take 5 provides the prompts to change our frontline’s perception and tolerance to risk.”

Moranbah North Mine Underground Coal Mine Worker, Lil Shanley, who has just returned from the International Mines Rescue Competition in Colombia, was also a key member of the FRM development team.

“When someone doesn’t return home, the impact is significant on the families, friends, colleagues, community and the industry. The ripple effect is devastating,” she said. “Ultimately, we’re all here for the same reason – nothing is more important than safety. I’ve worked across almost the whole Bowen Basin and the simple tools are the ones that work best.

“If it’s too complex, people don’t understand it and they won’t complete it properly for fear of getting it wrong. There is nothing confusing about these new tools and the people using them are the ones who have come up with them. I am proud of being able to make the decisions that are going to become a legacy.”

Capcoal Dozer Operator, Emily Page, also involved in the FRM team, said she loved mining and could never go back to a normal nine-to-five job but being on site for a fatality was “the worst thing in the world”.

“If we can make sure everyone goes home every day, that’s the most important thing,” she said. “The most important thing to come out of the mine is the miner. I just don’t want anyone to lose their life, not just in Anglo American but in the industry; it’s got to stop.”

Anglo American defines Fatal Risk as something that has the potential to immediately kill a worker on the frontline during a task. Sadly, these Fatal Risks represent a circumstance where someone in the business or in our industry has tragically lost their life in the past. Under each Fatal Risk are 3-5 Fatal Controls which are the crucial few controls that need to be in place to help prevent a fatality on the frontline. Importantly to meet the criteria of being a ‘Fatal Control’, any worker must have the ability to implement and check that the control is operating as intended– with the power truly being in a frontline worker’s hands.

Shaun Dando, Safety Leadership Practices Coach at Grosvenor, says: “If you asked me until recent times, I would have struggled to identify the Fatal Controls most relevant to me – we have over 1,000 critical controls on file. With FRM, we have narrowed that down and now the controls relate specifically to the Fatal 14, which is so practical and user-friendly.

“I look at that list of 14 and can put faces and names to those risks. I have lost workmates to a number of them, so there is a real reason to have them; it is so we all go home safely – every day,” he said.

EML369 Multi-Load

An evolution in ‘hands free’ exploration drilling

Automation, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Evolution Drill Rigs out of Queensland, Australia, believes it has come up with a cost-effective and time saving solution to one of the most labour-intensive parts of the exploration drilling operation: handling drill rods.

Its Evolution EVO Multi-Load drill rod handling system is a true “hands free” diamond drill rod & casing handling and storage system, according to General Manager, John Slattery, explaining that it has been designed to work with most current exploration drill rigs, including the Evolution FH2000 & FH3000 and Sandvik DE840 & DE880 drills.

Evolution is not the first to come onto the market with a hands free rod handling system – readers may be thinking of Boart Longyear, Epiroc, Major Drilling, MEDATech Engineering’s Borterra division and others here – but Slattery is convinced the EVO Multi-Load system has the potential to make the biggest market impact.

“By choosing to design a system to work in conjunction with existing rig designs, the drilling contractors are able to utilise existing equipment with a few small changes,” he told IM. “Rather than invest in completely new drill rigs and handling systems, they can save significant capital outlay by investing in the EVO Multi-Load system.”

The other benefit of working with the existing rigs is the increased efficiency of rod tripping operations by using the existing rig main winch, he explained. “The ability to trip rods in 9-m lengths on deep holes during bit changes and ‘Navi-runs’ is a significant time saving method when compared to tripping rods in either 3-m or 6-m lengths as some other rod handling systems are limited to,” Slattery added.

The company already has one company speaking to these benefits too, with South32 recently running a 12-month trial of the EVO Multi-Load prototype at the Jessica and Cararra exploration projects in the Northern Territory of Australia. The company conducted this trial with its contract partner DDH1 Drilling, owned by Perenti, and said it was a “success” with plans to deploy the system on other South32 exploration projects in its 2025 financial year. South32 also provided funding to support Evolution’s prototype field trial and ensure the equipment was suited for ongoing use.

Slattery said the company’s ongoing testing of the prototype rig – in the workshop and the field – had led to an ongoing improvement plan ahead of commercialisation.

“Our engineering staff have worked closely with our customer DDH1 Drilling during the EVO Multi-Load development and our workshop team continued this during the testing phase and field trials,” he said. “We identified some areas for improvement during the workshop testing, which were incorporated into the rod loader prior to the field test: the sequencing of adding and removing rods from the loader has simplified the operation and helped with productivity.

“We have a few more updates in the pipeline to streamline the tripping process and increase overall productivity.”

This process has been aided by collaboration with DDH1 Drilling, according to Slattery, allowing the company to understand the contractor’s methods and requirements for handling rods during deep coring and directional drilling. “This allowed us to further develop our concept into a working prototype,” he said.

DDH1 Drilling’s experience with the use of several other types of drill rod handling system has allowed Evolution to benchmark operational cycle times against competitor products and confirm the productivity of the EVO Multi-Load system, he added.

Outside of the top head drive multi-purpose drills the Evolution system has already been designed to work on, there is the prospect of expanding this list further with a few small tweaks.

“In regions outside of our native Australia, such as Africa and South America, there is a large existing fleet of multi-purpose drills that could most likely use the system,” Slattery said.

This speaks to the faith Slattery has in the global potential of the system.

“We believe the majority of the drilling contractors and mining companies are interested in improving the operational safety around drilling projects in general, and drill rod handling is a big part of that,” he explained. “The EVO Multi-Load drill rod handling system has been designed around the needs of deeper core and directionally drilled holes, large volumes of drill rods, as well as the need to deal with different pipe and casing sizes. These more complex drilling programs are normally undertaken by the larger mining companies that have been calling for reduced human involvement in the drill rod handling process for some time.”

He concluded: “Our system has been designed to work with a range of rod and casing sizes and is flexible enough to be used on any brownfields exploration drilling program that involves the need to drill deep holes.”

Fatalities up at ICMM company member operations in 2023

Mining safety, Mining services, Sustainable mining, ,

The ICMM has released a report that benchmarks the 2023 safety performance of its members, highlighting that 36 people from ICMM company members lost their lives at work in 2023.

ICMM members are constantly looking for ways to make their operations safer, to eliminate fatalities towards a goal of zero harm, the ICMM says. To support this, ICMM compiles, analyses and publishes the safety data provided annually by company members, which collectively represent a third of the global mining and metals industry. The full report, ‘Safety Performance: Benchmarking Progress of ICMM Company Members In 2023′, is available here.

Tragically, 36 people from ICMM company members lost their lives at work in 2023. This compares to 33 in 2022 and 45 in 2021.

The report analyses fatalities from ICMM company members based on the cause (or ‘hazard’) and provides safety performance metrics by county and company. In 2023, 10 of these fatalities were related to mobile equipment and transportation, and five fatalities were caused by structural failures. Company member operations in South Africa had the highest number of fatalities (13), accounting for 36% of the total fatalities across ICMM members. Twelve out of 25 members reported zero fatalities.

Rohitesh Dhawan, President and CEO of ICMM, said: “There is no higher priority for ICMM members than keeping people safe and healthy at work, and this report is a stark reminder of the work ahead of us in that regard. The concerning increase in fatalities in 2023 underscores that there is absolutely no room for complacency. With this in mind, we are committed to fostering stronger safety cultures across our workforces that cascade to every corner and facet of operations.”

ICMM began collating and publishing data on members’ safety performance in 2012 with the intention of driving transparency, learning and continual improvement across the industry. This data is compiled using ICMM’s ‘Guidance on Health and Safety Performance Indicators’.

OndoSense introduces compact radar sensor for collision avoidance, vehicle detection and object positioning

Automation, Communications in mining, IoT, Mining safety, , , ,

OndoSense is expanding its sensor portfolio with the addition of a compact radar sensor for collision avoidance, vehicle detection and object positioning.

With its wide detection range, the OndoSense reach WA (Wide Angle) is particularly suited for detecting obstacles such as vehicles, people or objects. It detects static and moving objects, even at close range from 0.1 m, and can be easily integrated even in confined spaces, thanks to its very small design, the company claims.

The OndoSense reach WA is suitable for collision avoidance, vehicle detection, object positioning and limit level control in transport & logistics, mining, shipping, mechanical and plant engineering and agriculture, it added.

With up to four adjustable sensor zones, the OndoSense reach WA is ideal for flexible monitoring of security areas or collision avoidance of mobile robots or other vehicles. Thanks to innovative radar technology, the radar sensor always reliably detects objects of any nature, even difficult environments with dirt, smoke, steam, rain or poor lighting conditions. And, as a result of its high measuring rate of 200 Hz, it always reliably detects obstacles even with fast movements.

Rainer Waltersbacher, co-CEO of OndoSense, said: “Our sensor offers the smallest blind zone on the market for anti-collision radars. This makes the OndoSense reach WA ideal for applications in which objects in close range must be reliably detected. Our radar system thus enables safe operation without costly unplanned downtimes.”

With its M30 design and a length of just 92 mm, the OndoSense reach WA is one of the smallest radar sensors for collision protection & object positioning, OndoSense says. Thanks to an opening angle of 15° and a measuring precision of ±1 mm, the OndoSense reach WA is suitable for precise positioning of machines or robot arms where the target object is tilted – i.e not optimally aligned with the radar sensor.

The radar sensor has an RS485 communication protocol, three digital switching outputs (PNP/NPN) and an analog current interface (4-20 mA). An IO-Link version will be available from 2025. The sensor can operate interfaces such as Profinet or CAN via a gateway.

Best practices for selecting onboard fire suppression systems for heavy-duty mining vehicles

Environmental, Mining safety, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , ,

Heavy-duty mining vehicles operate for long periods across harsh, rugged environments and require reliable onboard fire protection to help protect people, equipment and the business continuity of the mine. However, as mining vehicles continue to become larger, more powerful and more complex, their fire hazards have changed, too. Most mining vehicles have multiple fire hazards that could require application-specific fire protection solutions. By protecting each hazard with the appropriate on board fire suppression system, the damage to the equipment is limited and operator safety is improved in the event of a fire, Kristin Ryczek* says.

When selecting hazard-specific onboard fire suppression, it’s important to consider several factors for best results. Here are six best practices to follow:

1. Understand the fire risks that are present

The first step to selecting onboard fire suppression systems is understanding the specific fire risks on mining equipment. By clearly understanding the risks that are present, mining companies can equip their vehicles with the most effective fire suppression solution for each fire risk. Electrical hazards, for example, necessitate a different approach to fire suppression than what is required for engine compartments.

The engine compartments in many of today’s mining vehicles contain turbocharger exhaust manifolds and emission packages, as well as diesel fuel sources, hydraulic fluid and other class B fuels. The engine components are likely to have high surface temperatures that can create an ignition source. For engine component protection, it’s important to seek a solution that can cool superheated surfaces while providing comprehensive suppression capabilities. Using the right solution makes fire suppression efforts more effective while minimising the risk of reignition.

Powered cables can also be an ignition source for the hydrocarbons that are within the engine and hydraulics if not properly maintained. However, electrical equipment, which is often stored inside unoccupied cabinets, requires different fire suppression considerations. This equipment is often more sensitive than engine compartments, and failure due to fire or smoldering can lead to significant operational disruptions. For this application, it’s often best to consider an electrically non-conductive clean agent solution designed to suppress fire without damaging electronics. Clean agent systems will often use a nitrogen agent, which requires no clean-up and has a zero global warming potential (0 GWP), making it a good option for equipment and the planet.

2. Consider single-agent vs. dual-agent solutions

For several decades, heavy mining vehicles have depended on dual-agent fire protection systems for their engine compartments. As the name suggests, dual-agent (or twin-agent) systems use both dry chemical and liquid agents in a single design. The dry chemical agent rapidly knocks down flames, and the liquid agent cools hot surfaces and minimises reflash potential. However, the suppression benefits these dual-agent configurations provide come with additional complexity – including costly clean-up and repairs after a dry chemical discharge, careful planning for side-by-side installations and the need to activate two separate systems simultaneously.

These challenges emphasise the need for new fire suppression solutions that simplify fire protection while meeting the needs of today’s heavy-duty industrial vehicle operations. While some mining vehicle applications require twin-agent systems to meet the NFPA 120 and 122 standards, the latest single-agent systems hold FM approval and are suitable for many applications. Single-agent systems can streamline the complexities of dual-agent systems, and some superior single-agent options can even provide higher-performing and more cost-effective fire protection for mining vehicles than traditional dual-agent systems.

3. Look for solutions designed specifically for your needs

When protecting multiple vehicle hazards with unique fire suppression needs, it’s important to choose solutions that have been designed specifically for those applications. Application-specific design helps ensure more effective system performance and efficient installation and maintenance. This is especially relevant in the mining industry where products need to be built to withstand long hours in extremely harsh conditions. Effective fire suppression system design is achieved through a deep understanding of the risks, the assets being protected and the ideal amount of agent that needs to be discharged onto the hazard.

When protecting engine compartments, application-specific fire suppression solutions can offer increased operational flexibility and simplicity. This is due in part to recent liquid single-agent advancements that allow each nozzle to cover more area – up to 54 in (137 mm) – compared with previous dual-agent solutions. This extended spray distance helps the agent flow into hard-to-reach areas where flammable liquids may have migrated. It also allows end users to select and install the ideal number of nozzles for their applications. Fewer nozzles generally mean less installation and maintenance needs for the end user. That’s because less nozzles mean less hose network to route through the hazard. Less agent and less tanks also mean less weight added to the vehicle for overall efficiency.

There are also benefits to selecting an application-specific fire suppression solution for electrical enclosures. Some nitrogen-based systems designed for mining vehicles don’t require many of the safety devices that a carbon dioxide system would require, including time delays and lockouts. This translates into less components to install and maintain. Some nitrogen-based systems also have a wide temperature operating range to withstand extreme conditions. Users should look for solutions with an operating range of -65° F to plus 210° F (-54°C to plus 99°C) and with a rugged design to help ensure effective use in the harshest environments.

4. Look for solutions that have been rigorously tested and/or hold third-party approvals

When it comes to fire suppression in extreme mining environments, bold claims are not enough. It is critical that fire suppression agents for mining vehicles are backed by rigorous testing and third-party approvals, such as FM approval.

Johnson Controls recently conducted extensive testing to prove effectiveness of a new, non-fluorinated single-agent liquid system. The company wanted to prove it can prevent reflash by quickly knocking down flames, blanketing the fuel and cutting off oxygen without the addition of a dry chemical agent. The team evaluated the new agent (ANSUL® LVS NF-40) against some of the leading single-agent and twin-agent setups currently used in the industry.

The testing results confirm the standalone performance of the new liquid agent. It demonstrates the speed at which the new liquid agent can extinguish high-pressure fuel sprays and fuel in-depth pool fires while also cooling the entire mass of the plate and the fuel in-depth pan below. Additionally, the new liquid agent had a lower discharge time than the tested legacy liquid agent, which demonstrated that less of the new liquid single agent is required for effective fire suppression.

5. Consider regulations and standards, as well as environmental impacts and sustainability

In many industries, including mining, regulations are shifting around the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Because of these changes, the mining industry is moving toward non-fluorinated fire suppression solutions for mining vehicles. When selecting a non-fluorinated onboard solution for effective Class A and B fire suppression on mobile mining equipment, it is important to choose a non-fluorinated agent that offers performance equal to or better than previous formulations.

NFPA 122, the standard for fire prevention and control in metal and non-metal mining and metal mineral processing, requires the use of a twin-agent suppression system in ultra- and mega-class mining equipment with hydraulic systems containing more than 150 gallons (682 litres) in the lines. However, there are now single-agent fire suppression systems that have been tested and received FM 5970 approval to perform just as well as twin-agent systems.

While NFPA standards are often used as guidance for enforcement of the required fire suppression by Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), they aren’t always the only accepted method for providing fire suppression. Standards like NFPA often take time to update and change as the market and available solutions evolve. A white paper from Johnson Controls provides supporting data and evidence that could be used by an installer or end user making the case to a notified body to accept an effective single-agent system over the twin-agent system that NFPA suggests. As such, an installer or end user could apply an FM 5970-approved single-agent system, acknowledging the need for conversation with any AHJ to approve the installed system. As the fire industry progresses, it’s possible that standards will update and become aligned with newer, more fit-for-purpose solutions.

For electrical compartments in mining vehicles, it’s important to source a clean agent that meets stringent government regulations surrounding chemical agents. From an environmental and regulatory standpoint, a nitrogen-based clean agent may be preferable over clean agents with a chemical formulation and can simplify compliance processes. Nitrogen has been a popular clean agent gaseous suppression option for many years, since it is a naturally occurring atmospheric gas and does not fall under restrictive regulatory measures. Furthermore, it is also easier to source dry nitrogen for a system recharge than other gas mixtures used in similar clean agent systems.

6. Keep clean-up in mind

A fire event isn’t actually over until your vehicles get back up and running. Clean agents offer a significant advantage over traditional agents when it comes to post-suppression clean-up, especially for electrical compartments densely packed with sensitive controls. Traditional agents that are not electrically conductive, like dry chemical, can effectively extinguish fires, but they can leave residue that requires extensive cleanup and can affect the electrical components. In comparison, a clean suppression agent leaves no residue, helping to minimise clean-up and maintain the integrity and operation of intricate electrical systems.

Similarly, in engine compartments, single-agent liquid systems typically require less cleanup than single-agent dry-chem or dual-agent systems. Less cleanup can save time and help operations resume more quickly after activation.

Best practices for the best protection

Onboard fire suppression systems are ideal for heavy mobile mining equipment because they provide continual, 24/7 protection as vehicles move across mining sites. By following these best practices, installers and users can select the most effective onboard fire suppression system for each fire risk. Correctly specified fire suppression solutions help prevent equipment damage, protect personnel and prioritise sustainability while keeping operations moving into a safe, profitable future.

*Kristin Ryczek is Global Vehicle Product Manager for Johnson Controls

Caterpillar Safety Services looks to build safety resiliency with newest updates

Mining events, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , ,

With safety no longer being a box-ticking exercise but a true measure of employee engagement, Caterpillar Safety Services says it helps build a strong culture where safety practices are embedded across an organisation. To aid this, the company has launched two updates to its programs contributing to resilient safety cultures.

The updated Safety Perception Survey and a program focused on human and organisational performance that have recently been announced leverage Caterpillar Safety Services’ 50 years of operation, along with the latest research and approaches to address safety excellence within organisations.

Today, Caterpillar Safety Services says it assists companies with improving the four components of a resilient safety culture, where safety is approached proactively, and all team members take ownership of safety. This expands to programs featuring equipment from all OEMs – not just Caterpillar. The components include:

  1. System – clearly defined safety expectations embedded in policies and procedures to identify and mitigate risk;
  2. Mindset – a shared mindset that safety is everyone’s responsibility, people make mistakes and an environment of openness that makes people feel safe to speak up;
  3. Leadership – specific, consistent leadership behaviours at all levels of the organisation that positively influence people toward safe work; and
  4. Ownership – occurs when all levels fully engage in the creation and continuous improvement of the safety system.

Trinnie Cortez, Industry Consultant, Caterpillar Safety Services, said the latest updates reflected ongoing trends in the industry that are relevant to safety people and operators on the front line in mining.

“We, at Caterpillar Safety Services, are close to our customers and, with these updates, are recognising not only feedback from the field but also from our technicians working with equipment on a daily basis,” he told IM on the sidelines of the SME MineXchange Conference and Expo, in Phoenix, Arizona. “The updated Safety Perception Survey, for instance, is a product of continuously communicating with safety steering teams and the facilitation of working groups. We continue to evolve our offering in line with what the market tells us.”

The Caterpillar Safety Services Safety Perception Survey analyses an organisation’s safety culture. Building on 35 years of research and study, the new survey updates language and modern concepts of safety culture excellence, adding questions related to psychological safety and human and organisational performance.

The new survey’s reports are streamlined with more modern visualisation of the data. They measure five safety activities – hazard identification, event learning, inspections, near miss and safety meetings – and address 11 cultural indicators, including caring climate, employee involvement, feedback, management credibility, training effectiveness and risk reduction. Importantly, they also show how safety is perceived differently among employees, supervisors and managers.

Human and organisational performance is a framework concept for talking about safety and creating a resilient safety culture, Caterpillar Safety Services explains. It is a mindset that allows organisations to build more error-tolerant systems by teaching leaders that expecting perfection from workers, processes, or procedures is not realistic.

Caterpillar Safety Services says traditional methods of managing safety systems centre around designing policies, standard work and processes assuming work happens in a straight line. Management sets the expectations, tells workers what to do and the workers do it the same way, every day.

“This method, however, does not account for organisational factors that can disrupt the system, such as employees not having the right tools for the job and adapting or making tradeoffs because they are still required to meet production targets,” it said. “Nor does it account for the individual factors that impact a worker’s awareness, or lapses in attention due to events in his or her personal life, such as a family emergency.”

When workers deviate from the safety plan or make mistakes under the traditional model, they may be scrutinised or punished to attempt to improve safety, but this can have the opposite effect and lead to a weaker safety culture.

Using human and organisational performance principles, Caterpillar Safety Services applies a new understanding of human behaviour to safety, it says. Leaders create an environment where employees feel empowered to speak up to share their ideas, struggles and mistakes. The organisation learns to improve its safety system continuously.

“With this framework concept, we are recognising what real leadership is within a safety context,” Cortez said. “Building and promoting such leadership is key to getting the whole workforce engaged with programs for continuous safety improvements.”

This results in a more engaged and proactive safety culture with improvements in morale, retention, efficiency and profitability, according to Caterpillar Safety Services.

Caterpillar Safety Services assists organisations with implementation of human and organisational performance principles through its Leadership Development and Coaching program.

“Tailored to the specific needs and objectives of the individual leaders, the program includes a mix of workshops, assessments and individual face-to-face sessions,” Caterpillar Safety Services said. “It helps each leader understand their strengths and areas for development in safety management, demonstrates how a leader impacts the safety culture, and creates personalised development plans for all leaders that align with organisational goals and processes.”

SafeGauge to continue ELW journey with launch of MultiTool Pro at IMARC

Mining events, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , , ,

SafeGauge, which has a goal to eliminate live work (ELW) in heavy industries, such as mining, defence, construction, agriculture and oil & gas through the use of wireless/Bluetooth testing solutions, is set to unveil a new product at next week’s IMARC event, in Sydney, Australia, that, it says, promises to elevate vehicle maintenance to unprecedented levels of efficiency and effectiveness.

The MultiTool Pro allows technicians to connect to 12 SafeTest gauges simultaneously, from up to 100 m away. SafeGauge has a range of SafeTest Pressure Transducers (PT Series), Dial Indicators (DI Series) and Tachometers (TM Series), which, it says, are the go-to solutions for heavy industry applications.

The intuitive ‘plug-and-play’ touchscreen on the MultiTool Pro interface comes packed with a host of new features, including data-logging and graphing, with the ability to generate comprehensive reports that can be exported and shared via in-built cloud connectivity, according to the company.

Fit for heavy-duty applications, it comes with a rugged IP68 designed casing, with attached stylus pen.

Luke Dawson, Managing Director at SafeGauge, said: “We are thrilled to be a part of IMARC 2023 and share our latest innovations with industry professionals. SafeGauge is dedicated to transforming the landscape of heavy vehicle maintenance, and our wireless testing solutions are a testament to our commitment to safety, efficiency and innovation.”

By eliminating the need for technicians to work in close proximity to operational heavy vehicles (inside the machine footprint) through the use of such tools, SafeGauge says it ensures both the safety of technicians and the efficiency of maintenance procedures.

Martin Engineering addresses conveyor safety misconceptions

Bulk handling, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, , , ,

Martin Engineering is disputing the idea that putting conveyor equipment out of reach or inconveniently placed away from workers – known as “guarding by location” – is a valid form of safety.

After decades of safe equipment design and comprehensive conveyor safety training in the bulk handling industry, Martin Engineering experts have witnessed where “guarding by location” has led to a lapse in workplace safety, resulting in injuries and – in some cases – fatalities, the company says.

Most people readily accept that conveyors and other machinery require safety guards when positioned near workers or walkways. Guarding by location is the assumption that when hazards, such as moving conveyor belts, are positioned beyond the normal reach of a worker they don’t require a guard. Yet they can still present a serious hazard.

Worker risks from guarding by location

Some regulations define a general safe height for components based on the average height of workers. This means taller employees (1.82 m in height or more) can easily suffer an injury reaching up into a moving component that is 2.13 m above the ground. Working above machinery that is considered guarded by location exposes workers to increased severity of injury if they slip or fall to a lower level.

Most regulations do not account for the potential buildup of spillage underneath the conveyor or in walkways, which can easily change the distance between the working surface and a hazard. It’s also fairly common practice to purposely collect a pile of material or fill a bin to gain access for service or inspection of an elevated component. Using tools and methods that extend a worker’s reach while the belt is running is a hazardous activity that can contribute to serious – and possibly fatal – accidents.

Height prevents a worker from reaching hazardous areas until the reality of bulk operations proves otherwise

Hazards from above

By not requiring a physical barrier, guarding by location creates what is considered by some to be an exception to the general requirements for the guarding of hazards in the workplace. Several hazardous locations are beyond the normal reach of staff when working or walking under or around elevated conveyors. These hazards are commonly found in or around nip points between the belt and return rollers or drive components such as pulley shafts, couplings, drive belts, gears and chains. Additional hazards from falling components may be inadvertently ignored if considered guarded by location.

Guarding best practices

The logical solution to guarding by location is to simply install guards and baskets to protect workers from lateral and overhead hazards, while still offering safe and easy access. For maximum risk reduction, all nip points, shear points and moving or rotating components should be guarded, regardless of location or access. However, there is also no global standard for guard mesh sizes and mounting distance from the hazard. Most standards use a gauge to measure the distance which varies by mesh size. When a bulk material handling guard is placed relatively close to a hazard it greatly reduces the ability to inspect components without removing the guard, thereby encouraging guard removal for routine inspections.

It would be far better (and safer) to standardise on a few mesh sizes and mounting distances allowing maintenance workers to build guards to a short list of materials, using standard mounting distances and eliminating the use of the gauges. Below is the recommendation included in Martin Engineering’s book ‘FOUNDATIONS for Conveyor Safety’.

Put an end to the myth

Despite its nearly global acceptance as a concept in industrial safety, the practice of guarding by location remains a particular problem for overhead conveyor applications. It’s time to accept that as far as conveyors are concerned, ‘guarding by location’ is a myth. As such, it’s a concept that should be abandoned in order to make conveyors – and those who work on and around the equipment – safer.