Automation & robotics
presence of human beings interacting with your autonomous technology, you open up your processes to unnecessary risks.”
The automation of haul trucks has proceeded well, but automating processes can become more complicated with different types of vehicles.
are non-deterministic – where the output cannot be predicted because there are multiple possible outcomes for each input, including those reliant on human behaviour or interacting with humans. If functional safety doesn’t apply to this area, then what can the industry use instead? This is where system safety comes in, Sathe explains. System safety is a view of safety that extends beyond the machines to consider the complete system – the three pillars that Sathe laid out: people, process and technology. “You have to take a holistic view of the whole process of the automation. System safety allows us to look at all these three together,” he adds.
The goal of system safety is to identify, analyse, reduce or control risks associated with hazards to safety throughout a system’s lifecycle. System safety enables mining operators to look at scenarios such as what happens when the autonomous technology fails – what controls are in place, how personnel have been trained to respond, and so on. From there, a mining operator would review their risk for the scenario in question.
The need for a system safety approach came about in the middle of the 20th century as the systems used in industries such as nuclear power, civil aviation, defence and space became increasingly large and complex. Testing and learning from experience can only provide so much information with regards to maintaining operational safety, and the lack of consideration given to the interactions between multiple subsystems increased the risk of unexpected failures. Sathe points out that system safety can be invaluable when looking at the human-machine interface. In mining, as he’s noted previously, much of the autonomous technology at play operates in semi- autonomous areas. System safety can help address how humans interact with autonomous systems. “If you only look at the functional safety, the people part is excluded,” Sathe notes. “And that’s where mining operators make the biggest mistake of saying, ‘Oh, yeah, our system is safe enough’. By not including the
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The call for communication Another challenge for mining operators can occur when they use automated equipment from multiple suppliers, but a system safety approach can help with that too. Similarly, with non-deterministic challenges like sensor limitation or degradation – which can lead to incidents where autonomous equipment may not be able to properly detect nearby objects or people – a system safety approach can help evaluate risks and responses. As an example, Sathe lays out a scenario where multiple OEM support systems are in place in a semi-autonomous mining site. There is an autonomous system in place to manage autonomous haul trucks, but at the same time, there are manual human-driven vehicles on site. These human-driven vehicles may have a driver-fatigue system or a collision awareness system installed. Those systems need to be able to function alongside the autonomous haul trucks, but have been supplied by different OEMs. “Integration of interoperability of those systems is a big issue,” says Sathe. “How [do] we bring all these different technologies together and not increase risk due to one technology not talking to another? If we have to do a system safety analysis, then we need information from all these OEMs – or they have to already be working together [to ensure interoperability].”
When it comes to improving safety, Sathe believes that the mining industry should operate like airlines, in terms of how they share information with their competitors to the benefit of all involved. “The process of landing an aircraft is fundamentally the same as if you’re landing in London Heathrow or Los Angeles, or anywhere else in the world,” he says. “That’s how it should be, from a system safety point of view – we should be able to talk freely to improve safety within the mining operations.”
As autonomous vehicles and technologies are only going to become increasingly present in mining operations in the coming years and decades, Sathe believes that there is a huge need for a system safety standard operating at a higher level across the industry. Currently there is a standard in place for autonomous passenger vehicles – ISO 26262 – but it only applies to vehicles where a driver is in the seat. There’s nothing at that level for autonomous, driverless haul trucks. “That’s the need of the hour and the industry should come together to support it, but the mining industry is just one small part [of the puzzle],” says Sathe. “To me, a system safety approach should be agnostic to where it is applied, because it’s a process – it’s not about functional safety. We’re going away from the quantitative and pushing that it’s more about the qualitative approach.” ●
World Mining Frontiers /
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