Underground Operator Alertness
Applications are now closed.
Underground Operator Alertness
Underground operator alertness is of utmost importance to ensure the safety of all mineworkers. Equipment/machinery operators must be fully engaged and alert at all times to prevent critical mistakes that could lead to dangerous situations. In partnership with Vale, NORCAT is seeking a potential technology solution for the mining industries current challenge of Underground Operator Alertness.
Deadline
Applications are closed.
Award
Fully funded PoC development & on-site testing / validation, and potential procurement if successful.
Challenge Description
In partnership with Vale, NORCAT is seeking a potential technology solution for the mining industries current challenge of Underground Operator Alertness. The ideal solution would look to assess and monitor underground equipment operators with the intent of identifying and resolving cognitive impairments, fatigue and/or distracted behaviour.
Who should participate?
- In the ideation/research phase, a start-up, or a small to medium business.
- Based anywhere in the world, but need to be available to demonstrate and deploy your proof-of-concept solution in one of Vale’s operations located in the City of Greater Sudbury.
- Able to commit approximately 12 hours a week from April 19th, 2021 to August 20th, 2021 to work with Vale technical experts on developing, preparing and testing your proof-of-concept solution.
- Willing, able and excited by the potential of Vale issuing a purchase order deploy the solution broadly across their operations.
Opportunity
The company chosen for the test and Proof-of-Concept phase will be given a full budget to work and execute their trials as agreed upon by both parties. All start-ups will retain Intellectual Property Rights to anything created during this process. If successful, start-ups will have the opportunity to land a procurement deal with Vale and other Major Mining Companies.
Latest Updates
The challenge is now closed. NORCAT and Vale would like to thank everyone who applied.
Overview
Context
Underground operator alertness is of utmost importance to ensure the safety of all mineworkers. Equipment/machinery operators must be fully engaged and alert at all times to prevent critical mistakes that could lead to dangerous situations. To better outline some of the key challenges related to underground operator alertness and fatigue management, we have detailed some specific areas of concern where we believe there are opportunities to utilize technology solutions to mitigate them.
Problem Definition
Operating underground mining equipment, such as haul trucks or Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) machines, is a physically and mentally demanding job often within a harsh, dark, hot and wet confined environment. Personnel must be alert in executing duties in such environment wherein a multitude of factors including fatigue, drowsiness, dehydration and health issues, can be detrimental to a worker's cognition and alertness. Severe incidents can transpire with even the slightest lack of concentration/engagement, potentially leading to loss of life, serious bodily harm, equipment damage, or productivity loss.
Key indicators of degrading operator alertness may alert a supervisor or co-worker of potentially catastrophic events, but challenges exist in that fatigue indicators may appear too late and often can not be seen by the human eye or occur outside the worksite (e.g. internal health issues, depression, long commutes, etc.).
To address the challenges around operator alertness and fatigue management, we believe there are opportunities to assess the operators in advance of their shifts and monitor them in a non-intrusive way to confirm overall alertness in order to perform their job safely. We recognize the opportunity for bio-sensors, pattern recognition of vehicle operation for operators, camera technology, among others, exist and therefore are confident a solution, which adheres to the operating parameters in underground mining, is achievable.
Structure
Solution Development
As part of this open innovation call, Vale is seeking potential solutions that can be identified, developed and deployed as a Proof-of-Concept within a four (4) month time frame within its Sudbury operations. We are open to new ideas, concepts and technologies that will help our operations address this issue to ensure the on-going safety of our workforce.
Given operator alertness/fatigue management is an issue shared amongst mining companies around the world, there is a desire to share the validated solutions with our broader network, including our peers, suppliers and customers.
The ideal solution would look to assess and monitor underground equipment operators with the intent of identifying and resolving cognitive impairments, fatigue and/or distracted behaviour. The desired solution will not only protect the operator but will also protect other workers in close proximity to the operating equipment. As part of this solution, the technology must be able to properly function in dark environments and provide an "early warning system" to notify and alert both the operator and supervisor(s) of potential challenges (e.g. abnormal vehicle movement) that could lead to incidents occurring underground.
Judging and Awards
Selected ventures will be invited to participate in a web-meeting with Vale and NORCAT representatives to better understand the proposed solution and address any questions related to the requirements of the Proof-of-Concept Boot Camp.
- In the ideation/research phase, a start-up, or a small to medium business.
- Based anywhere in the world, but need to be available to demonstrate and deploy your proof-of-concept solution in one of Vale’s operations located in the City of Greater Sudbury.
- Able to commit approximately 12 hours a week from April 19th, 2021 to August 20th, 2021 to work with Vale technical experts on developing, preparing and testing your proof-of-concept solution.
- Willing, able and excited by the potential of Vale issuing a purchase order deploy the solution broadly across their operations
Timeline
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Challenge Launch
Sept 21, 2020Applications for the NORCAT Open Innovation Challenge open September 21st, 2020. Ventures that believe they have a potential technology solution to one of the three challenges can apply below by completing the application form.
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Application Deadline
October 16, 2020Applications must be submitted by October 16th, 2020. No late applications will be accepted. If you have any questions about your application, please reach out to openinnovation@norcat.org.
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Successful Ventures Chosen
December 11, 2020Selected ventures will be invited to participate in a web-meeting with Vale and NORCAT representatives to better understand the proposed solution and address any questions related to the requirements of the Proof-of-Concept Boot Camp.
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Proof-of-Concept Boot Camp
April 19, 2021Successful companies will connect with Vale technical experts, field resources and NORCAT Mentors to support the development of your Proof-of-Concept solution.
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In-the-field Product Testing
August 23, 2021Once a successful Proof-of-Concept product is developed, ventures will commence in-the-field product testing within one of Vale’s Greater Sudbury operations to validate the effectiveness of the technology solution.
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Potential Procurement & Rollout
September, 2021The purpose of the NORCAT Open Innovation Challenge aims to connect and broker a professional relationship between you, your venture and Vale that could lead to potential procurement opportunities within Vale and other mining companies.
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