Collision avoidance and operator guidance - Innovating mine vehicle safety

There is no doubt that vehicle operators of heavy equipment have to accomplish difficult tasks. The increase in mine productivity has led to a proportional increase in equipment size. Most vehicles have considerable blind spots, due to scale alone. Combine normal variations in environmental conditions, in-vehicle management systems, navigation systems and radio communications; the most experienced operator can be challenged by multiple distractions. Despite the best efforts of operators, accidents on mine sites remain an industry wide problem. The reasons for accidents are diverse, so too are the collision scenarios.