Igor Svrkota

Risk assessment model of mining equipment failure based on fuzzy logic

Abstract The systematic maintenance of mining machinery and equipment is the crucial factor for the proper functioning of a mine without production process interruption. For high-quality maintenance of the technical systems in mining, it is necessary to conduct a thorough analysis of machinery and accompanying elements in order to determine the critical elements in the system which are prone to failures. The risk assessment of the failures of system parts leads to obtaining precise indicators of failures which are also excellent guidelines for maintenance services. This paper presents a model of the risk assessment of technical systems failure based on the fuzzy sets theory, fuzzy logic and min–max composition. The risk indicators, severity, occurrence and detectability are analyzed. The risk indicators are given as linguistic variables. The model presented was applied for assessing the risk level of belt conveyor elements failure which works in severe conditions in a coal mine. Moreover, this paper shows the advantages of this model when compared to a standard procedure of RPN calculating – in the FMEA method of risk assessment.

Mining injuries in Serbian underground coal mines - A 10-year study

Mining, especially underground coal mining, has always been a dangerous occupation. Injuries, unfortunately, even those resulting in death, are one of the major occupational risks that all miners live with. Despite the fact that all workers are aware of the risk, efforts must be and are being made to increase the safety of mines. Injury monitoring and data analysis can provide us with valuable data on the causes of accidents and enable us to establish a correlation between the conditions in the work environment and the number of injuries, which can further lead to proper preventive measures. This article presents the data on the injuries in Serbian coal mines during a 10-year period (2000-2009). The presented results are only part of an ongoing study whose aim is to assess the safety conditions in Serbian coal mines and classify them according to that assessment.