A newly announced strategic alliance between Canadian tyre dealer Kal Tire and Australian mining technology company Decoda aims to help mining operations increase truck productivity, tyre life and fuel efficiency through the implementation of real-time, autonomous haul road hazard detection.

The two companies have collaborated to develop KalPRO HaulSight, which is said to build on the KalPRO TireSight autonomous tyre inspection solution.

“HaulSight’s ability to detect road hazards as they arise means mines can prevent the tyre damage that TireSight detects,” says Kal Tire Mining Tire Group technology services director Christian Erdelyi.

Decoda’s light detection and ranging technology, or LiDAR, and camera sensors are mounted to the front and rear of haul trucks, while edge computing is used to process live footage to give fleet teams instant alerts about hazards such as spillage, road undulations and high G-force events that can cause truck and tyre damage, slowing down operations.

Modelling TireSight, HaulSight’s scanning technology integrates with Kal Tire’s tyre and operations managing system to allow condition monitoring experts to assess flagged issues and automate priority-based work orders.

“HaulSight gives mine sites unprecedented visibility across the entire haul circuit and turns that insight into action. By making critical data easy to visualize and act on, operations see measurable improvements, like faster circuits and reduced downtime, from day one," says Decoda executive GM George Spink.

The solution aims to enable road crews to react quickly and create optimal road conditions that help maximise cycle speed and fuel use. When long-term planning opportunities arise, HaulSight can be used to calculate the cost of lost tyre life, productivity and fuel compared to the cost of implementing road improvements.

“The responsiveness of the system means mine sites benefit right away with trucks spending more time hauling, but HaulSight also offers long-range planning insights that enable confident decision-making around tyre maintenance and road upgrade investments,” says Erdelyi.