South African company ensures Polish mine safety

August 2002 News

Pretoria-based company, Q-Kon, has engineered and exported a production monitoring system for use in safety control at a Polish coalmine. The mobile sensor technology means that realtime data on time, location and status can be used for the effective control required to optimise production on the mine.

Monitoring for the miners works via a radio tag, installed into every miner's battery pack. The tag, or transponder, is activated as soon as a miner picks up his battery pack and moves from the room where all packs are stored. No miner is allowed underground without his battery pack.

There are fixed signal points at strategic places around the mine and underground, which activate the tagged battery pack each time the miner passes one. A signal from the miner's pack is sent to the central data control room showing precisely which point the miner has just passed. Each miner's movements can therefore be monitored and his position ascertained in the event of a rock fall or blasting procedures.

"We had to take account, when engineering the system," said Riaan van den Berg, systems engineer at Q-Kon, "of the fact that wearers could be moving very fast past a control point, or could be bunched together at debussing points such as the cages travelling underground."

Tracking of the vehicles is done via the MineTrak monitoring system, installed in each cab. As the vehicle passes a weigh station, a signal from the MineTrak activates the data transmission, sending the position and the usage of the vehicles to a central control point.

The mechanics of these monitors and tags had to be robust in order to withstand the tough mining conditions in which they are being used. The advanced data transmission capabilities of the Q-Kon data radio enables direct integration of the radio with the central monitoring equipment. This method of safety control has already been successfully implemented by Q-Kon in several South African mines. The picture shows a MineTrak monitoring point at a Polish coalmine.

For more information: Dirk Staal, Q-Kon, 012 665 0052, [email protected]

Further reading:

Reinstatement opportunity for ECSA registration
News
In 2023 the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) announced a special opportunity for engineers in South Africa to reinstate their registration status if it had been cancelled. This exclusive offer is available until the end of August 2024.

Read more...

---

Hytec opens fifteenth Mandela Day library
Bosch Rexroth Africa News
Over 200 learners at Monene Primary School in rural Limpopo have received their own containerised library. This is the fifteenth library since 2011, provided by Hytec South Africa and the Nelson Mandela School Library Project to schools across the country.

Read more...

---

CSIR survey on the state of cybersecurity in South Africa
News
The CSIR Information and Cybersecurity Centre has released four comprehensive national cybersecurity surveys. These delve into critical areas such as cybersecurity preparedness and resilience in the public sector, cybersecurity skills gaps, cybersecurity incidents, and the digital identity landscape in South Africa.

Read more...

---

Referro Systems partners with Festo in Northern Cape
News
Referro Systems has been recognised as an Authorised Official Partner Candidate for Festo in the Northern Cape, marking a significant milestone in its commitment to delivering best-in-class automation solutions to customers.

Read more...

---

Heavy-duty tablet achieves global certification
Vepac Electronics News
In a significant advancement for the company’s rugged tablets, the Teguar TRT-5380-10 heavy-duty tablet from Vepac has successfully acquired 11 international certifications, setting a new standard in quality, safety, and security across global markets.

Read more...

---

Bühler Johannesburg transforms Little Star Daycare Centre
News
Little Star Daycare in Vanderbijlpark has undergone a remarkable transformation, thanks to the generous support of Bühler Johannesburg.

Read more...

---

Schneider Electric and Harmony accelerate skills development
Schneider Electric South Africa News
Schneider Electric has formed a strategic partnership with Harmony Gold Mining to upgrade the instrumentation workshop into a state-of-the-art facility.

Read more...

---

RS South Africa showcases mining products and solutions
RS South Africa News
RS South Africa recently exhibited at MTE Steelport in Limpopo, and MTE Sibanye-Stillwater in Gauteng.

Read more...

---

RS PRO expands automation range
RS South Africa News
As automation continues to revolutionise production facilities, RS PRO, the trusted own brand of RS, is expanding its product range to meet the growing demand for smarter, more efficient processes.

Read more...

---

From the editor's desk: Killer science
Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control) News
I couldn’t resist watching The World Industrial Reporter’s video on Ten Scientists Killed By Their Own Experiments. Some of them would have deserved the Darwin Award for taking themselves out of the ...

Read more...

---