In the short period of two years, Ampcontrol has launched iMAC, VoiceCom, Lockout/Remote Isolation Stations, SLD / SRD relays and Pullkeys under the control and monitoring banner, and IS 2000 Telephone System, Intelligent field phone and Solar GSM/CDMA/Satellite remote area phone in its telephone range.
These products, as well as others available on the market from suppliers such as Austdac and Becker, have meant an increased level of competition never seen before in Australia’s longwall industry.
“Until recently, mines have been using the same communications equipment for a number of years. However, these days there are more alternatives with a plethora of additional features in the market place,” said Ampcontrol Monitoring and Control Electronics Product Manager Tony Pinchen.
“Now a race between the companies has developed to get the new technology into the market place and take that technology to the next level,” added Ampcontrol Electronics operations manager Rod Henderson.
One level of communications technology that had experienced major advancements has been predictive diagnostics, which has the ability to save in downtime and maintenance costs. Whilst some mines are coming to terms with maximising the features of this technology, others have taken to it like a duck to water.
“The use of predictive diagnostics is based on a mine by mine case and how much production allows them to do routine maintenance. I think mines will start to use more and more diagnostic tools as production times become more critical and the industry becomes tighter in that area,” said Henderson.
Better communications including improvements in voice annunciation systems with preventative maintenance and easier fault finding features, has improved equipment monitoring and has seen a better application of maintenance money, Ampcontrol Mining Systems engineer David Lester said.
Through the use of Ampcontrol’s VoiceCom and iMAC monitoring systems, operators are now able to stand at a consol or PC and diagnose the system from the computer screen, without having to walk along the belt or longwall.
Advancements have also allowed operators to monitor cable integrity and make changes during routine maintenance, instead of having to wait for something to break down and then go and look for the fault.
For example, Centennial’s Angus Place has used the iMAC signal line systems, where data is gathered from the conveyors. This data acquisition has been used for diagnostics. A fault that would usually take up to four to five hours to find is now taking as little as 25 minutes, reducing conveyor downtime.
The remote data gathering advancements of VoiceCom and iMAC have developed in line with mine staff reductions. The more information miners are able to obtain from their longwall systems through finding and preventing faults, means less downtime.
Improvements in diagnostics and data gathering have gone hand in hand with enhancements in ethernet connections to the surface, allowing for increased extraction of data and better monitoring. For example, through an intrinsically safe line, workers can conduct gas monitoring of the underground atmosphere in real time. Previously, with the loss of ventilation, power was cut. Now some mines in Queensland have the ability, when the ventilation is disrupted, to continue the supply of electricity, providing the environment is monitored.
“The traditional way was to pump the air out of the pit and analyse samples on the surface – this can have a delay of 20 minutes. Now using electron gas sensors and our iMAC system as a backbone, we can monitor points underground and have it available in real time on the surface,” said Lester.
Whilst mines have been eager to adopt real time monitoring, some communications technology has not been so readily accepted. Last year Ampcontrol conducted a trial at a Hunter Valley mine where IS UHF radios were given to the miners on the longwall face. The radios work through the helmet and a cranial microphone sitting on the spinal cord to pick up voice vibrations. The technology meant anyone could communicate with the operator through the telephone system.
Whilst this technology was readily accepted by mine management and engineers, operators were reluctant to use it, primarily because it meant carrying extra bulky gear around. Henderson said, whilst the IS UHF radio was not ready to be embraced at that point in time, as technology became smaller and lighter Ampcontrol was keen to re-explore that avenue.
Looking to the future, Lester said there would be more use of radio communications when they were adapted to intrinsically safe applications for personal communications and electronic controllers.
Whilst these communication technologies are not too far away, Ampcontrol and its competitors must first overcome problems associated with distance, intrinsically safe limitations and battery life and the penetration of radio waves through coal.
