Recent installations in Western Australia’s Pilbara region have shown that BoomSafe is a reliable, cost-effective rockbreaker boom automation and remote operation system.
BoomSafe, developed by Total Rockbreaking Solutions (TRS), combines automated movement sequences and collision prevention with remote multi-operation capability for rockbreaker boom systems. In addition, site personnel will find it “inherently simple” to customise and maintain.
BoomSafe supervises and authorises all boom movement commands from the local radio control or remote operation system, to avoid damage to the boom and surrounding infrastructure.
“BoomSafe’s operator assist function provides a great advantage over other systems on the market,” said Paul Ingleson, the engineering manager at TRS. “It can automatically correct and adjust the human operator-initiated movements, to direct the boom back into the safe work area instead of halting the boom operation and requiring further operator intervention to continue.”
Automated movement commands such as “park”, “deploy”, “tool replacement position”, “rockbreaker change position” or any other common or difficult movement sequence can be configured and modified by maintenance staff on-site via the intuitive touchscreen.
{{quote-A:R-W:300-I:2-Q:"BoomSafe’s advanced technology significantly improves uptime because modifications and maintenance can be completed on-site without specialist technicians or TRS staff."-WHO:Paul Ingleson, Engineering manager at TRS}}Operators can execute automated movements with a single button press, improving speed and precision. For example, when parking on a small platform, BoomSafe reduces the chance of equipment damage that could easily be caused by operator fatigue or error.
BoomSafe can also be integrated with other sensor systems on-site, such as perimeter safety gates.
In addition, it has configurable inputs that can be set up to operate other plant, for example, opening and closing a crusher cover.
“BoomSafe’s advanced technology significantly improves uptime because modifications and maintenance can be completed on-site without specialist technicians or TRS staff,” Ingleson said.
“Site maintenance staff can set up and modify BoomSafe movement sequences, and adjust the allowed area of operation when needed.
“BoomSafe sensors are mounted separately to the boom hydraulics, and if maintenance is needed they are easily accessible and can be replaced in minutes using hand tools.”
Ingleson said TRS’s customers could take advantage of efficiencies available through use of the latest technologies in control and automation.
“BoomSafe has been designed with true multi-operation in mind, allowing a single remote module application to control multiple rockbreaker boom systems from a single central location,” he said.
“For larger sites, multiple workstations can share control of a group of booms on a first-come, first-served basis. Each boom system can be assigned a unique remote operation password for security to prevent unauthorised access.”
Ingleson said BoomSafe was available factory-fitted on new boom systems, but it is possible for customers to retrofit their current boom, regardless of the brand, and “benefit from BoomSafe’s efficiencies immediately without purchasing a complete new boom system”.
“All commissioning takes place via an easy to use touchscreen and requires no specialised software, control equipment, 3D modelling or CAD data,” Ingleson said. “Once the hardware is installed, full configuration and testing with access to a non-isolated boom system can be done in less than a day.”
BoomSafe is available exclusively through TRS.
Source: Total Rockbreaking Solutions