Capital Equipment News September 2021

DIGITALISATION

Volvo CE’s Load Assist Map is an app that allows operators to monitor on-site traffic in real time.

Digitalisation: mainstay of safety, efficiency and productivity at mines and quarries

Digitalisation has brought to the mining and quarrying industry improved operational safety, risk management, productivity and efficiency through data collection, data transfer and analysis. This feature explores the effect of digitalisation on safety and unpacks some of the digital technologies available in the market today, writes Mark Botha .

J ohn Deere sales manager as mineral demand increases, more people are being employed underground and on site. “Managing these people goes hand in hand with both their safety and with the safety of the product and the equipment running on site,” he says. Digitalisation and safety Putzmeister SA technical advisor Hennie van Niekerk says digitalisation at mining and quarrying operations is meant to remove hu- man error to minimise accidents and improve safety. “Unfortunately, you still need common sense, and the human factor can never Construction and Forestry MEA Griffiths Makgate says safety is crucial to the mining and quarrying environment because,

really be eliminated. Safety will always be jeopardised as long as systems can be bypassed.” Hexagon’s Mining division senior director Products and Innovation Marcos Bayuelo says digitalisation plays an increasingly important role in protecting miners and mining equipment: “While we continue to place people in high-risk environments, we will see safety incidents occur at mining and quarrying operations. It is unrealistic to consider zero-harm achievable overnight in an industry as large as mining.” However, digitalisation accompanied by change management can improve the safety of people in operational roles. “At the mine design phase, where processes and workflows become defined, digitalisation can help mitigate hazards by preventing risk. Knowing risk-related issues in real time empowers action while trending

information from historical data can improve risk mitigation plans.” He says sensor technology in particular is increasingly important to improving operations’ safety by helping people make better decisions and to assist them in conducting their jobs safely amid the daily grind of an operation. As an example, he points to the Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table (EMESRT), a global initiative by six major mining companies to engage with key industry OEMs on the design of categorising nine levels of control for vehicle interaction risks, and to guiding the industry on how these risks can be managed, from technology design to implementation.” He says that, while these measures have operationally safe equipment. “EMESRT has been integral to

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