Underground Communications
An Overview of Technology for Tunneling and Mining Projects
Contributed by Becker Wholesale Mine Supplies

The marketplace for both communications and tracking and worker safety products is crowded. To make the best decision you need to consider the following: Which products are the best? Which have the lowest cost of ownership? How well does the vendor support the customer after the sale? What are the benefits of a certain technology on the jobsite? Is it the right solution for crews?

There are many available systems for underground communications. In this issue, we asked Becker Wholesale Mine Supply (and its new division, Becker Wholesale Mine Supply Canada Ltd.) to provide a recap of the systems available for tunneling and mining projects. Below is listing of the some of the specific products offered, as well as an overview of the capabilities of the technology.

OTN Systems

In July, Becker Wholesale Mile Supply (BWMS) signed a partnership with global fiber optic communications developer OTN Systems to bring the latest in fiber optic network communication technology to the North American industries.

The agreement was focused on the OTN Systems OTN-X3M, an open industrial networking solution developed in 2008 that joins multiple applications to support automation, safety and efficiency on one pair of fiber.

Ideal for placement at open cast and underground mines, as well as throughout the tunneling industry, the OTN system can transmit all of an operation’s critical information – including voice, data, LAN, video, SCADA and process control – between remote locations in the mine or tunnel and the operations control room.

OTN-X3M includes video features such as analog and IP capabilities; embedded channel switching; integrated video-over-IP streaming; real-time high-resolution images; an integrated video recording and management solution; and open interfaces for third-party products.
The OTN Management System, or OMS, capabilities include Graphical User Interface (GUI), client-server architecture with single, multiple or remote clients; hardware management for components including nodes, interfaces and optical connections; connection management, monitoring and error reporting; internal and SNMP alarm forwarding; on- and offline operation, and more.

OTN Systems will segregate 100 percent the traffic for each application running on its backbone, lowering the risk of network issues and complexity as demanding applications, such as high-definition video cameras, require more bandwidth.

The OTN-X3M technology provides fast network convergence (less than 50 ms for networks of up to 110 nodes and 1,000 km of fiber) without impact on the service layers.

Vital Alert

There has been significant interest in the Vital Alert C1000 through-the-earth communications link since its introduction at the Longwall USA show in Pennsylvania in June.

The C1000 provides a two-way, real-time communications link for voice and data through up to 1,000 ft of solid rock – and all in a unit small enough to easily and manually relocate as the rock face or work area moves.

Part of what makes the C1000 attractive for the mining and tunneling industries is its flexibility. Instead of locking a mine into a specific connection method, the C1000 offers a solid link that can interconnect with many proven mining and tunnel communications products both above and below ground.

Chat and voice are possible via directly connected headsets with Ethernet, WiFi, RS485 and many other audio and data options. Users can also connect existing two-way radio, RFID personnel and equipment tracking, gas and environmental sensors and more to the C1000, extending those solutions into areas currently unserved by traditional line-of-sight or wired connections and connecting them in real time to above-ground applications.

Conspec

In June, BWMS added Conspec’s entire product line to the product portfolio, including the company’s Smart Head line and Senturion atmospheric monitoring and SCADA process control software. Conspec, known as a pioneer and innovator in the field of process control and environmental monitoring infrastructure needed for Ventilation on Demand for more than four decades.

Included in the new Conspec partnership is the Senturion atmospheric monitoring and SCADA process control system, including the Smart Head monitor, controller, wireless transmitters and field device controllers. All Smart Head components include PC-based software for configuration and calibration, high immunity to RFI and EMI, and a limited warranty.

Becker Varis

Among the most popular BWMS products are those from Becker Varis, including the company’s leaky feeder communication system and Becker Varis Mesh. UHF and VHF solutions are available to provide the mine with everyday voice communications that is reliable and robust. Becker Varis systems are in use in hundreds of mines and tunnels.

Another product seeing much success is Varis Mesh, the result of a teaming of the company with Becker Varis and Venture Design Services to provide a new technology development to improve site management effectiveness.

The hybrid wired/wireless system for mine-wide surveillance, control and communications combined the most efficient features of the Becker Varis leaky feeder system for everyday mining coordination with the best mine-wide management features of the wireless mesh Mine Tracer.

Becker Varis Mesh complies with the MINER Act while incorporating worker safety technology and extensive mine-wide surveillance, monitoring and control. The Becker Varis Mesh system includes a suite of mine management features, such as AMS, belt drive/production monitoring, machine health, people/asset tracking, collision avoidance and wireless sensing. Also integrated are situational awareness software, theft deterrence capabilities and even off-site connectivity that allows management to oversee the mine from virtually anywhere.

Becker WMS Assists on North Shore Connector

Becker Wholesale Mine Supply played a role in the Pittsburgh North Shore Connector project recently. The company worked on a VHF leaky feeder system along with Ethernet inside the tunnel in Pittsburgh, which was a landmark multi-million dollar rail transport project linking the North Shore to downtown via a tunnel under the Allegheny River.

“We set up four base stations in a trailer on surface with a surface coverage system in place and this allowed the personnel to talk from above ground to under and vice versa,” BWMS president Bill Hensler noted of the project.

“The leaky feeder system allowed all workers to communicate no matter where they were: tunnel, surface or TBM,” he continued, adding that the Ethernet over leaky feeder connection was included so that the tunnel’s guidance control system could be monitored and controlled from Germany without extra cable line and with all data exchanged over one line.

The project, according to Hensler, possessed many parallels to the underground mining environment, the needs of its crews and management, and the interaction between the communications system and the underground design.

“What makes this environment so similar is the fact that personnel are underground and need to communicate,” he said. “Everything that goes on in a mine, goes on in a tunnel except it is a much cleaner environment,” adding that the only truly easier feature is that tunnel layouts are typically straighter.