Alert
Using data in mining operations to tackle risks and prevent accidents
Learn how Hexagon is using data to improve mining operations as well as to optimise planning and safety
Minutes
Company Name:
Cerrejón Mine
Company: Cerrejón, located in Colombia, is the largest open-pit coal mine in Latin America.
Challenge: As a company committed to safeguarding its employees, Cerrejón needs a partner to supply comprehensive collision avoidance solutions for its mining operations
Solution: Hexagon’s MineProtect collision avoidance system (CAS) is a world-class solution that offers 360-degree collision avoidance
Results: After implementing Hexagon’s solution, Cerrejón decreased non-compliance of stop signs up to 90% from 2014 to today
Extending more than 690 square kilometres (270 square miles), Cerrejón in Colombia is the largest open-pit coal mine in Latin America and the 10th biggest mining operation in the world. Complete with its own railway system and shipping terminal, the mine employs thousands of people operating hundreds of vehicles.
Protecting its people is a priority for Cerrejón, whose zero-harm culture is enshrined in all aspects of the business. The company turned to Hexagon for a comprehensive collision avoidance solution, as the two companies share a core belief: the most important asset coming out of a mine isn’t what’s extracted – it’s the people who make it possible.
Using data to protect people
Cerrejón implemented Hexagon’s MineProtect collision avoidance system (CAS), which allows the mine to put data to work towards strategic safety objectives. CAS has not only helped Cerrejón to minimise the risk of accidents, but also has addressed other safety challenges.
“We put in place a system of random monitoring and preventive monitoring of compliance with stop signs in the mine and in the company,” explains Álvaro Uribe of Cerrejón’s Production Safety Committee.
“And this allowed us, from 2014 up to date, to gradually, decrease up to 90% non-compliance of stop signs. This is a great benefit to the safety performance of the company. We are being preventative, and we are identifying and correcting wrong habits in our operation.”
Amid heavy traffic, large equipment, poor visibility and blind spots, CAS delivers 360-degree proximity detection via a non-intrusive cabin display unit. It provides a call to act if an unwanted event is about to occur and empowers Cerrejón’s operators to prevent collisions and avoid accidents.
Hexagon’s senior director of products and innovation for mining, Marcos Bayuelo, oversaw the CAS deployment at Cerrejón and has been a regular visitor to the mine for the past decade. He credited the company for its proactive approach to safety.
“Like Hexagon, Cerrejón is serious about safety,” says Bayuelo. “All the times we had an opportunity to save someone, where the system worked and did its job, that’s when we can say we have contributed. For me, as a product manager, it gives me satisfaction that one more person makes it home safe.”
