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Communications & Tracking Plan DevelopmentWorkshops

July 9, 11 & 132007

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WV SB 247 and the Miner Act did not revoke the laws of physics

Communication Reality

WV §56-4 drafted with all the laws in mind

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WV §56-4

• Wireless – miner not connected by wire• Two-way communications to each miner in at

least two separate airways• Tracking each miner in relation to known points

prior and in escapeways after• Operators submit Communication/Tracking Plan

by July 31, 2007– Understand needs and thought through risks– Survive accident or be quickly repairable– Communication center operator min. red-hat

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Electro-Magnetics for Miners

Enough so you can ask the right questions

… not so much it hurts your head

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Frequencies Wave Lengths & Rates

Digital

Analog

Baud Rate = Number of clock cycles per second

Bit Rate = Number of bits transmitted per second

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Available Frequencies

Practical options are limited by physics and existing uses

ELF-LF MFVHF-UHF

WiFi

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Band Definitions

Abbreviation Name Frequency Band

ELF Extremely Low Frequency 30 - 300 Hz

VLF Very Low Frequency 3 – 30 KHz

LF Low Frequency 30 – 300 KHz

MF Medium Frequency 300 – 3000 KHz

VHF Very High Frequency 30 MHz – 300 MHz

UHF Ultra High Frequency 300 – 3000 MHz

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Bandwidth

• Analog bandwidth is frequency range• Digital bandwidth is amount of information in

a given amount of time

Voice = 300-3400 HzAnalog bandwidth = 3100 Hz

Digital bandwidth = 18,600 bps

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Decibels (dB)

• Decibels are measure of signal and noise Gain is given by:

#dB = 10 log10 Pout

Pin

• When negative means loss

dB levelpowerratio

−30 dB = 1/1000 = 0.001

−20 dB = 1/100 = 0.01

−10 dB = 1/10 = 0.1

−3 dB =1/2 = 0.5 (approx.)

3 dB = 2 (approx.)

10 dB = 10

20 dB = 100

30 dB = 1000

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Losses in Wires and Cables

Material AbsorptionSplice LossesMaterial Scattering Bending Losses

Metal Wires & Cable Fiber Optic Cable

Resistance + Skin Affect

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• Path loss– Increase as square of the distance

• Other Losses– Materials– Multi-path

Losses in the Entry

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Material Effects

Material LF MF VHF/UHF WiFi

Dry wood RF-lucent RF-absorbent RF-lucent RF-absorbent

Wet wood RF-lucent RF-absorbent RF-absorbent RF-absorbent

Coal RF-lucent RF-opaque RF-opaque RF-opaque

Metal RF-lucent RF-lucent RF-opaque RF-opaque

Water RF-lucent RF-absorbent RF-absorbent RF-absorbent

RF-lucent lets radio waves pass through it without any substantial lossRF-absorbent allows radio waves to pass but with substantial loss RF-opaque blocks, reflects, and scatters RF waves

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Multi-Path Propagation

R

D

S

R= Reflection

S=Scattering

D= Diffraction

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Reflective Effects

Reflected waves interact to form new patterns

These may not be recognized by the receiver as useful information

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Ideal Waveguide Effects

X

Y1st 2nd

8th

Confines and guides path of electromagnetic wave

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Realistic Waveguide Effects

Reflective losses and absorption increase attenuation

modes

dB

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Noise Effects

• All communications systems have noise– Radio frequency interference (RFI)– Electromagnetic interference (EMI) – Laser noise

Distortion

Masking

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Antenna Choices

Antenna design offers many coverage pattern options

Critical that the correct one is used for each location

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Leaky Feeder Antennas

Internal Wire

Outside Sheath w/openings

Internal Propagation

Propagated Signal

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Transmission Modes

• Simplex– One direction

• Half duplex– Either direction, but only one way at a time

• Full duplex– Both directions at the same time

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RFIDRadio Frequency Identification

164B28F34

Reader

Antenna

Radio command signal issued from reader

Signal containing data returned

Tag holds unique ID

Software matches Tag ID database

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Types of Tags

– Passive• Power

scavenged from reader

– Active• Transmitter/

battery in tag

UHF (850 MHz to 950 MHz) – Ranges to 3 meters and high reading speeds

HF (13.56 MHz) – Ranges to 1.5 meters - not susceptible to interference from water or metal

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Wireless Communication and Tracking System Options

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Through The Earth (TTE)

Current RealityCommercial One-Way w/TextOff-Axis Reception ProblematicLarge Antenna LoopsNon-Permissible Power LevelsEmergency Shelter Option

Greatest PotentialNo In-Mine Backbone

200Hz-4000Hz

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Current RealityPrototype DemonstratedUnknown Safety

Medium Frequency (MF)

Greatest PotentialUse Existing Metal as BackboneInteroperability

BELT

CABLE

300 kHz - 3 MHz

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Current RealityInitial units demonstratedLimited Node-to-Node RangeLine-of-Sight OnlyHandsets not yet commercialRequires Redundancy & Hardening

Wi-Fi Mesh Nodes

Greatest PotentialWide Bandwidth FlexibilityInteroperability

2.4 GHz

NODE

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Current RealityMultiple InstallationsCommercial HandsetsLimited Beyond Sight of FeederLimited Data CapabilityRequires Redundancy & Hardening

Leaky Feeder (VHF)

Greatest PotentialAvailable and UpgradeableInteroperability

150-170 MHz Distributed Antenna System

LEAKY FEEDER

AMPLIFIER

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Current RealityMultiple InstallationsCommercial HandsetsSome Beyond Sight of FeederModerate Data CapabilityRequires Redundancy & Hardening

Leaky Feeder (UHF)

Greatest PotentialAvailable and UpgradeableInteroperability

LEAKY FEEDER

AMPLIFIER

400-500 MHz Distributed Antenna System

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Current RealityLimited Installation ExperienceSome Needed Devices in Prototype

Leaky Feeder Enhancements

Greatest PotentialMine Wide CoverageMultiple Pathways

RADIATING CABLE

EXTENSION

2ND LEAKY FEEDER RUN

SPECIALTYANTENNA

Distributed Antenna System

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Current RealityStandard Telecom PracticeSite Specific Best SolutionInteroperability LimitedDevice Development RequiredAdoptable to Current Technology

Future Technologies = Survivability

Greatest PotentialMultiple PathwaysSystem IntegrationSignal Takes Whatever Survives

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Tracking Where GPS Won't Go

Communicate the Location

Dedicated backboneShared backbone

Know the Location

Proximity signal strengthAcknowledgement

Show Information

Map displayData analysisThreshold alarms

Current RealityZone SystemsRFID Active Tag SystemsEthernet Backbone and Leaky Feeder BackboneSignal Triangulation Near

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After the evaluation of the documentation submitted and with the recommendation of our technical reviewers the Office of Miner’s Health Safety and Training verifies that _________ has demonstrated functionality such as would allow W.Va. underground mining permit holders to meet all or part of their requirements for emergency communications and tracking outlined in the West Virginia Emergency Rule Governing Protective Clothing And Equipment, §56-4-8 and will be included in the listing of reviewed devices.

WV §56-4 Functionality Reviews

Pre-Application Meeting

Application Received

Reviewed

Data Augmentation Requested

Re-Reviewed

Functionality Determination Letter

MSHA IS Approval

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Active ApplicationsVaris Communications

150-170MHz Leaky FeederKenwood RadiosDigital – 56kbs

Hughes Supply150-170MHz Leaky Feeder400-500Mhz Leaky FeederKenwood RadiosDigital – 56kbps

Marco North-America900MHz RFID TrackingLeaky Feeder or Ethernet

Hannah Engineering2.4GHz 802.11 NodesVoIP Phones and WiFi TagsDigital – 11mbps

Matrix Design Group 433 MHz Tag TrackingFiberoptic Ethernet BackboneLeaky Feeder Backbone

Helicomm, Inc (Venture Development)2.4GHz 802.15.4 NodesRS845 Ring of Subnet

ControllersDigital 250kbsText Messaging400-500Mhz RFID Tracking

Active Control Technology2.4GHz 802.11 NodesVoIP Phones and WiFi TagsDigital 11mbps2.4Ghz Signal Strength Tracking

MineComm (Pyott Boone Electronics)150-170MHz Leaky Feeder400-500Mhz Leaky FeederKenwood RadiosDigital – 56kbps

Mine Site Technology (CSE)150-170MHz Leaky FeederLF Through the Earth2.4GHz 802.11 Tag Tracking

Mine Radio System150-170MHz Leaky FeederKenwood RadiosDigital – 56kbps

Ranjant Corporation2.4 GHz 802.11 NodesWireless Backbone Only

Northern Lights2.4GHz 802.11 NodesFiber or CAT5 Ethernet BackboneWiFi Tags and VoIP Phones

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Quality of Communications

Turns out not to be a trivial question

“

Copyright Verizon

Signal Strength Interference of any type Overall Quality

5-Excellent 5-No interference 5-Excellent

4-Good 4-Very slight 4-Good

3-Fair 3-Moderate 3-Fair

2-Poor 2-Heavy 2-Poor

1-Useless 1-Extreme 1-Unusable

Accepted Reception Reporting Systems

Adapted a standard reporting format from ARRL

Can you hear me now?”

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Quality of Reporting

Reporting has been done in distances

Provides limited information

Adopted minimal information requirements for reporting

Example of tabular reporting

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Ability to RelateStill need more information to make design decisions

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Developing Your Plan

• Operators to perfect system design

• Miners to understand how the systems work

• Mine Inspectors to ensure adequate coverage

• Mine Rescue to understand how to contact and track in an emergency

Intended to be used by:

Our Plan

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Why Write a Plan

• To organize your thoughts and identify gaps• To provide guidance to those that implement

your plan– Miners and emergency responders– Contractors

• To demonstrate that you have chosen a workable solution

• No points off for grammar or spelling

Our Plan

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Tab 5Tab 4Tab 3Tab 2Tab 1

Emergency Contact Information

Our Plan

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Communication System ManufacturerCommunication System VendorEmergency Phone #Email address

Tracking System ManufacturerTracking System VendorEmergency Phone #Email address

Mine NameMine AddressPhysical LocationMine ID – StateMine ID – MSHA

General Manager/Superintendent NameDaytime Phone #Emergency Phone #Email address

Safety Manager/DirectorDaytime Phone #Emergency Phone #Email address

Emergency Contact Information

Our Plan

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Tab 1 Tab 5Tab 4Tab 3Tab 2

Communication-Tracking System Description

Our Plan

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Description

• Overview of structure and operations of the final separate or integrated communication/ tracking system(s)

• Including actions you have or will have to take to meet §56.4 requirements– Text description of the components that

are currently in place and those that are planned to be added

– How each contributes to meeting the requirements

Our Plan

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Coverage

• Explain how your plan will allowing for wireless tracking and wireless two way communications with each miner providing coverage in at least two separate air courses, at least one of which shall be an intake.

• And for knowing the location of miners and direction of travel at key points in the escapeways, at a minimum at junctions (section, section-submain/mains intersections), so that all options of travel are covered.

Our Plan

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Survivability

• Explain what has been or will be done to ensure survivability such that the communication-tracking system will be functional after an accident – What provisions are made for rapidly re-

establishing coverage– Maintain communication/tracking after

loss of outside power

Our Plan

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Shelter(s)

• Description of the communication system that is or will be used in shelters– Provisions made to rapidly reestablish

communication if lost in the accident

Our Plan

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Tab 2Tab 1 Tab 5Tab 4Tab 3

Communication-Tracking System Operations

Our Plan

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47Our Plan

Installation and Maintenance

• Explain how the communications/tracking system will be:– Installed (who and how)– Tested (who and how)– Maintained (who and how)

• Provide the manufacturer’s checklists for each type of inspection, routine, relocation, annual, etc

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Operating Instructions

• Provide copies of the operating instructions for each component of the communication-tracking system to be provided for the miner and for emergency personnel

Our Plan

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• Describe the communication center• Include procedures for communication center

operators covering at least:– Monitoring at all times when one or more

miners are underground – Knowing the location of all miners, in

relation to pre-determined points– Check-in and check-out procedures for

seldom used areas– Emergency response actions

Comm Center Operations

Our Plan

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Tab 3Tab 2Tab 1 Tab 5Tab 4

Proof of order and compliance dates

Our Plan

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51Our Plan

Proof of Order

• Copy of purchase orders to implement plan– Communication-tracking equipment – Installation– Routine and emergency maintenance– If in-house then proof of qualified staff – Documentation should specify:

• Order date:• Delivery date:• Operational Date:

Only require

d after a

pproval

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Tab 4Tab 3Tab 2Tab 1 Tab 5

Training

Our Plan

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53Our Plan

Training

• Explain how miners, supervisors and likely emergency responders will be trained in the use, limitations and inter-operability of communication/tracking system– Initial training dates for implementation of

the communication-tracking system– How communication/tracking incorporated

in other required training– Where training will be recorded

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Time Line

July 31Mine Submittal

AugustOMHST Markups

August –SeptemberRe-writing

September –October

Approvals

October +Order-Installation

> MSHA Electrical Approvals >

> WV Communication Plan Approvals >

OMHS&T Communications Plan TeamOne inspector from each Regional office +Member(s) of the Approval Review Team

Our Plan

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Results, Status and Guidance

wvminesafety.org

Emergency Communications and Tracking

Go to:

Click on:

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