Mining sites are located in largely remote areas, free from the hustle and bustle of the urban landscape. Due to this, working in this industry starts to feel a bit isolated. In such conditions, keeping track of employees and vehicles across numerous locations becomes challenging.
This is where telematics can act as a saviour. In this article, we’ll emphasise some of the top challenges faced by the mining industry and how Telematics Solutions can help overcome them.
So let’s get started!
Why does the mining industry need telematics software?
Imagine having the responsibility to manage operations on a mining site where even the routes can not be physically defined. How will you keep tabs on your employees and know at which point your vehicles are? Seems confusing right? Here is exactly why, there’s a need for advanced telematics software that can help streamline the process for employees as well as managers.
To gain more clarity on this, let’s discuss some of the challenges faced by mining industries and where can the software step in.
Top Challenges of Mining Industries
- Lack of Operational Visibility
In mining areas, lack of operational visibility refers to a situation where managers don’t have sufficient access to accurate and real-time information about the ongoing processes within mining operations. In simpler words, they are not aware of the whereabouts of their vehicles, machinery and the performance of their drivers.
- Inefficient Asset Utilization
As mining companies lack real-time visibility into the whereabouts of their assets, vehicles and employees. This makes it difficult for fleet managers to allocate resources effectively and promptly respond to last-minute changes in operations or emergencies.
- Coal thefts
In large-scale mining operations, tracking and managing the transportation of coal becomes challenging. This lack of monitoring often increases the chances of illegal activities, making it easier for individuals to access and steal coal.
- Vehicle breakdown
Unexpected vehicle breakdowns become a big challenge for mining industries. Not only can they disrupt operations but can also burn a hole in the manager's pockets because of the repair costs they would have to pay. Meanwhile, the downtime of the vehicle will also lead to missing production targets that can affect the overall output.
- Route deviation
Routes can’t be physically defined in mining areas. Therefore, fleet managers get limited accessibility to the fleet. When transporting minerals in mines, drivers need to be careful about certain restricted areas. Their lack of negligence can cause harm to the vehicles as well as the consignment. But how would managers know if they deviate to the restricted zones? Here comes the need for telematics
How can Fleet Telematics help in overcoming these challenges?
- To enhance the operational visibility in mines, telematics solutions help fleet managers to know where their drivers are, and how are they performing. By using Video Telematics Software, managers can easily
supervise their drivers. And by using Route Planning, they can assign routes to them and get to know whether they are following those routes or not.
- Telematics can help managers efficiently utilize their assets. Integrating it with GPS tracking software enables managers to get real-time alerts about the whereabouts of their drivers, vehicles, fuel consumption and much more. Knowing where the drivers are will allow them to assign tasks more appropriately and also give them the time to respond to emergencies.
- Here, Route Planning Software can come to the rescue. No manager would want to hear about the theft of coal in transit. Therefore they would need a solution that helps them monitor the travelled route for each truck, tramp or conveyer. This software enables fleet managers to specify the unloading point, determine the arrival time at the dispatch point, and define the route to be followed.
If drivers spend more time in an area than expected, managers can take immediate action
- With the help of Telematics software, maintenance reminders can be set at regular intervals. Meaning managers no longer have to worry about sudden repair expenses. They will get reminders about the maintenance of their vehicles.
- Every mining area has a restricted zone. To prevent the drivers from deviating from their route to that zone, managers can again rely on Route Planning. When the routes will be virtually defined on the map, they would easily know when the drivers deviate from their assigned route by receiving instant notifications.
This way, they can quickly respond to the situation.
Final Thoughts
This was all about how telematics software can help in improving the safety and efficiency of mining operations. To broaden your knowledge about the use cases of our software, read the following blogs. And, to know what more can TrackoBit do for you, get in touch with our folks today!
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