Systems Engineering Approach to Slope Stability Monitoring in the Digital Mine

Abstract

Slope stability monitoring in open cut mining is increasingly based on the use of a variety of different sensors and associated analytics, each capable of providing part of the understanding required to manage complex geotechnical environments. Designing an integrated monitoring system that is both attainable and fit for purpose can therefore be particularly challenging. In this paper, a systems engineering approach based on a novel methodology is presented to design the slope monitoring system. The methodology uses the rock engineering systems (RES) approach to system decomposition for geotechnical engineering problems, to determine the critical rock mass behaviours requiring monitoring. It follows this with the application of the system theoretic process analysis (STPA) approach, to design the control system for the monitoring system and identify and mitigate sub-optimal configurations. We demonstrate that the approach is practical to implement and supports transparent and defensible decision making for designing and implementing slope monitor systems. We apply the method to the design of a monitoring system for an Australian coal mine and demonstrate how the approach can facilitate the identification and design of new sensing modalities.

Remoción de semillas por la ardilla Notocitellus adocetus (Rodentia: Sciuridae) en el oeste de México

“…We found that Z. mays had the highest abundance of fruits of the three species studied, which influences that more seeds of this species are removed (Elmouttie, 2009;Kelrick et al, 1986). There is a higher density of squirrels in the corn crops (Flores-Alta et al, 2019), which increases the intensity of seed predation (Gharnit et al, 2020;Minor & Koprowski, 2015).…”

Landslide susceptibility zoning based on Rock Engineering System application to the Tehran case study

“…The RES approach has been employed for a wide range of geological and engineering topics, including surface blasting, natural slope instability, earthquake‐ and rainfall‐induced slope instability, road cutting slope instability, rockfall hazard assessment, and engineering geological zoning (Hudson & Feng, 2015). Furthermore, recent findings have highlighted the general applicability of RES in geotechnical engineering applications (Rafiee et al., 2019), such as employing fuzzy RES for assessing the rock mass permeability in block mines (Wang et al., 2018), utilizing RES in analysing the liquefaction potential of sandy soils (Ferentinou & Fakir, 2018), investigating rockfall hazards as a primary instability along the Haraz Road in Tehran using remote sensing (Jarahi & Seifilaleh, 2016), and designing a control system for slope stability monitoring in an open‐pit mine using RES and a theoretical process analysis system (Elmouttie & Dean, 2020). RES has also been implemented in various geological settings and scales in Greece.…”

Effects of environmental factors on the distribution of flagship species in Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Kumawu, Ghana: Implications for conservation and ecotourism development

“…Several factors can influence animal species' distribution and relative abundance within a given area (Elmouttie, 2009). Large‐scale distribution patterns of species are shaped by environmental and historical constraints (Harcourt & Wood, 2012; Kamilar, 2009; Lehman & Fleagle, 2006).…”