IMPROVING HOIST SAFETY AND PRODUCTIVITY - AN EXPERT SYSTEM PROTOTYPE

The Quebec Mining Association has for many years been supportive of the activities of the Centre de recherches minerales which were initiated to ensure regular production hoist and cable inspections to maintain safety and productivity standards in underground mines in Quebec. CRM and CANMET have agreed to fund a Quebec mineral Development Agreement contract to capture this accumulated knowledge. Using VP-EXPERT to process the information and subdirectories to store regulations, the prototype access D-BASE III records on hoist information and LOTUS 123 for simulating working conditions that meet local regulations and expert rules of thumb criteria. Objectives are to improve safety in emergency operating procedures, maximize hoist productivity and safety, and promote knowledge transfer to operators.