Systems Engineering Approach to Slope Stability Monitoring in the Digital Mine

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.