Tracking is core to any evacuation & rescue plan, but of equal importance, is understanding the environment and using that information in conjunction with any rescue plan. Wireless telemetry allows the team to assess air quality, rock stability and monitor video feeds to better plan their operation. Equally, robust and flexible communication devices enable users to switch between narrow and broadband should one of the networks be negatively impacted.
The world has come a long way since two-way radio communication was introduced to mining operations. Back then being able to have a stable and clear conversation with a colleague in a remote or underground location was (and in some ways, still is) a huge step. Since then, the advent of WiFi has had an equally seismic impact on operations and more recently we have the arrival of private LTE networks – promising cell phone coverage throughout, regardless of environment.
Fuel is the biggest consumable for any operation, and a critical lifeline that can bring production to a screeching halt when not properly managed.
Location tracking in underground mines can be traced back as far as the 1980s to when the main technology used was RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Tag Readers placed in the roof of the tunnel.
Organisations embrace technology readily or fear it, often driven by past experience, direct or otherwise. The act of deploying a new technology is only part of the process and we would argue that it represents a smaller element of success than you realise.
