Electronic research and development house Netshield South Africa has developed a system that monitors and analyses environmental and physiological risk factors for mineworkers.

Currently, mining companies rely on bulky test equipment to identify personnel and environmental risks facing miners when regular sample measurements and inspections are undertaken.

Netshield MD Inus Dreckmeyr, who, with Ricus Ellis, created the system, says that existing systems can monitor only one risk factor during a working shift, and that, while the presence of a single risk factor may not be a concern, the presence of a combination of factors indicate extreme danger.

Dreckmeyr adds that the system is also important in the context of occupational health and safety, which plays a significant role in South Africa's mining industry.

The new digital occupational hygiene exposure monitoring system (DOHEMS) is a personal automated and integrated personal data acquisition and processing system that can measure different exposures simultaneously, including personal and environmental measurements. It also has a built-in personal alarm and warning system.

It is also lightweight, fire-resistant and can measure an individual's core body temperature and heart rate, which provides an indication of stress levels being experienced. The exposures causing stress levels can also be monitored over periods, which can assist in research and future decisions. The DOHEMS can be used by miners on a belt or an unobtrusive harness.

The system can also relate to the sum and duration of all exposures in the mine that can impact on fatigue, such as dust vapour, humidity, noise, vibration, gas levels and heat.

This is important, says Dreckmeyr, because fatigue can affect a miner's performance, which could reduce productivity or result in an accident, which may be fatal.

"In terms of risk management, it can provide real-time data that captures visual footage, which results in accelerated risk warning measures and controls and provides information on post-incident analysis, and in decisions for future design and planning," he adds.

He stresses that the DOHEMS is not intended to be a safety device, but it is an early warning device.

Netshield has secured the usage rights for a multimedia processor used in this system. The system is made up of a data acquisition and warning electronic components or probes, and a central management and analysis computer system.