COMMENT
WORKING WITH
CHANGE
T
echnology has significantly altered
the workplace and all other spheres
of life and is bound to further
change the way that we work and
live. The mining and quarrying industry
will not escape this momentous shift in
human development. The Fourth Industrial
Revolution and the emerging digital forces
of the ‘new world’ will bring with it its fair
amount of challenges, but it will also set
in motion a deluge of opportunities for
a younger, technology-savvy workforce
entering the quarrying industry.
The quarrying industry has immense
potential to employ many people in a country
where unemployment is probably the
foremost factor hampering growth. But to
remain relevant, quarrying needs to be made
attractive to millennials, and to do that, it
needs to embrace new technologies, diversify
in terms of race and gender, and consider
modernising several aspects of traditional
operations. Quarries simply cannot afford
to continue as if it is ‘business as usual’. The
industry would not survive if it continues to
be regarded as an ‘old boys club’.
Quarries need to be able to quickly and
accurately respond to the risks, strategic
challenges, and work unknows of the future.
According to Deloitte’s report The future of
mining in Africa, navigating a revolution, 2018,
“The rise in operating costs and complex
ore bodies that have an impact on safety and
the health and well-being of employees are
putting pressure on mines to think differently
about how they should operate. Mines are also
working with a younger workforce that expect
career progression and growth. Continuous
legislative changes force mines to rethink
how technology will enable them to be more
efficient, effective, and compliant.”
The report further states that digital
technologies are changing the way of work in
the following three areas:
•
•
•
Work: the type of work that people will
do in the future;
Workplace: the structure and practices
that enable people to create value in the
future; and
Workforce: the portfolio of workforces,
people, and machines, on balance sheet
and contingent workers and crowds.
As we enter a new era in the workplace, and
as more and more companies modernise,
what does the future hold for quarries and
mining operations? Firstly, we will have
to accept that the work will become more
digitised and technology driven. Many
mines have already introduced robotics and
automation. According to the Deloitte report,
digitisation will incorporate areas such as
autonomous operations (trucks, drills), ‘digital
twins’ in engineering and maintenance, and
a multitude of equipment sensors. “Real-
time information, predictive analytics, and
monitoring of production, cost, efficiencies,
and employee data will be managed through
applications.” Furthermore, these systems
will enable operators to identify and mitigate
environmental, occupational, and operational
risks and allow workers to engage with their
employers in a different way.
The report concludes: “The mine of the
future requires leadership that embraces
a culture of data-led decision-making
and a new way of thinking and operating.
Leadership and employees require different
skills and capabilities that will enable them to
be successful in this environment.”
Food for thought for an industry that is not
known to change old ways overnight. ■
Leon Louw
Interim editor
[email protected]
QUARRY SA | JULY/AUGUST 2018 _ 1