THE CHALLENGEThe Most Dangerous Gap Is Between People and Machines
The highest-consequence incidents in mining come from the interaction between a worker on foot and a moving haul truck, loader, or continuous miner. The operator cannot see into the blind zone behind a 200 tonne truck, and underground there is no GPS to tell anyone where a crew actually is. Surface fleet tracking does not solve this, because the problem is proximity measured in metres, not position measured in a portal. The system closes that gap: tags that detect when a person and a machine are too close, in-cab warnings that give the operator time to stop, and an underground positioning and muster system that knows who is below ground and where, in real time.
Sits inside the Telematics and GPS Tracking stack and shares hardware and platform building blocks with Mining Fleet Telematics.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Proximity, Positioning, and Muster, Built Together
Personnel and Machine Tags
Rugged wearable tags are built on a low-power MCU with a UWB radio for centimetre-class ranging and a BLE beacon for zone presence. Tags are sealed to IP68, ride on a hard hat or lamp, and run for a full shift on a single charge. Matching tags sit on every machine.
Collision Avoidance
The distance between a person tag and a machine tag is computed using UWB time-of-flight, not RSSI guesswork. When a worker enters the warning zone the operator gets an in-cab visual and audible alert, and at the danger zone a relay can be driven to slow or stop the machine where the OEM interface allows.
Underground Positioning
GPS does not work underground, so people are positioned against a network of UWB and BLE anchors placed along drives and at intersections. The system reports which heading a crew is in and tracks movement between zones, all over a leaky feeder or LTE underground backbone.
Evacuation and Muster
When an evacuation is called, the muster board shows in real time who is still underground, who has reached a refuge chamber, and who has cleared the portal. No paper tag boards, no head count at the gate. Control sees the live count.
Tag-In and Tag-Out Access
RFID and the same tags control and log access to declines, refuge chambers, and restricted faces. The system enforces who is permitted in a zone and records every entry and exit for the statutory record.
Control Room and Alerts
The control room view maps every person and machine, raises proximity events and zone breaches, and pushes alerts to supervisors. Events are logged for incident investigation and safety reporting.
THE TECHNOLOGY
Why UWB and RFID, Not GPS
Proximity safety needs a distance you can trust to within a metre or two, and underground there is no satellite signal at all. The radio is matched to the job: UWB for ranging, BLE and RFID for presence and access, and a cellular or leaky-feeder backbone to carry the data out.
UWB Ranging
Ultra-wideband time-of-flight gives a real distance between two tags, accurate to tens of centimetres, and it cuts through dust and the multipath of a confined heading far better than signal-strength methods. This is what makes a danger-zone stop trustworthy.
RFID and BLE Zones
For access control, muster points, and coarse zone presence, RFID portals and BLE anchors do the job. They are cheap to deploy at every intersection and refuge, and they give the muster board the head count it needs.
Rugged, Sealed Hardware
Tags and anchors are built for the environment: IP68 sealing, vibration tolerant, and rated for the dust, water, and impact of a working mine. Battery life covers a full shift with margin and the control room sees low-battery status before a tag goes dark.
SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE
Built for the Statutory Record
Proximity Detection Levels
The warning and stopping zones that proximity detection mandates expect are implemented, with operator alerts at the outer ring and machine intervention at the inner ring where the OEM control interface supports it.
Auditable Muster Records
Every tag-in, tag-out, zone change, and evacuation muster is logged with a timestamp. When an inspector or an investigation asks who was underground and where, the record is there, not reconstructed from memory.
Lone Worker and SOS
Tags carry an SOS button, and a worker who stops moving or misses a check-in in a remote heading is flagged, so a person working alone is never invisible to the control room.
FAQ
Common Questions
Why not use GPS to track people underground?
GPS needs a clear sky view and does not penetrate rock, so it is useless below ground. People are positioned against a network of UWB and BLE anchors placed along the drives, which gives reliable zone-level location and, with enough anchors, metre-class position without any satellite signal.
How does the collision avoidance decide when to warn?
The actual distance between a person tag and a machine tag is measured using UWB time-of-flight rather than signal strength. When that distance crosses the warning radius the operator gets an in-cab alert, and at the danger radius a relay can be driven to slow or stop the machine where the OEM interface allows it.
Can the system actually stop a haul truck?
It can trigger an intervention where the machine exposes a control interface for it. Many modern haul trucks and loaders provide a slow or stop input for proximity systems. Where that is not available the operator warning still fires, which is the core of every proximity mandate.
How long do the tags run on a charge?
The wearable tags are designed to cover a full shift with margin on a single charge, using a low-power MCU and duty-cycled UWB and BLE radios. The control room sees a low-battery indication before a tag goes dark, so no one walks into the mine with a dead tag.
Does it work on the surface as well as underground?
Yes. The same tags handle surface collision avoidance around haul roads, dumps, and workshops using UWB ranging, and switch to anchor-based positioning underground. Surface machines can also carry GNSS for absolute position where it is available.
How does evacuation muster work in practice?
When an evacuation is declared, the muster board reads live tag data and shows who is still underground, who has reached a refuge chamber, and who has cleared the portal. Supervisors get a real-time count instead of a paper tag board, which is faster and auditable.
Ready to Close the Person-Machine Gap?
Share your operation, surface or underground, and the machines and crews you need to protect to get a proximity and muster system shaped for your site.
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