Written by Andreas Karvonen, Product Manager at Mobilaris Mining & Civil Engineering
It is a blistering cold February night in Kristineberg, a mining community outside of Skellefteå, the north of Sweden. With a black breathing mask and a yellow Mobilaris tag we are driving down into the dark mineral mine. The already frosty windscreen fogs up and I remember thinking; what if we get a traffic meeting in this narrow tunnel?
Being aware and feeling safe
After an ever-winding road we park at an open slot by the side of the road. I start my laptop and go into Mobilaris Situational Awareness . There I am, a dot in the 3D map, one kilometer down. There is something calming in knowing where I am, where my friends are, and in case something happens, they will know where I am.
The last shift has clocked out and the mine is almost empty of people, we are about to perform an evacuation test with our Mobilaris Emergency Support, as we regularly do. This time we are testing the ability for the control room operator to send an emergency message and see who has acknowledged it. If someone is hurt and does not acknowledge the message, then that is the person to focus on. It is a stark contrast from sitting at the office back home as it gives a profound sense of meaning with our products. They are built for real situations.
People rely on our solutions
Now I did not meet many miners at that time, but plenty on other daytime trips. We work with technology and software but ultimately, we build solutions for people. The stress I felt the first time is gone but the sense of meaning is even stronger. The people I meet rely on us to make their workday safer and calmer.
When driving down the mine today, we can see incoming traffic in Mobilaris Onboard™. We can navigate to where we are going, even if it is a moving vehicle. Even though miners find their way around it is not always easy to keep track of the closest refuge chamber or knowing where your colleagues are. Having Mobilaris PocketMine™ in your smartphone just adds that extra layer of safety and awareness.
There is always a first time going underground and the experience can sometimes be scary. With Mobilaris solutions implemented in the mine during that first time, and all the coming ones, going underground will certainly feel safer and less stressful.
Be safe down there!
Author:
Andreas Karvonen
Product Manager at Mobilaris Mining & Civil Engineering
andreas.karvonen@test.mobilaris.se
+46 70 333 2717