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54 E&MJ; • MARCH 2016 www.e-mj.com zed, weatherproof satellite wireless hour, alarm and location meter. Because machinery used in remote locations typically doesn't have cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity, monitoring their usage can be difficult and costly. To address these issues, the Cyberwatch SAT provides equipment monitoring from anywhere in the world, without the need for a SIM card or local wireless plan, for a monthly fee. Cyberwatch SAT uses the Iridium net- work and transmits up to six hour-meter readings and six alarm readings with GPS location, once per day. The client can view this information in their own Web portal or have the data sent to a smartphone where it can be exported via DropBox. In addition to monitoring data, the device also can be used as a hub commu- nicator. An operator can wirelessly connect a smartphone to the device; once connect- ed, the operator can send an email or text message from their smartphone through the SAT device to anywhere in the world— a potentially lifesaving feature. A user that knows the Cyberwatch SAT'S phone number can also text a com- mand to that number. When the command is received, the device will send hour meter, alarm and location data back to the phone that made the inquiry. Wearable Safety Systems As reported in the January issue, mineral industry producers and others have increas- ing access to employee-wearable personal location, tracking and notification devices that take advantage of the latest networking and communications technologies. Among these is the MineSafe Smartwatch, which essentially distills and implements a number of fleet-management concepts and function- ality down to the workforce level. The MineSafe Smartwatch, developed by wearable-technology specialist Vandrico in collaboration with the SAP Co- Innovation Lab and Illumiti, enables real- time communication between underground or surface workers and dispatchers or supervisory personnel. Using data and analysis software, mining companies can quickly identify and predict potential haz- ards, notify employees of dangerous situa- tions, identify worker locations in an emer- gency, and provide safety guidance to workers in an automated fashion. "Our watch leverages Wi-Fi and sensors in the mine to provide mine workers with greater situational awareness, facilitate com- munications and accelerate evacuations," said Lorraine Howell, vice president of R&D; for Illumiti, a SAP systems integrator. "Using our worker tracking feature, the mining com- pany can quickly identify the location of each miner in real time from the surface during an emergency, enabling safety teams to quickly locate missing team members. Localized evacuation messages can also be sent based on worker location in the mine." The MineSafe system is claimed to inte- grate with most mine-specific enterprise systems, including SCADA, MQTT and oth- ers. The solution can also be integrated with any existing mine sensors, or configured to suit the needs of a mining company. Simplifying Safety Recordkeeping As the use—and necessary documenta- tion—of both conventional and newer, high-tech articles of personal protection equipment (PPE) becomes more prevalent, the mining industry will likely need help from technologies that allow companies to reduce or avoid the time-consuming manu- al recordkeeping involved with issuance, maintenance and inspections of PPE. According to a recent study by 3M, most safety and health professionals still use pen and paper, word processors or spread- sheets to manually document safety pro- grams. To help reduce paperwork and time spent on documentation and compliance tasks, 3M has developed Active Safety, a PPE management system. Hugh Murphy, business development manager for Active Safety at 3M, said, "Active Safety is a simple software tool to help EHS professionals reduce the time they spend on paperwork; access data when and where they need it; identify trends and ultimately help employers keep workers safe and healthy." Active Safety uses radio-frequency identi- fication (RFID) tags and cloud-based soft- ware that runs on both mobile and desktop devices. To deploy Active Safety, EHS profes- sionals add each piece of PPE onto the plat- form. An RFID tag is attached to each piece, and a user scans that RFID tag with a mobile device to record PPE history, usage, and loca- tion. The EHS professional can also schedule upcoming events, such as worker inspections and fit testing, and can access data from their PPE program on a simple dashboard. By gathering PPE data from across a facility or multiple sites, Active Safety allows EHS professionals to connect with their employees and focus on improving safety, rather than completing paperwork. Additional features of Active Safety can include worker-specific PPE record man- agement, inspections and maintenance, PPE audits, inventory management and trackers for employee training, medical evaluations and fit-testing. Active Safety is configurable to fit unique safety program needs, and can be used with existing PPE. 3M said it has been working with leading customers to develop Active Safety and now has worksites, including mining, on several continents connected to the platform. S A F E T Y S Y S T E M S The MineSafe Smartwatch is an early entry in the mining industry's wearables-for-enterprise-deployment market. 3M's Active Safety system uses RFID tags and cloud- based software to help EHS departments reduce paper- work associated with PPE recordkeeping.