Guardvant, Inc., a provider of innovative mining technology has been selected by Cloud Peak Energy, a leading coal company with three operations in the Powder River Basin, to supply the OpGuard, Operator Fatigue and Alertness Monitoring System.
Cloud Peak Energy has been an industry leader in addressing the issues of operator fatigue and distraction to increase safety and reduce costs from fatigue related incidents in its mining operations. In performance trials, the OpGuard fatigue monitoring system demonstrated significantly higher operator tracking, and reduced false positives compared to similar systems.
Cloud Peak Energy mine monitoring and control manager Jim Long said: "We have used other fatigue monitoring systems over the past four years but have struggled to achieve acceptable tracking percentages while receiving a high number of false positives. A key factor in our decision to move to Guardvant was the service and quick response they provided. The Guardvant system has helped us maintain much higher tracking percentages while drastically reducing the number of false positives."
Guardvant’s CEO Sergio Blacutt said: "Guardvant’s continued success has been a direct result of our experience developing technology that is specific to mining operations. OpGuard’s non-intrusive fatigue monitoring technology is specifically designed for the conditions in mines, and consistently out-performs the competition."
Operator fatigue is widely recognised as a leading cause of mining accidents involving mining equipment. OpGuard’s fatigue monitoring technology is the technical foundation of many mines’ fatigue management programmes that enable mine managers to prevent accidents before they happen. Fatigue event data captured by OpGuard provides mine managers with verifiable information to be used as part of their fatigue risk management programme.
Suite of mining technology solutions
Guardvant’s suite of products improves safety in the mining environment while increasing productivity of operators through on-board applications for fatigue monitoring and collision avoidance. When combined, OpGuard and ProxGuard, which are installed on heavy equipment and light vehicle fleets, provide fatigue monitoring and improve the equipment operator’s situational awareness.
The Guardvant Mobile Server on-board computer and Guardvant Mobile Router communications platform provide flexible options to streamline installation and use of multiple on-board applications regardless of the application brand.