Wireless signaling a change in remote asset monitoring Tabateq

The significant growth and impact of wireless in every aspect of our lives is clear. Many mines have started using wireless technology to mitigate problems experienced where traditional cabling is expensive, impractical or simply impossible. The benefits of using wireless are well known and the mining industry embraces innovative technology that increases productivity, minimizes downtime and improves safety.
Jason Witkowsky

It’s Everywhere

The mining industry is continuously faced with the challenge to lower operational costs and improve productivity. Every piece of technology to support these goals helps. Wireless technology (also referred to as radio telemetry) is an example of one of them. It can be applied to operations both below and above ground. The application areas are continuously growing and include:

Water management (e.g. boreholes, reservoir levels)
Remote process and utility monitoring (e.g. energy automation)
Mobile machinery diagnostics (e.g. overhead cranes, stacker reclaimers)
Wireless Video Surveillance
Machine and people tracking
WLAN extensions

Planning for Wireless

It is a well-known fact that the mining industry and general conditions under which equipment must operate is unforgiving. A premium investment for a proven product is not uncommon since unwanted penalties associated with equipment failure is not tolerable in the industry.

It is important to understand that wireless should not be applied in a “one-size-fits” all approach. Each application’s requirements are different and the same solution cannot necessarily be used for all applications. Some thoughts are listed below and should be considered before implementing your wireless system:

Specification	Comment
Frequency	Generally split into license-free and licensed systems. Trade-offs must be understood as there are strengths and weaknesses for different frequencies. Important to know which frequencies can be legally used and what regulatory approvals may be required.
RF Power	Normally specified by local regulating authority. License-free systems generally have a similar power limit but this must be confirmed. The higher the RF power the further the effective transmission range.
Receiver Sensitivity	Indicates how well a radio can “listen” Generally the more sensitive the radio receiver the further the transmission range.
Configuration & Diagnostics	How are the radios configured and maintained? Software that’s user-friendly is essential for being able to locally manage the wireless setup. Diagnostic tools to monitor the ongoing radio performance and aid fault-finding should be available as standard.
Security	Any proven wireless system should have the ability to setup some form of data encryption at a minimum. Depending on the equipment used, further security features can be enabled. This helps to avoid any eavesdropping and potential hacking.
Expansion	Systems can vary from simple dedicated point-to-point links to more expansive multi-point setups If there is foreseeable growth in your network, ensure the system used can support it without having to re-invest in a completely new system.
Backup	It should be possible and advisable to keep critical spares in stores Replacements should be user-friendly and achievable with the technical staffing resources on the mine itself. Regular technical training on equipment self-use is important.

The items in the above table will help towards making a more informed choice on a wireless system. The number of wireless offerings and vendors in the market is growing. In a rush to get a foot in the door, low cost systems are offered in applications that are not well suited. Be aware of the limitations of wireless and ensure that you partner with an experienced company that can guide you on all aspects. The application of comprehensive engineering principles and deployment experience in the mining industry should not be overlooked when considering going wireless.

Conveyor monitoring Tabateq Solution

Application Example: Utility monitoring

The rising cost of electricity has forced mines to reevaluate energy usage. In order to reduce utilities expenditure (which accounts for a relatively large part of mines’ operating expenses) it is essential to accurately monitor ongoing usage. Information pertaining to water, electricity and compressed air consumption can be accessed at various locations owing to the ease of wireless deployment and setup. Utility data can be made readily available at a control room for trending and reporting via the existing SCADA system. Management plans implemented to improve utility usage can be quantified with measured data. Subsequent revenue savings can be accurately accounted for.

A classic example is the water balancing application. Due to the remote spread of water infrastructure, recording metered data manually is a challenge. It is also prone to human error. A correctly setup network, underpinned by wireless infrastructure, to automate the readings saves time and improves accuracy.

New Developments

Ethernet has gained significant growth and the automation industry has followed suit. It’s not uncommon to find Ethernet-enabled equipment for instrumentation connectivity. Mature fieldbus protocols (e.g. Profibus, Modbus etc) have an Ethernet variant. Industrial-grade wireless Ethernet has grown to offer network connectivity between Ethernet-enabled devices and will continue to grow. Another very interesting growth area is on wireless mesh networks. This gives radio devices the ability to automatically route data in a network. More networks points mean improved redundancy and reliability. It’s still a growing area with various standards fighting for supremacy.

As more and more wireless systems start to replace traditional cabled ones and prove themselves to be reliable, remote asset monitoring using wireless technology will become commonplace. Are you ready to invest in large-scale wireless on your mine?

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