Machine-Systems Task Viability
and Economic Comparison

Many new machines are being developed and brought on to the market; de-mining is a very complex subject and all too often many of the real problems that arise during de-mining operations are not fully appreciated by machinery designers. The following observations have been documented while comparing the MDM system with other proposed and existing de-mining machinery.

As a high percentage of minefields have become overgrown through time with dense vegetation, many other de-mining machines are unable to progress forward through the area until this vegetation (bushes and small trees etc) has been removed, whereas the MDM machine removes the vegetation simultaneously.

Some systems have a target area of, for example, 5000m2 per day and two or more machines are required to undertake separate tasks. This equates to half that amount per machine per day. The MDM machine is expected to clear 10 times that amount if simultaneously clearing dense vegetation and up to15 times that amount in areas of no vegetation. Since the suspected areas to be made safe total an equivalent to that of Spain and Germany combined, then the more efficient method is required.

A good benchmark to determine the size of machine for this type of operation is to consider the existing successful machinery used in commercial operations, such as quarrying, earthmoving, forestry, and agriculture. In all of these industries the machinery is getting larger. This is for a number of reasons including economies of scale. They had to do it in order to make money and survive in a competitive market and these same economic principals will be adopted in mine clearing and humanitarian works. Larger, faster and more efficient machinery will become the norm as this type of work becomes more commercialized.

Some machine designers have a huge and dangerous misconception that the main problems in minefields are the mines themselves. In some areas there are many more items of UXOs such as mortars etc, for every one mine. Unlike most other mine clearing machinery the MDM system is also able to simultaneously deal with these other issues.

Another fatal misconception is that mines can be "set off" by applying pressure to the top of the mine. If it was that easy then mine clearing rollers and flails would have succeeded in this work. Unfortunately, in the past, the designers of the mines have had more resources to develop smarter mines to outsmart those developing removal methods. Many mines have built-in pressure and/or time parameters or are detonated by other means such as magnetic signature. Placing pressure to the top of mines does not work effectively enough. Also there is the problem of vegetation, voids etc, within the surface of the ground with stones and tree trunks taking the force of the pressure instead of the mine. De-mining experts have stated that these are and always will be military breeching systems and not humanitarian de-mining tools. Nothing has been completely cleared by any of these machines, it's only been rolled or beaten.

The results of this attempted method of removal are well documented. In one case an organisation had been using a mine clearing roller. After rolling many minefields twice in opposite directions thus detonating many mines the areas were rendered safe for the returning families. However, after some time of using this method a detailed survey found that sometimes they had actually only cleared 20% of the mines. Placing pressure on the tops of the mines does not clear them. With some machines that use either a rolling or a moving tool method there is the added problem of the roller or tool becoming built up with bonding soil in wet conditions and becoming even less effective.

A great deal of understanding has been gained through owning and operating an assortment of machinery using the web/soil sieve system as proposed for use on many de-mining machines. However it has recently been observed that there is a dangerous and mistaken belief in the efficiency of such equipment for mine clearing. The soil can only drop through the gaps on the web if the soil particles are smaller than the gaps. This system would be fine if all mines were in clean sand. In reality the soil is normally moist and compacted together and also held together by the roots of the vegetation, so rendering this method unworkable.

The only scenario in which the web operates effectively is if all of the vegetation had been removed beforehand or ploughed in the previous year. Here, the vegetation would be "rotted down" and the soil cultivated into a fine tilth allowing it to fall through the gaps in the web thus catching the larger items such as in stone picking. Root crop machinery using this method such as sugar beet and potato harvesters etc, all have a device in the front which simultaneously removes the tops from the plants being harvested and throws them off to the side and onto the previous run. There is a good reason for this: if this is not done, the web becomes blocked up with vegetation and the crop could not be separated from the soil. Also, it must be noted that the bar spacing on root crop harvesting machines is much wider as root crops are a great deal larger than the detonators in a land mine. Many ideas look good on paper but the web only works if the vegetation is removed and the soil has already been cultivated or these processes are carried out simultaneously as with the MDM machine.

Many systems require a number of machines, for example one to attempt setting off the personnel mines with pressure, (this does not work for many mines); and another to pick up the earth and sieve/filter out any remaining objects, (this also does not work in normal conditions). However, there are still many vital operations not dealt with.

These include:

1. Vegetation clearance.
2. Logistics/transportation of the machine in remote areas with little or no road infrastructure.
3. Lack of detection, missing out deeper buried UXOs such as mortars etc.
4. Lack of detection, when operating in areas with anti-tank mines.
5. The area not being left in a manner that would allow safe return of the families.
6. The area not being left in a condition to encourage agricultural and economic viability.

Most other machinery have a problem with depth controllability when working in undulating ground, often going too deep over mounding and fatally missing out objects buried in dips or hollows. The MDM machine is able to automatically follow the contours of the surface accurately, including simultaneous and opposing side axis undulations.

Many de-mining machines are designed to run on steel caterpillar type tracks. There are a number of disadvantages with this, notably transportation. These machines can be designed to operate effectively on paper but again in reality they often have to operate in areas such as the paddy fields of Cambodia or up in the mountains of Angola etc, where there are no low-loader trucks available and little or no road infrastructure. The other alternative is to use faster machines with tyres, but they would get damaged being driven through a minefield. The MDM system has overcome both problems by being able to travel at high speeds and then using a novel method of lifting the whole tractor (including tyres) off the ground when in working mode.

Many machines are unable to work in areas where there is a risk of there being anti-tank mines. Unlike the old ATMs designed to blow a tank track off, the more modern mines have more formidable power. The MDM machine is able to rely upon a multi-detection system incorporating a fail-safe feature that stops the machine when an object over a pre-set parameter is detected. This does not have an adverse affect on the progress of the machine because it is then able to register the size statistics and location coordinates then work around the detected item leaving it behind for later removal by the manual de-mining team. It is the detection/locating of the objects and the quality assurance that up until now has been so time consuming. With the MDM system, as the remaining objects are now detected and their size data and location coordinates registered they can now be destroyed/removed in an efficient and safe manner.

Many of the countries where mines are laid have rainy seasons and since most de-mining machines are unable to operate in wet weather or wet ground conditions this has a dramatic adverse effect on the logistics and economics of mine clearing. However, as the MDM machine has large wheels and four-wheel drive it is able to travel in very muddy and poor traction conditions when in transport mode. Also, it has a centrifugal self-cleaning grinding drum and operates on low ground pressure rollers, giving the machine high traction when in working mode, dramatically extending the working season with the obvious commercial and humanitarian benefits.

When potential purchasers are choosing which machinery to buy they may not only be looking at the initial purchase cost but also at the potential second hand value of the machine after a contract or task has been completed. Most de-mining machinery can only be used for de-mining. However, with the MDM system the de-mining machinery can be easily removed after the task has been completed or once they are worn-out and the host tractor and/or crop planting part can continue to be utilised for further works, thus increasing the longer term value.

To create an industrious atmosphere and encouraging entrepreneurial activity generating a greater interest and investment in this type of work, greater sustainability and profitability is a must. As the market increases and more competition develops among the suppliers of the machinery for this purpose, a greater emphasis will be placed on dual role or multi-tasked machinery. This is a naturally evolving phenomenon and has happened with most other industries. When dollar based business decisions have to be made, the purchasers of such machinery will opt for a machine that is safer and more economic. Why buy a machine that just puts pressure on the ground or another one that only sieves the soil? Why buy a machine that only clears vegetation or a system that only detects? Why not instead buy one machine that does everything simultaneously including putting the areas under crops that, when harvested, can then be traded to further promote economic sustainability. It will soon become a competitive market and, ultimately, cost reduction and increased profitability will direct the decision makers.

It could be argued that many of the other machinery and systems are further developed than the MDM system as they are already built and being operated. However, this is no reason to give up on further developing landmine clearing machinery. We should only give up when we have either reached perfection or if there are no more mines left to clear. Until then, it would be complacent not to strive on for continual improvement.