Hayden Wright, former Maintenance Manager of Glencore Miners Camp, faced challenges with false alarms triggered by suspected humidity issues in the camp’s single-bedroom units, known as “Dongas.” Glencore Miners Camp accommodates mine workers on a fly-in-fly-out roster.
The camp experienced humidity-related false alarms on hot days when miners used air conditioning on cold settings.
Opening the door to the donger allowed hot air to rush in, causing a sudden drop in temperature and moisture formation on surfaces inside the donga.
These false alarms occurred a few times a week, leading to several callouts for the maintenance team.
PSA responded by installing four test alarms for a year. These test alarms contained the prototype of the Advance Sensor which are more resilient to humidity-related false alarms.
Over this period, the test alarms experienced zero false alarms. Hayden could recreate the issue easily around the site, further validating the effectiveness of the test alarms in preventing false alarms due to humidity.
“I could recreate the problem by going to a donga that didn’t have the new alarms, opening the door and after a few moments the alarm would sound.
Doing the same test on the rooms with the new alarms, none of them ever sounded, I also confirmed the new alarms were working by using smoke in a can on them.”
After a successful year of testing, PSA began installing production 6800 models with the finalized Advance Sensor. Since the deployment of the production models, there have been no reported false alarms.
Hayden, despite no longer overseeing the sites directly, confirmed that there have been no callouts since the test models were installed and had been in place for quite a while.
Hayden expressed satisfaction with the solution provided by PSA, particularly praising PSA Technical Support team member, Peter Hayden’s ability to recreate the problem in dongers without the new alarms, coupled with the lack of false alarms in rooms equipped with the new models, demonstrating the effectiveness of PSA’s Advance Sensor technology.
Hayden confirmed the new alarms’ reliability through practical tests, stating, “Obviously PSA has improved the Sensor of the new model, and this has been proven by my tests.”
As of the latest update, Glencore Miners Camp continues to operate without false alarms, showcasing the long-term success and reliability of the Lifesaver 6800 range with Advance Sensor technology.
The case study highlights PSA’s commitment to providing effective solutions and improving safety conditions for mine workers in Australian mining camps.
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