Provix Thermal Imaging For Vision Enhancement on Mine Rescue Vehicles and Heavy Equipment – A Case Study
Written by Karly Winfield, Technical sales consultant at Provix Inc.
The Challenge
Navigating heavy equipment in darkness, dust, fog, and steam is a challenging task. Equipment lights can be distorted causing additional visual distraction. Thermal Cameras allow operators to see personnel and hazards, as well as other vehicles and equipment, reducing the likelihood of collision and increasing safety and productivity for everyone.
The Environment
Visibility is limited during underground operations and, therefore, it is difficult for underground mine rescue vehicles and emergency services to respond quickly.
Bitumen laden oil sands are recovered using heavy equipment during surface mining operations. During extraction and reclamation, hot water is used to separate the bitumen from the mined material. After the bitumen has been removed, the spent sand is distributed in an environmentally sensitive manner. During the spreading of the spent sand there is a significant amount of steam rising from the piles of reclaimed material. Fog and other environmental conditions compound this problem.
Thermal Cameras for Visibility
Deployment of thermal imaging cameras has increased forward and rearward visibility for the machine operators due to the ability of the thermal camera system to see in the darkness and through the steam. Thermal Imaging cameras provide for enhanced vision in steam, fog, smoke and dark operating conditions.
Providing the operators with visual acuity in darkness or dense steam allows them to confidently move their equipment, knowing that anything with a heat signature will be clearly shown on the monitor. Both personnel and other operating equipment are clearly detected and operators are able to maintain an effective pace.
What will I see?
In certain environmental conditions, the darkness or steam reduces visibility for the underground mine rescue vehicle or dozer operators similar to a fog bank or a white-out in a snow storm.
The deployment of thermal imaging cameras means the mine rescue vehicle/underground ambulance operators are able to respond to an emergency situation much quicker than navigating blind.
Dozer operators are in danger due to deep water forming from ponding coming out of the discharge pipes. Being unable to line up the dozer blade with the spent sand pile can lead to significant impacts on productivity because of reduced operational speeds, as well as cause unsafe operating conditions due to reduced visibility. Tailings pipes, when in use, are warmer than the surrounding terrain and will be clearly identifiable on the LCD monitor or screen in your cab. Other operating heavy equipment and vehicles will be identifiable on screen because of the heat arising from the engine and exhaust. If a vehicle is not operating and has cooled to ambient temperature, it will not be as easily identified.
One of the main hazards in the tailings cells is the presence of holes or ponds caused by the discharge of the tailings materials. Depending on the ambient temperature, the liquid will be easy to differentiate from the surrounding terrain. This is particularly valuable in the dark, when it is often not possible to differentiate between the terrain and the ponds
The Solution
Provix supplies a system for mine rescue vehicles that includes two thermal cameras, a gas detection system, emergency lights, and a regular backup camera for emergency vehicles. These have been supplied on Miller Technology Mine rescue vehicles/ underground ambulances that are in use at Agnico Eagle and Vale.
Provix supplies two FLIR thermal cameras for dozers that are automatically activated based on the direction of travel and requiring no operator input to display an enhanced image of what is in front or behind the equipment. The camera operates with a relatively narrow field of view, so as to magnify any object detected.
The cameras are connected to a rugged control panel that is directly connected to the vehicle’s power system. The single magnified image from either camera is displayed on a seven-inch waterproof, dustproof monitor that is ergonomically positioned for ease of reference and can be adjusted to suit individual operators sightlines.
At certain oil sands operations the Provix solution has become an standard operating procedure, and tailings equipment do not run without the thermal camera system. The Provix solution has been implemented by all surface oil sands operations in the Fort McMurray area.
Contact Provix for your safety and productivity vision enhancement solutions.
Provix will be exhibiting at MINExpo 2021!
Come check out our booth and learn about Canada’s leading supplier of industrial video in the mining industry. Enhanced safety and productivity with advanced collision avoidance systems, proximity detection, equipment cameras, lighting, cap lamps and PPEs.
Booth #1665 – North Hall
About the Author
Karly Winfield is a Technical sales consultant at Provix Inc. She has worked in the mining industry for the last twelve years and been underground at more than 50 mines. Karly is an honours graduate of the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Management Economics and Finance. She also holds a Level l Infrared Thermography Certification.
Karly was named ‘Top 10 under 40’ by Rock to Road magazine in 2015 for leading the next generation of safety in mining and aggregates. She is recognized by the Ministry of Labour in Ontario as a go-to resource on the subject of vision enhancement and reducing interactions between equipment and personnel; Karly has presented information seminars to industry participants from coast to coast to coast. She also sits on the board of directors of MSTA Canada.
At Provix, Karly works full time on supplying and providing technical advice on the service/support of mobile safety systems such as cameras, lighting, proximity detection, and remote video systems to increase safety and production efficiency.
She also works with mining engineers to analyze operations for the purpose of determining specific requiremets for designing and deploying custom video systems throughout North America. In addition, she has worked with mobile equipment departments at both surface and underground mining operations to enhance safety and productivity on heavy equipment.
Karly has participated in studies with Laurentian University covering a variety of types of heavy equipment for the purpose of identifying blind spots, no go zones, and enhancing operator sight lines for safer operations and greater productivity.
About Provix
Provix Inc. is a progressive and forward-thinking organization that specializes in finding and providing logical solutions to many types of problems and issues.
Provix specializes in vision enhancement and video camera systems with rugged capabilities that provide the functionality required for the task at hand. From thermal imaging in the oil sands, to FireWatch cameras for heat detection, to police and fire service use, to temperature sensing for industrial and health care applications, the company develops cost-effective solutions to meet the challenges of modern day life. Provix solutions increase productivity, make workplaces safer and provide peace of mind to workers and management around the globe.
Contact Karly Winfield at +1 (519) 803 5805 / karly@provix.net. We look forward to assisting you!
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