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Today, illuminating mobile equipment for an open pit or underground mine operation is paramount to the safety of drivers and machine operators, who work in extremely dangerous conditions. Due to the lack of a standard specification for lighting systems for mine site traffic, mining operators have to fend for themselves, or rely on standard lighting equipment supplied on machines from the factory. The standard lighting fitted to mining equipment is generally under specified or not suited to the task at hand, and is generally the lowest cost option available, relying on halogen, xenon, or poor quality LED work lights. The result is poor or inadequate illumination and lighting systems for mining operations, impacting overall safety.

In recent years the mining industry has progressively replaced outmoded and unreliable lighting systems with LED technology. The LED work lights provide longevity, better overall efficiency and increased light output, but only if well designed and constructed. With the increases in light output in LED fittings very little work has been done to control the emitted light. This has resulted in a growing discontent within the mining industry that LED work lights cause more glare than older technologies. Thus, a new supply chain has emerged and over-saturation of mining markets with low-quality LED work lamps, causing an influx of complaints pertaining to glare.

Correctly specified and installed lighting systems are paramount to machine operator safety in a mine site. Operators rely heavily on visual cues to see fall of ground and to assess the conditions and potential hazards present on haul roads. When insufficient or poorly directed illumination levels exist in an operator’s field of vision, there is an increased risk of fatigue and accidents.

Choosing a lighting system for a mobile equipment fleet in the absence of a viable industry specification is a challenging task. The LED work light market is saturated with misleading information making it impossible for buyers to make an informed choice about what is best for their fleet. Purely specifying a product becomes even more problematic when the complete lighting setup and interaction with other mine site traffic is not considered.

Contrary to a widely held industry belief, one of the primary instigators of glare discomfort and impaired safety in mine sites is low quality optics, coupled with the excessive lumen output that is so often lauded by prominent lighting manufacturers, including VisionX, Speaker and Nordic, as a safety enhancing feature. In reality, poor lens system design and inability to adequately focus and direct a light source increases glare sensitivity, which is a context exacerbated by manufacturers who use of ‘off the shelf’ optics sourced from the residential LED down-light industry. Thus, the mining industry needs a reliable, replicable and robust specification to address the problem of mine site traffic.