Redpath Canada Limited and SafeSight Exploration jointly said April 30 that they were selected as the recipients of the Ontario Mine Contractors Safety Association’s (OMCSA) Safety Innovation Award for 2020 during a virtual meeting held that month.
The award, they said, is recognition for “great innovations in mining that directly impact safety” – in their case, the SafeSight MRC Rail Runner, a safer use of the Mechanized Raise Climber (MRC) for mining and civil applications.
“The Rail Runner provides autonomous raise inspection using the latest innovations in HD video and LiDAR technologies, along with proprietary solutions developed by SafeSight,” the two said, explaining that the utility robot can easily clip on an MRC rail, to climb and perform a video inspection of both the face and/or the entirety of the raise.
The unit, which is lightweight, can complete a 1,000-ft. raise assessment and then return to the nest in under 20 minutes.
“Using a tablet from the safety of the nest, the operator controls the unit utilizing SafeSight’s Rail Runner app,” the companies said. “The unit will immediately provide an HD video of the MRC development work area for safety assessment.”
SafeSight designed, developed and manufactured the product in northern Ontario.