COVID-19 has proven technology, business agility and innovation will save lives across the mining and resources sector (and the wider workforce).

There is no doubt that COVID-19 has wreaked havoc across the globe, with over 3 million deaths to date. Among the devastating ripple effect of an economic crisis with business closures, restrictions and supply chain disruptions.

Multinational professional network PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released the  Mine 2020 Resilient and Resourceful report which outlines the impact of the global pandemic on the mining sector and what it means for the future.

The global report analyses the performance of the world’s top 40 miners. The 2020 edition is one of the most significant to date, given that it covers the COVID-19 outbreak, and implications of a global lockdown. The report found that the mining industry had come through the pandemic “mostly unscathed” and “certainly better than many other sectors”. 

Financial stability in turbulent times

Source: Mine 2020 Resilient and Resourceful report

Financial metrics

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COVID-19 impact

How has mining and resources operations found stability amongst the COVID-19 chaos?

Not only has the industry remained resilient to unforeseen operational issues but has provided stability in a global pandemic, where many other sectors could not. A remarkable feat.

How did mining companies weather the COVID-19 storm mostly unscathed? The ability to innovate, adapt and respond through technologies and software.

Miners operating remotely or autonomously have found that technology also helps to manage the risks and impacts of Covid-19. They can better support remote workforces, reduce on-site presence, and monitor and control operations from outside the mine site.

What does this mean for the future of mining and resources?

While the findings of this report are positive, the road ahead is uncertain and there are plenty of challenges to come that will disrupt mining operations.

The report showed that Australia was able to keep operations running with controls with nickel, iron ore and coal production but also delivered a warning against complacency. 

It recommends that mining operations take advantage of this period of relative financial stability to revisit strategies and invest in new innovations and technologies to help future proof their operations.

• Fly2Work – remote worker travel and accommodation booking application
• Journey Management System (JMS) – journey management travel safety and compliance app
• Site Pandemic Response (SPR) – COVID-19 health check and site protection tool 

Monitor, manage and protect a travelling workforce

This suite of applications allows mining operations to monitor, manage and protect their travelling workforce in the air, on the ground, between sites and at sites with total visibility.

That means 100% HSE compliance, immediate emergency response reactions, automated management of all FIFO and/or DIDO workforce requirements. As well as the protection from COVID-19 and other viruses or outside threats that can infiltrate a site, camp or business operations.

Further to this, our applications can be completely customised, white-labelled and tailored to your needs. A bespoke solution to meet the unique challenges of your operations.

Managing a FIFO and/or DIDO workforce is challenging, time-consuming and can result in cost blowouts, losses in productivity from workers missing transfers and plenty of headaches for mining operations.

Fly2Work was designed to provide a unified solution that can be accessed by any worker from any internet-connected device (as well as offline functionality on some devices).

They can easily book their flights, bus transfers, accommodation with hotels, motels or company-owned assets and camps, book hire vehicles and access company cars in one simple process. Managers can monitor the entire workforce through a central dashboard and FIFO management becomes a breeze.

This is a highly successful application that has been deployed by leading mining companies including Shell QGC in Queensland.

Driving is the riskiest activity any worker will undertake and results in almost a third of all workplace injuries and fatalities.

For mining and resources operations, driving long distances between job sites is essential and there are plenty of risks drivers have to mitigate. There is fatigue, the elements, other drivers, vehicle failure and many other influences that can lead to a worker being hurt or stranded in the middle of the Australian outback. Many of these areas have limited or no mobile reception as well, which is where JMS comes in. This app is installed on the driver’s smartphone or tablet and monitors a preset journey, with geofenced checkpoints along the way.

If a driver does not reach a checkpoint on time (which includes rest and fatigue management stops) then alerts are sent to management through SMS, push notification and email so that they can investigate and launch a swift emergency response. If the driver is out of range, the GPS functionality of their phone will send the alert and last known location so help can be deployed. It is the ultimate safety guardian for your travelling workers.

COVID-19 struck quickly and struck hard for many businesses across all sectors, with restrictions and shutdowns putting the brakes on the global economy.

Our team moved swiftly to assist Australian small businesses fighting to stay open in the face of the pandemic with a health check application that protects workers from the threat of COVID-19.

Workers have to fill out a health check before entering job sites and premises and any flags are immediately raised with management so they can be denied entry, quarantined and kept away from other workers.

This also works in reverse, with businesses able to send health checks to people if they are visiting their premises. This allows tradespeople, delivery services and other industries to keep operating. Best of all, we’ve have made this application 100% free for small businesses (up to 50 licences) and non-for-profit organisations.

IONYX fleet management solutions

Your destination might be to explore smarter ways of working, to improve personal and transport safety, to support business growth or increase savings. Wherever you need to go, IONYX is finding new and better ways to help you get there.