By
GroundProbe
CMD Product Design and Innovation
Designed in
Australia
Description
Mine walls can suddenly shift without warning - bringing down tonnes of rock and dirt. The Work Area Monitor (WAM) solves this problem.
WAM alerts the work crew when wall movement is detected above the work areas in an open cut mine, to keep mining crews and equipment safe.
Following a collapse mines often close for 24 hours, longer if there is an injury or fatality. Apart from the human cost, downtime can cost millions of dollars. 
WAM also increases productivity, allowing mining in otherwise unsafe areas. WAM provides excellent ROI and safety benefits. It is unique and without competition.
Key Features
and/or Benefits
The WAM uses radar technology to detect rock movement on a surface or mine wall. Setting it up is a simple. Drive up to the site, deploy the automatic stabilizer legs by remote control and start the computer. The WAM will show a photo of your work area on the touch screen. Simply draw a shape around the area you wish to monitor and it will start looking for any movement. So long as the green lights are flashing, you have peace of mind that it has not detected rock movement.
					Every team member and vehicle is given a Personal Alert Device (PAL). If an alert is given, the device will vibrate, beep, flash and display an SMS text message giving work crews the information they need. The PAL can be mounted on a windscreen, or worn on a hardhat, a belt or a sleeve. The WAM is your spotter that never blinks, sees in the dark and keeps an eye out for your team. The WAM gives you peace of mind. Working under sheer rock faces need not be dangerous or intimidating.
					Rock faces do not fail spontaneously. Carful observation has determined that slope failures begin with micro movements over a period days before collapsing catastrophically. The strata failure process is logarithmic. The WAM can measure movements of down to 100th of a millimetre form a hundred meters away. Onboard software analyses the detected movements and can determine the predicted point of collapse. The software can also detect and cancel out normal vehicle traffic. The scanning range its 270 degrees out to 200 meters. 
The WAM can run off on board batteries or be powered by the transportation vehicle.
					The WAM can run off on board batteries or be powered by the transportation vehicle.
Stability: the radar system is very sensitive to vibration and movement. The WAM uses deployable legs to isolate the WAM from the transportation vehicle at the monitoring site. The legs fold away during transportation.
Weight: the maximum load for a standard mine vehicle is 800kg. A fully populated WAM (including batteries) is 550kg.
Cost: the WAM is a low volume product. Through effective mechanical design on part optimisation the WAM has been designed using zero tooling processes.
					Weight: the maximum load for a standard mine vehicle is 800kg. A fully populated WAM (including batteries) is 550kg.
Cost: the WAM is a low volume product. Through effective mechanical design on part optimisation the WAM has been designed using zero tooling processes.
The WAM is built tough. It can handle the roughest terrains and the most extreme environments on the planet. It comes integrated in a mine ready 4WD that you can drive on any work area. The system is rated from -25°C to +75°C and from below sea level to 4000m. It is resistant to dusty and corrosive mine environments and will keep working day and night in wind, rain, snow, ice or scorching heat.
					