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Mechanical Technology — March 2015
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Modern transport and vehicle solutions
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1. Booyco Electronics’ manufacturing facility
in Jet Park, Johannesburg.
2. Booyco Electronics is a provider of unique
electronic products that add value to a
mining operation’s overall safety, process
improvement, production control and
efficiency.
3. All products and systems are performance
tested by Booyco Electronics and certified
to ensure compliance with the relevant
specifications.
longer than 8.0 m, two sets of antennae
should be installed, with unit sets on
opposite ends. A miner’s RFID tag is
issued to every person, with such a tag
consuming less than 100
µ
A and not
producing any electromagnetic radiation.
“Booyco Electronics is setting the
local standard in PDS technology for sur-
face mining operations. Currently there
are quite a few systems out there that
look at machine-to-machine interaction,
but which are not necessarily applicable
on the pedestrian side. While we believe
that we have the best solution available
on the market, the industry-wide imple-
mentation of PDS technology remains
an issue.”
Lourens says that the Department of
Mineral Resources (DMR) has unveiled
the draft version of the mandatory
Code of Practice for Trackless Mobile
Machinery (TMM). “Basically, this is
draft legislation that deals with TMMs in
terms of what measures are expected by
the regulator and where this is going. It
is already past draft stage, so we believe
that will change the immediate require-
ments. The DMR has specified additional
testing to ensure that all the products out
there comply with the same standards.”
Lourens comments that the mining in-
dustry has adopted a cautious approach
to the implementation of PDS technology.
“There is quite a lot of work still to be
done, as we are not yet at the point where
these systems can just be switched on.
A major challenge is that there are many
stakeholders to deal with, from the min-
ing house and contractor to the vehicle
OEM and PDS supplier. Ultimately the
client has a specific viewpoint in terms of
his operational requirements, so we have
to ensure that all these stakeholders are
accommodated.”
While Booyco Electronics is engaged
in ongoing discussions with OEMs, “the
biggest part of our installation work right
now is retrofits, as many of our mining
customers wish to ensure that they are
compliant. That is a challenge in itself,
as we often have to relocate existing
installed equipment so that the PDS is
working properly. The technology is such
that it requires a specific solution for each
particular application.”
While this market sector is highly
competitive at the moment, Lourens
says that what gives Booyco Electronics
its leading edge is its capability to offer
a total solutions package. “What we
have tried to do is create a total scope
of supply so that the client does not have
to worry about safety equipment, for
example, as we can supply our biometric
readers either in conjunction with PDS or
as standalone items.”
Booyco Electronics has added data
capturing or logging functionality to its
PDS technology, which is also anticipated
to become a DMR requirement in the
near future. “We have also increased the
level of diagnostics in the equipment to
ensure that the system is fully functional
at all times and that it can be connected
‘fail to safe’ on a continuous basis.”
Another significant long-term require-
ment will be the servicing and mainte-
nance of Booyco Electronics’ installed
PDS base once the technology has been
legislated. “There are huge opportuni-
ties for us, particularly in how we have
positioned our products in terms of
functionality and pricing. What gives us
a competitive edge is that our products
are designed and manufactured for local
conditions and specifications,” Lourens
says.
“The main factor in favour of our
products is definitely the quality, while
a related issue is the maturity of our
VLF technology due to our experience
and expertise. We regard ourselves as
probably the most experienced player in
this sector. Even as an industry leader,
we constantly encounter new challenges
and different scenarios and applications,
simply due to the fact that this technology
does not comprise simple off-the-shelf
solutions, but is tailor-made for individual
clients and applications,” Lourens notes.
Looking to the future, he says that the
successful application of PDS technol-
ogy in underground and surface mining
operations will go a long way to reducing
the high rate of vehicle accidents in the
South African mining industry. “While
the various stakeholders have realised
that this is now quite a critical issue,
there is also the realisation that this is
a highly complex and technologically
sophisticated sector. This means that a
major player such as Booyco Electronics
stands to play a critical role in the correct
adoption, implementation and applica-
tion of this technology,” he concludes.
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