Underground mining and tunnelling environments are complex and high-risk. That’s why real-time location tracking isn’t just about knowing where your people are: it’s about understanding what happened, when, and why. HELIX’s map replay and travel history have been developed significantly over recent months to provide powerful insights that support safer, smarter decision-making in a range of underground operational scenarios.
Fire or gas leak: visualising exposure and response
Situation: a sudden gas leak occurs in a production heading during night shift. The control room receives the alarm and initiates evacuation protocols, but it’s unclear who was nearest to the source or how quickly they exited.
HELIX advantage: using map replay, the safety team can replay movements minute-by-minute, seeing exactly who was in the vicinity, their evacuation paths, and timing. This allows responders to prioritise medical evaluations for potentially exposed workers and identify gaps in emergency response.
Benefit: quick, data-backed exposure analysis and evacuation review for better emergency handling.
Evacuation drill: validating procedures with real movement
Situation: a scheduled evacuation drill is conducted to test emergency readiness. The drill has a planned route, muster points, and re-entry rules, but it’s hard to know if everyone followed them correctly.
HELIX advantage: with map replay, supervisors can overlay planned vs. actual paths, confirming if workers evacuated through the correct routes, how long it took to reach muster points and whether anyone re-entered restricted areas too soon.
Benefit: better emergency preparedness through drill performance feedback and procedural refinement.
Note: frequency of evacuation drills varies across sites depending on jurisdiction and mine policy: HELIX supports analysis regardless of schedule.
Restricted zones: detecting unauthorized access
Situation: a section of the mine is closed due to unsupported ground. Days later, a supervisor suspects a worker may have entered the area during a shift change but has no way to verify.
HELIX advantage: travel history allows the safety team to check historical movement data for that worker, pinpointing whether they entered the restricted zone, when, and for how long. This helps prevent repeat violations and enforce zone compliance.
Benefit: proactive safety enforcement and reduced risk in hazardous areas.
Overtime monitoring: managing time in hazardous headings
Situation: during extended production cycles, crews often work longer hours in headings with high dust or gas exposure. Over time, this raises the risk of chronic health issues.
HELIX advantage: by integrating travel history with operational dashboards, managers can track cumulative time spent in high-risk areas. They can adjust rotations or apply exposure limits before thresholds are exceeded, protecting personnel health.
Benefit: reduced health risk through exposure time tracking and smarter shift planning.
Delayed shift changes: identifying bottlenecks
Situation: a mine is experiencing regular delays during shift changes at the shaft entry, increasing idle time and creating overcrowding in confined areas.
HELIX advantage: with map replay, managers can analyze congestion patterns at key locations like shafts, declines, or level accesses. This helps identify bottlenecks and reschedule arrivals or departures to improve flow and reduce contact risks.
Benefit: smoother shift transitions and safer underground traffic flow.
HELIX doesn’t just show you where people are, it helps you understand how and why they move underground. With map replay and travel history, teams gain visibility that transforms safety compliance, emergency response, and operational efficiency.
Ready to optimise your underground operations?
Contact our team to learn how HELIX 1.5 can help you achieve faster re-entry, smarter ventilation, and greater operational efficiency.