Active versus Passive Safety Systems for Heavy Equipment
Written by Karly Winfield, Technical sales consultant at Provix Inc.
The Situation
The ISO 5006 standard for earthmoving equipment addresses the problem of blind spots around a vehicle and states that the operator must be able to “see around the machine to enable proper, effective and safe operation.” Camera systems provide this to some extent, but in difficult environmental conditions a combined active and passive warning system is vital to provide both visual and audible warning to the operator.
These blind spots can include not only the rear and nearside, but also the front, especially with elevated driver positions, whilst harsh terrain, dust, smoke, fog and other weather conditions can decrease visibility even further.
Objectives
- Reduce or eliminate risks associated with heavy equipment operating in areas where pedestrians and other vehicles may be present.
- Reduce or eliminate risk associated with heavy equipment collisions with mobile or stationary objects.
- Provide enhanced sight lines to heavy equipment operators.
- Increase Operators visibility through enhanced lighting, cameras and situational awareness.
- Implement integrated safety systems to aid in collision avoidance.
- Provide Audible {Active} alerts to warn operators to check monitors [passive] when anything is detected
The Solution: Enhanced Vision
Provix has introduced a combined radar and camera system that offers both active and passive features. While cameras have become a mainstay in both vehicles and equipment, the Provix system provides an additional safety measure by adding radar to detect any object in the radar field of view. An audible warning will sound to alert the operator that something has been detected by the onboard radar. This is referred to as an active safety system, because without any operator intervention or action, the radar provides a warning when anything is detected.
The operator then views the connected camera monitor display to validate and verify what the radar has detected. The camera system is a passive safety system, in that it will only serve as an early warning system, if the operator looks at the screen. With the Provix camera and radar system, the monitor will also change border colors from yellow to red as the equipment gets closer to the detected object, person or vehicle. When combined with the onboard radar, the camera system becomes a fully functional active safety system including audible alarm, visual confirmation, and monitor color change to immediately alert the operator of the dangerous situation.
Provix cameras that are combined with the Radar systems offer Full HD quality video (1080P), eliminating any concern about washed out images or poor illumination. Monitor displays are available with split screen, tri-view, or quad display to offer comprehensive viewing of multiple cameras. Triggers are available to activate cameras automatically based on machine direction or action. Radar systems are available with a variety of detection area sizing, which is normally dependent on the size of the equipment, the operational environment and/or the operating speed of the vehicle or equipment. The Field of View of the radar unit is Top 70° / Bottom 75° / Left 75° / Right 75°Radar systems use directional sensing to minimize false alarms and the depth and width can range from two to six metres.
The Provix Camera Radar combination offers IP69 water and dust protection, is rated for installation on equipment operating from 12-60V and includes built-in circuit chipset protection. Monitors offer auto brightness control By CDS sensor, which is very important for underground operations where monitors that are too bright can affect night vision. No operator intervention is required, other than to look at the monitor when the audible alert sounds a warning. The combined camera and radar system works automatically when the vehicle or equipment goes into reverse gear, while other forward and blind spot cameras will be viewed when not in reverse.
An active and passive safety system is simply more effective than selecting either of these types of technology. Combining camera and radar is an upgrade to a standalone camera system that will inevitably reduce reversing accidents and offer enhanced safety to your personnel whether your operations are surface based or underground.
Contact Provix to find out more about this innovative safety system.