Dispatchers have state-of-the-art equipment at their disposal to respond to emergencies faster. None of the dispatchers in Pniówek can remember the last time there was any major modernization of the control center. Of course, systems were changing, computers and screens were being replaced, but dispatchers were still sitting in front of a decades-old synoptic board. In a nutshell, it's a large board on which you can see a diagram of the mine with numerous colored lights that indicate possible emergencies and dangers.
- When the mine underwent changes related to the commissioning of new levels, mining fields, and longwalls, the employees of the communications department had to install new lights on the synoptic board, which showed the operating status of the machinery and equipment installed in the new area - recalls Paweł Bieszczad, senior foreman for ICT and automation equipment.
Now dispatchers have a huge 5x3 meter screen at their disposal. With the click of a mouse, they can display data in any configuration from systems that monitor the production process. It is worth noting that the mine has more than a dozen systems monitoring diverse parameters. Among other things, dispatchers can see in real time which longwall has a stoppage and for what reason. The same applies to all coal haulage system. Added to this is the monitoring of working machinery and equipment. Just a click on the appropriate icon on the computer allows you to clearly see which of the hundreds of monitored machines and equipment are malfunctioning. In such a situation, the dispatcher contacts the people operating the machinery in question and informs them of its malfunction.
Four people work in the control center each shift. The mine's main operations dispatcher, the plant's auxiliary operations dispatcher, the gasometry dispatcher and the energy and mechanical dispatcher (the latter two have separate stations equipped with six 55-inch monitors). Interestingly, before the modernization of the control center, the energy and mechanical dispatcher had his room in a completely different building. Now everyone is in one room, which greatly facilitates communication and response in the event of any danger arising underground in the mine.
- The most important thing is that in an instant we can access data from all production monitoring systems and more than a thousand different types of sensors installed underground in the mine. In emergency situations, quick access to such data is invaluable - says Zbigniew Czarnecki, director of the Pniówek mine.
In addition, the control center has been isolated from the space in which the gas control centers are built, among other reasons, because of the noise generated by fans cooling the interior of the racks. An air-conditioned server room was built just behind the control center wall. Of course, all systems have been secured against cyber attacks.
