Product Spotlight: Haul Road AI
Product Spotlight: Haul Road AI
Haul Roads in mines and quarries see heavy equipment traffic and abuse from hundreds of thousands of tons of materials moved per day. The larger the site, the more equipment is needed to maintain production transporting material from the pit to the plant.
With this kind of intense wear and tear, having the ability to easily and quickly monitor haul road conditions is critical.
- loss in operational efficiency
- increased wear & tear on machinery & tires
- increased fuel consumption
- increased safety risk
- increased risk of noncompliance
Adequately monitoring haul road conditions requires fast and accurate inspection and evaluation methods that immediately and easily bring decision-making intelligence to the people carrying out the operations.
Strayos offers a powerful tool to automate haul road detection, analysis, monitoring, and reporting: Strayos’ Haul Road AI
With Strayos’ AI and digital twins, mining operations can analyze their haul roads easily and instantly without interrupting operations or putting team members on the roads.
Using drone survey data and Strayos’ AI, the haul roads within the site are automatically detected, analyzed, modeled, and key metrics (road grade, width, berm height, and cross-falls) are reported instantly.
Most mining and quarrying operations already collect aerial data frequently. Now imagine taking that same data and applying Haul Road analysis to the pit flyover, extracting even more value from the standard survey data already being collected.
See Strayos’ Haul Road AI in Action
Haul Road AI’s 5 Most Powerful Tools
It’s no secret that heavy machinery is not cheap to acquire, run, and maintain. Monitoring haul roads along with the fuel consumption, tire life, and lifespan of the trucks’ cycling will only assist in cost savings through the lifespan of the machinery.
- Grade Analysis
Strayos’ Haul Road AI automatically detects haul road grades and alerts you to areas with risky or sudden changes. Strayos creates a workflow for its users that conducts rapid analysis of Haul Road grades, to then feed the decision-making process for areas of Haul Roads that require attention. Grade changes can happen quickly, having a direct effect on daily production rates within a Mine or Quarry.
Setting thresholds to categorize grades throughout a mine haul roads can quickly provide analysis..
Analyzing elevation profiles of specific road segments can provide more granular information such as where excessive changes in grade can affect haul truck performance. Sudden jumps in grade change can have a negative effect on haul truck haul times, excessive engine wear, and fuel consumption.
2. Road Width
Road width is critical to measure and maintain for haul road safety and compliance purposes, as well as ensuring smooth traffic flow. As pit conditions change over time, haul roads can become pinch points for traffic flow, also creating safety hazards. Monitoring road width can identify these problematic areas before they create potential incidents.
3. Cross Falls
As weather cycles pass through Mines and Quarries, managing water runoff becomes critcal. Washed out haul roads do not only slow down traffic, but also create safety concerns for roads above and below. Freeze and thaw cycles will also have serious effects on haul roads as seasons change, where precipitation can create hazardous road conditions. Measuring Cross Falls provides engineers with information regarding how Haul Roads are changing and where roads are banking or draining precipitation.
4. Berms
Carrying along the topic of Safety, Berms may be the most critical point to measure when conducting Haul Road Analysis. Per MSHA requirements, berms must be at least mid - axle height of the largest self propelled mobile equipment that travels the roadway. With the help of AI, berms are automatically detected and measured when conducting Haul Road analysis. Custom thresholds can then be set to ensure compliance is being met within the Mine or Quarry.
5. Change Monitoring
Change is always occurring, whether we like it or not. Haul roads on site will change due to traffic patterns, precipitation events, freeze/thaw cycles, and excavation, just to name a few.
Being able to monitor road conditions to see where change is occurring and maintaining proper road design will help keep the operation running. Not to mention the ability to monitor progress on maintenance work.
Road Warrior
All of this starts with the initiative to mine smarter, safer, and more efficiently. The tools are out there to use, and the resources have never been so abundant. Gain more value from your survey data to boost your operations with Strayos Haul Road Analysis.
Download our 2 Free E-books on AI applications for the drilling, blasting, & mining industries.
AI Guide for Drilling and Blasting
Check Out Other Great Videos by Strayos:
Follow Us!
