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Saxton said that the company understands the tough decisions mines need to make when examining the many varied choices for both communications and tracking. The top considerations for mines, he explained, should begin with the user-friendly and multifunctional elements. AMR's system, which is designed to be simple to learn and use, has an open proto- col that supports videos, FaceTime and even has the capabilities for virus protection. It is ideal for mines both large and small and with both low and high coal in mind. Service is also key, he pointed out. "We pride ourselves on that," Saxton said of AMR's presence across the country as well as its size- able distribution network in other countries. He also acknowledged the tough road still ahead for coal after the "downward spiral" of the market over the last several years. "Where the market has shrunk drastically," noting that the potential of M&A; activity and foreign involvement still to come could be a factor in coal's future. "While we all wait to see where those chips may fall," Saxton said, "AMR is continuing to listen carefully to operators to make its initial design, a simple system with capabilities for every mine, even better." Strata Pulls the Alarm Strata Worldwide recently unveiled the latest incarnation of its HazardAvert system, a new and simplified, alarm-only personnel safety detection system known as HazardAlarm. HazardAlarm, a single-generator system, creates a large electro- magnetic field around the machine, but will only alarm when there is a potential collision between a miner and the machine. When a miner is in the electrometric field of the machine, but there is no potential for a collision, the HazardAlarm system will not alarm. HazardAlarm utilizes the same miner-worn personal alarm device (PAD) as the HazardAvert system and will emit an audible and visu- al alarm when a miner is in a potential collision path with an oncoming piece of mobile machinery. If an alarm is triggered, both the miner in danger and the machine operator have the opportuni- ty to react. Additionally, the costs associated with installation as well as labor time are comparable to that of a camera system. Installations can be completed either on the surface or underground. "HazardAlarm is a perfectly tailored product to meet the West Virginia proximity rule," President and COO Mike Berube said. "Unlike cameras, HazardAlarm alerts both the operator and the miner in all situations, whether the miner is around a crosscut or behind a ventilation curtain." HazardAlarm alerts every individual involved and also works seamlessly with a continuous miner equipped with HazardAvert, he noted. The HazardAlarm announcement is one of several growth mile- stones Strata has met in the last several months; the group that began as a roof control expert has now grown into a world leader in mine safety and electronics, including work to now apply its sys- tems to more than just personnel communications and tracking but extend those capabilities to data retrieval on all operational assets and activities. For example, this year Strata added the retrieval of atmospheric data in partnership with U.K.-based Trolex Ltd. The new Sentro-1 wireless battery-powered intrinsically safe sensor can monitor a choice of CO, CH 4 , H 2 S, or other gases throughout the mine envi- ronment and send the data to the surface. The sensor also pro- vides two discrete inputs/outputs to monitor and control remote devices. Strata is now also working to combine the machine data collected through HazardAvert proximity detection system with tracking information in the Strata CommTrac system to provide the mine operators an unprecedented view of production and operational statistics. Equipment and personnel location as well as mine met- c o m m u n i c a t i o n s & t r a c k i n g c o n t i n u e d June 2014 www.coalage.com 35 Rajant, Becker Wholesale Ink Strategic Partnership Kinetic Mesh Networks producer Rajant Corp. and Pennsylvania-based supplier Becker Wholesale Mine Supply have announced a strategic partnership under which Becker WMS will offer Rajant's kinetic mesh technology for broadband communication network challenges in the U.S. and abroad. The pairing is already delivering results, as Rajant and Becker WMS were recently selected to deploy Rajant's network at North American Coal Corp.'s Sabine mine in Texas. The previous network installation needed to be replaced, and the team at Sabine was seeking a unified approach that provided a reli- able, scalable wireless network and a robust support team. The Sabine mine is spread out over a very large area with two active pits with four drag lines, and consists of multiple vehicles, equipment and person- nel dispersed over rugged terrain. As a result, the North American Coal opera- tion needed a highly flexible, self-configuring network that could establish and maintain a secure connection across multiple moving assets with no downtime. "The manufacturer and distributor reps were extremely helpful in the initial rollout of the Rajant equipment — they went above and beyond what I have ever seen," said Matt Hampton, electrical supervisor at the Sabine mine. "The Rajant gear and software is easy to learn and use." Jason Murray, manager of information technology at the operation, reported that the Rajant system took just a few days to roll out and worked immediately. "It has been working without issues since we installed it," he said. Since the original installation at Sabine mine, the company has continued to expand its Rajant network by adding 10 more nodes across the second pit. The StrataConnect system includes digital voice and wireless atmospheric monitoring. CA_pg34-40_V4_CA_pg46-47 6/17/14 3:01 PM Page 35