Bell is very supportive of the progress in this safety field and told ILN last year that a couple of different systems for proximity detection and collision avoidance were likely to get intrinsic safety approvals in the first or second quarter of the 2011 calendar year.
One of his concerns was that people were still moving into no-go zones behind heavy machinery underground.
Organised by Informa, industry presentations at the conference will be made from Rio Tinto, Xstrata Chrome and Newmont personnel.
Hail Creek graduate electrical engineer Kim Scott will discuss the collision avoidance technology used at the Rio coal mine and the improvements notched up in safety and productivity.
Rio Iron Ore division fleet projects asset management superintendent Matthew Watson will detail the processes used to choose its pilot collision avoidance system.
Newmont operations solutions global director Dave Goddard will outline the major gold miner’s approaches to collision avoidance.
Xstrata Chrome and Mototolo platinum mine engineering manager Roy Murley is making the journey from South Africa to cover the use of the radio frequency identification-based technology for collision avoidance and personal detection systems in underground mining.
University of Queensland automation engineer John Dudley will delve into the challenges of applying the technology underground, address underlying causes of collisions and comment on moving from proximity detection to a model of “situational awareness”
University of Sydney Professor Eduardo Nebot from the Australian Centre of Automation and Field Robotics will present on commissioning and installing collision avoidance technologies.
CSIRO research engineer Patrick Glynn will explore the gambit of different technologies available while CSIRO principal research scientist Dr Mark Hedley will present on the organisation’s Wireless Ad hoc System for Positioning.
Queensland senior inspector of mines Tilman Rasche will shed light on the COLLISIONgate project with University of Queensland Minerals Industry Safety and Health researcher Gul Kizil.
The Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table will discuss the adoption of leading practice designs through its consultation with original equipment manufacturers, contractors and minesite personnel.
Acclaimed ergonomist Robin Burgess-Limerick will present on the human factors behind minesite collision incidents.
Suppliers LSM Technologies and Industrea will also make presentations.
The conference runs from March 8 to 9 at Hotel Novotel Brisbane.
