A Matrix of safety and efficiency

Matrix Design Australia is expanding its reach across the country through three new distribution partners.

Safety has always been at the heart of Matrix Design Group, an international company that provides operations-friendly applications that meet the mining industry’s ever-changing regulations.

As part of its global expansion, Matrix founded its Australian branch in March 2022 to support the Australian and New Zealand markets with its leading safety technologies: the IntelliZone proximity detection system, or PDS, and OmniPro Vision AI visual artificial intelligence collision avoidance system.

Matrix’s new Australian distributors are further aiding this reach.

In 2016, Matrix formed a strategic partnership with Monitech Mine Monitoring Systems, which saw Monitech become the sole South African distributor of IntelliZone.

“We saw what Matrix did in South Africa with a distributor, and it worked really well,” Matrix Design Australia and New Zealand general manager Pieter De Klerk told Australian Mining.

“The success of our relationship with Monitech in South Africa really helped establish the business model we wanted to use to grow our company in Australia. We wanted to find like-minded engineering companies with strong values and first-class technical capabilities, who are highly customer focused.”

After considering several options, Matrix chose Specialised Engineering Technologies, or SET, as its New South Wales distributor, Cap Coast Engineering Services (CCES) as its Queensland distributor, and Nolara Automation Solutions as its distributor in Victoria and South Australia.

When a distributor sells and delivers Matrix’s solutions to a mine site, they use their local experience and understanding of working with large original equipment manufacturers to help customers understand specific Matrix applications.

“Matrix Australia started two years ago but the company has been in the Australian market since 2018, so the distributors knew about Matrix’s products by working on the mines and seeing trials take place,” De Klerk said.

“Once we officially partnered with our distributors, we jumped straight into the technology, which they picked up very quickly.”

Through this training, SET, CCES and Nolara learned best practices for installation, various software configurations and logic, including zone creation and setup, as well as many adjustments for fine-tuning to the customer’s needs. When the team needs additional support, Matrix Design Australia is at their disposal.

“If you take the three distributors and the Matrix employees in Australia, we probably have 400–500 years of combined experience in underground mining,” De Klerk said.

“That’s a great advantage to us in the market.”

SET

SET general manager Jacob Brown said SET and Matrix have had a close working relationship for over 12 months.

“Since becoming involved with Matrix, I’ve been extremely impressed with the company’s international business structure,” Brown told Australian Mining. “Matrix has key personnel in Australia who we’re in contact with every day.

“They are very supportive. Whenever we need help, they’re always there to pick up the phone and respond to emails within a quick timeframe, which makes our job as distributors easier.”

SET distributes both IntelliZone and OmniPro. IntelliZone is designed for use on various types of underground mobile equipment, allowing users to create customisable caution, shutdown and operator zones.

It has been fully IECEx-certified for underground coal in Australia since 2018.

Brown first heard about IntelliZone while working as an electrical engineering manager across multiple underground coal mines in NSW.

“PDS has been discussed over the years, but there was always a sense of uncertainty about reliability and how these systems would be practically implemented,” he said.

“I attended my first IntelliZone presentation at a mine in Narrabri in early 2023 and the feature that stood out to me was the patented SharpZone technology and its ability to shape the zones.

“The SharpZone technology is a game changer and what sets the Matrix product above competitors who utilise basic bubble zone technology.”

IntelliZone detects workers in low-visibility or obscured line-of-sight locations and zones, automatically extending or contracting based on mobile equipment direction and speed.

“The SharpZone technology provided SET with the confidence that the product could be successfully implemented in a reliable and practical way as it allows people to stand in safe positions while still completing their job,” Brown said.

IntelliZone is durable, easy to maintain and complies with EMESRT (Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table) levels 7 and 9.

“IntelliZone has an easy interface to work with, learn, configure, change and commission,” Brown said. “Everything about it is well designed and set out.

“The solution’s componentry is sent to Australia from the US, but all the IntelliZone enclosures and kits get manufactured and assembled locally in Australia.

“Matrix has a local Queensland warehouse stocked of kits and spare parts that are easy to access. This means we aren’t relying on shipments coming from overseas.”

SET is currently implementing IntelliZone at seven NSW mines, all of which have different machines, operational challenges and mining techniques.

“With IntelliZone, you can customise it to suit each mining application,” Brown said.

“We will set up a particular set of zones and configuration files for one mine, which will work perfectly for them. Then we go and adjust it for the next mine because they might have a different operating technique which requires slightly different safe standing zones.

“That’s the biggest advantage with this solution.”

CCES

Established in 2021, CCES offers engineering solutions across a range of disciplines, including proximity detection and collision avoidance.

CCES first encountered IntelliZone in 2017.

“I first met Wes Chitwood, Matrix vice president of international operations and the US Matrix team when they came to a mine I was working at in a technology role,” CCES owner and director Loz Hemmings said.

“The IntelliZone system was demonstrated in an office environment and although it ticked all the boxes for me and my project, the appetite at the time wasn’t there for the company in terms of a PDS solution.

“Following my departure from the company, the creation of CCES and having known De Klerk for many years, we started having conversations about how the two businesses could complement each other.”

It was the ease of use, repeatability and software-based structures in IntelliZone and OmniPro that made CCES want to represent Matrix in Queensland.

“A core selling point for me is that we want to give a customer consistency and reliability with the solutions we provide, and the Matrix systems fit this mould,” Hemmings said.

Through CCES, interest for Matrix’s solutions is increasing, with enquiries coming from several mine sites and active demonstrations taking place.

“I am excited to see what the future brings with Matrix’s greater presence in Australia and the way the system can evolve as it embeds itself into the Australian mining industry,” Hemmings said.

Nolara

Backed by more than 15 years in the mining industry, Brendan Nolan founded Nolara Automation Solutions in 2021.

The company is dedicated to bringing automation to big and small businesses. A way in which Nolara does this is by distributing OmniPro across Victoria and South Australia.

“The Matrix values and goals align with those of Nolara,” Nolan said. “Matrix’s products are focused on improving safety in the workplace, which is the most vital application for automation.”

OmniPro uses visual AI technology to immediately detect personnel or objects moving in the projected travel path of mobile equipment, even in low-light and all-weather conditions.

Like IntelliZone, OmniPro creates zones within the view of the camera that can alert the operator if someone is close to the machine. These zones can be customised to meet specific needs.

Again, like IntelliZone, OmniPro generates caution zones in yellow and alert zones in red. OmniPro also minimises nuisance alerts that often desensitise workers to alarms and operates without the need for personal wearable devices or tags. The technology can identify individuals in any posture.

“OmniPro brings cutting-edge AI technology into practical application for increasing safety of people around machinery,” Nolan said.

“At Nolara we are focused on building solutions through automation, and OmniPro is a central building block for applications that keep people safe from harm.”

With distributors locked in on Australia’s east coast, Matrix is looking to further expand in Western Australia and the Northern Territory in the near future.

“We’re also doing a lot of work in New Zealand and there is a lot of interest in Papua New Guinea, so the plan is to continue expanding in those areas,” De Klerk said.

Backed by experience, intelligence and now three Australian distributors, Matrix provides award-winning safety solutions that speak for themselves.

This feature appeared in the September 2024 issue of Australian Mining.