Spatial positioning of people in workings of a coal mine: reality and myths

The paper compares systems for determining the location of workers in coal mine workings. Fundamental differences of zonal and continuous systems are considered. Each type of system has been analysed and its compliance with the requirements of the Safety Rules in coal mines has been assessed in terms of structural design, functionality and technical parameters. It is shown that modern continuous action systems offer additional industrial safety and organisational functions due to their design features, which increase the practical value of such devices, and in the case of a zonal action system, it is possible to meet regulatory requirements within a five-second period data update, provided that the maximum distance between readers does not exceed 60 meters. The personnel spatial positioning systems of the zonal type make it possible to fulfil the normative requirement for the data update period of five seconds while maintaining the maximum distance between the readout devices of not more than 60 m.