The LVA product is a software program for real-time monitoring and analysis of longwall chock pressures. Live and historical data can be displayed, reviewed, analysed and reported on using a range of features that come with the program.
LVA co-owner Alister Waller said the company had been working hard to include an increased amount of alerting and improved functionality into its newest version.
The software program can be configured to trigger alerts, and optionally email them with picture attachments.
Some alerts that can be user-configured include high or low pressures on individual legs, or on regions across groups of shields; shields where set pressures are too high or too low; legs that are yielding or leaking, or not yielding when they should be; and legs that may have pressure transducer calibration errors.
Alerts can be emailed to a list of recipients, with optional attachment of 2D and 3D images.
A panel report providing a user configurable summary of data readings, averages and percentages for any panel and date range is also available.
The newest version comes after three years of development with LVA software already running in five Australian longwall mines with two additional installs in early November.
The country’s mines are becoming increasingly aware of the potentially massive cost savings and safety benefits that can be achieved through monitoring longwall pressures.
“As the market tightens it will be very important for mines to monitor their longwall a lot closer so they can make the most out of their production,” Waller said.
“For very little cost LVA can assist the mine to get to know their longwall so they can better understand how it interacts with the strata.”
Waller said his team was always on the lookout for feedback from customers to incorporate into the software so not to stagnate and continue to meet the needs of longwall operators and geotechnical engineers.
Waller said his team was always on the lookout for feedback from customers to incorporate into the software to improve the software's features and give customers ownership of the product.
LVA is now also taking its software international, appointing a representative in China and garnering interest from US mines.
