Coal Age

JAN 2013

Coal Age Magazine - For nearly 100 years, Coal Age has been the magazine that readers can trust for guidance and insight on this important industry.

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m i n e c o m m u n i c at i o n s Advances in Real Time Data More underground mines rely on Wi-Fi to keep production personnel informed BY HEIDI LEVITT More mines are moving toward Wi-Fi networks that have a combination of fiber and wireless networks. The resource industry is very competitive. To run a business at peak efficiency in a highly competitive environment, managers and operators need timely and accurate data. Waiting for month-end or quarterly reports, and the subsequent interpretation and reaction time, simply is not acceptable as it potentially places companies at a serious competitive disadvantage. Real time data has become a standard in the industry. And it drives directly to the bottom line. Mining is in the midst of a major change where technology can inform shift supervisors, maintenance foremen and mine managers of key statistics on staff and equipment allowing immediate adjustments for efficiency and safety. For example, if a 360-ton haul truck is only carrying 350 tons (short by 2.7%), team leaders have the ability to quickly find out why and make changes so subsequent loads are full. It's virtually instantaneous and allows problems to be fixed before they show up in the financial statement. Make no mistake; a 2.7% reduction in load capacity on a 42 www.coalage.com regular basis will have a direct impact on the bottom line. The haul truck example simply demonstrates the type of equipment that can be monitored effectively and where adjustments can quickly lead to improved results. However, any piece of equipment underground or on the surface can provide important data. All primary equipment manufacturers capture some sort of data. It could be engine statistics, tire pressure, load cells, etc. These are all valuable. The challenge is to provide the most pertinent information to a shift supervisor, maintenance foreman or mine manager so that quick action can be taken. Network Requirements Many mines currently have some sort of data network available. To have real impact, that network needs to be highly available, scalable and have the capacity to easily carry the data load. More and more, mines are moving toward Wi-Fi networks that have a combination of fiber and wireless networks. The fiber network provides the "big pipe" for data. The wireless network allows data to be collected quickly and anywhere that work is being performed. The advantage of a Wi-Fi network is that it operates on an 802.11 open standard that provides the flexibility for companies to choose solutions from various manufacturers. Voice and text communications, tracking solutions for employees and assets, access control, and wireless video conferencing are some of the options that can be used on a Wi-Fi network. One manufacturer has designed equipment specifically for targeted applications. In coal, longwall shearers have had a Wi-Fi node added to the shearer itself. This node has the ability to send information to small nodes on the pan line or under the shields. They send it out to the surface through wireless and fiber based nodes. The manufacturer has worked very closely with the shearer and shield vendors to verify data integrity under all conditions. Another manufacturer has a mesh product that uses software to send data in more than one frequency simultaneously. At the same time the data can take multiple simultaneous paths through the mesh network to get where it's going. Data Sources Virtually every piece of equipment and every employee on a job site can be a source of data. In the case of equipment, whether it is mobile or stationary, real time data can be broadcast and received by making the equipment a "client" on a Wi-Fi network. This is very similar to a computer being a client on a network in an office. A Wi-Fi device is installed on the equipment that captures data in the format native to the machine and then translates it so that it can be sent over the Wi-Fi network. At the other end, the data is displayed through existing software provided by the manufacturer or a user interface (UI) developed to pull disparate information from various manu- January 2013

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