The Civil Engineering Contractor September 2018 | Page 26

TECHNOLOGY
Technology has the capability of greatly improving safety when blasting on a construction site.
“Explosives, like mining, is one of
a very few industries that has not
yet been disrupted or significantly
challenged by new ideas and
technologies, but I believe a major
disruptor most likely already
exists; we just need to apply our
minds. Explosives in their current
ammonium nitrate form will be
around for another 10 to 15 years but
will certainly change and be replaced
during my lifetime,” says Tose.
He adds that, as an international
explosives manufacturer and
supplier, AEL is looking at ways
to assist the industry in reaching
their goal of modernisation that
enables safe and efficient operations.
“Significant R&D effort is going into
our products and equipment alike,
24 - CEC September 2018
with some exciting developments
set to take place in the future.
Historically, a lot of groundbreaking
technology was applied to the
manufacture of our explosives, but
a shift has occurred where we have
realised this out-of-the-box thinking
is required for the application of our
products, services, and equipment
on our customer sites.
“Real-time information and
remote capability of equipment is
what will enable modernisation and
automation of the drill and blast
activities on site. AEL is already
making use of technologies such as
drones, GPS tracking, and various
software packages that enable
proactive decision-making, while
the exciting new concept of the
‘digital twin’ will enable accurate
real-time measurement of the entire
value chain. While completely ‘man-
less’ operations are unlikely to exist
soon, remotely manned operations
are definitely immediate possibilities
and will include concepts such as
‘driverless’ explosives trucks,
wireless electronic detonators, and
real-time monitoring to ensure the
industry remains relevant in the 4.0
Industrial Revolution,” says Tose.
According to a report by the
European Construction Industry
Federation, robots are not likely any
time soon to dominate construction
sites: “Eventually, robots will
‘learn’ and transfer important data
to each other. However, currently
robots need operators and their