Vehicle-mounted dust monitoring on the move for mining & urban applications with Acoem DustRover™

Whether it’s deep in a mine pit or on a city construction site, excessive dust levels pose a rising challenge to the health and safety of workers and communities. Monitoring this constantly shifting particulate matter is critical. The key question remains – if dust is dynamic, why should dust monitoring be static?

Acoem DustRover™ heralds a new direction in dust monitoring — a vehicle-mounted, next-generation mobile dust monitoring system that tracks dust on the move.

Based on a smart technology platform with an integrated ecosystem of sensors, its simple “mount & go” configuration delivers the freedom to monitor, measure and mitigate dust on site, while enabling data-driven decisions.

DustRover™ goes beyond unlocking actionable data insights. It adds further value by supporting regulatory compliance and delivering health and safety goals for mine employees and local communities while ensuring cost-efficiency

Go from precise data to faster decision making

DustRover™ delivers real-time dust traffic, on a browser-based dashboard.

Designed using insights from decades of experience working with the mining industry, DustRover™ gives users a holistic view of mine site conditions and enhances situational awareness.

Its compact ecosystem features programmable sensors, dust monitors, GPS module, data logger and 3G/4G cellular router mounted onto a mining haul truck or other vehicle. This mobile telemetric system tracks variations in dust concentration along with road surface temperature and processes it through Acoem Airodis™ software.

The result is a real-time roadmap of dust traffic displayed on an intuitive and secure browser-based dashboard viewable on a workstation screen or any other internet-enabled device.

In the event of hazardous dust levels, a simple “traffic light system” triggers an alarm signal. This allows users to pinpoint hotspots and activate dust suppression mechanisms.

The mining industry has to constantly maintain a fine balance between productivity and sustainability. DustRover™ helps mine operators achieve both these goals. By combining mobility with smart data capabilities, it shortens the path between dust monitoring and informed action.

Compared to fixed dust monitoring stations, DustRover™ relays minute by minute, real-time dust data, right at the vehicle dust source. The immediate implementation of targeted dust suppression strategies translates to water savings and reduced vehicle wear and tear.

Reliable data-based decisions enhance productivity, efficiency and importantly, they help users adhere to occupational health and safety management plans and government regulations.

DustRover™ enhances water truck intervention efficiency… And with the advent of autonomous vehicles, the future of mobile dust monitoring with DustRover™ has only just begun.

Treats hostile terrain like home

DustRover™ is ready, robust and reliable.

Tried and tested across some of Australia’s toughest mine sites, including bauxite operations and major iron ore sites across Western Australia, the broad measurement range of the dust monitor ensures performance at extremely high dust levels, making it an ideal trending tool to monitor peak dust events — detecting variations in dust concentration levels and particles as small as 0.3 micrometres (μm).

Based on inductive electrification technology, DustRover™ requires minimal maintenance and no calibration for “trend monitoring only” applications.

“DustRover™ provides organisations with added insight into what is going on in their work environment,” remarked Peter Stidwell, Engineering Manager at Acoem.

“Now mine operators can use live, accurate data to ensure that safety standards remain at their highest levels at all times. Built tough, DustRover™ is a simple, lightweight and durable system with higher reliability and incredibly low maintenance, reducing the overall cost of ownership,” he added.

A key asset for smart mine monitoring, DustRover™ is highly scalable, catering for big and small vehicle fleet sizes. Depending on specific requirements, it can also incorporate an optional ambient temperature and relative humidity sensor — giving operators a wider view of site conditions.

Dust monitoring to help cities breathe easier

DustRover™ opens up new avenues for hyperlocal dust mapping across urban environments.

While its use at mining sites is well established, DustRover™ can also be successfully deployed for hyperlocal dust mapping across urban environments, helping control excessive dust that impacts quality of life in communities where we live, work and play.

Its mobility and smart data capabilities make DustRover™ a forward-thinking system for monitoring particulate matter across our streets and neighbourhoods —essentially becoming a city wide environmental dust monitor.

Easily adapted to fit any medium-sized or large vehicle such as a utility, 4×4 or construction dump truck, DustRover™ sensors can also be mounted onto a dedicated vehicle to capture real-time information and transmit data back to a traffic command centre. The operator can then take immediate action to implement dust control mitigation as required.

“Acoem is partnering with a major Australian road authority to deploy DustRover™ on its city streets to detect excessive levels of particulate matter,” commented Eben Nel, Sales Engineer at Acoem.

“This pilot program has the potential to be a gamechanger and in the near future we envisage that DustRover™ will become an important component of urban air quality monitoring, creating better outcomes for our communities and the environment,” concluded Eben.

Over time, key data insights from DustRover™ will empower authorities and city planners to redesign urban landscapes and traffic routes around dust hotspots. And with the advent of autonomous vehicles, the future of mobile dust monitoring with DustRover™ has only just begun.

To learn more about how Acoem DustRover™ can assist with your specific dust monitoring application, visit www.acoem.com or contact us

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by Acoem contributor | July 25, 2023
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