The recent approval for ecom’s i.roc Ci70 ‐Ex handheld computer (PDA) with barcode scanning capabilities enables new levels of safety and productivity. Underground, the organisation and coordination of staff members, machines and material is a major logistical challenge for companies, employees and agencies. It is necessary to cover long distances underground to get workers and machines to the correct working site. ecom says “smooth processes, thorough human resource planning and a high efficiency of materials and vehicles are crucial for successful mining. One of the biggest challenges is the logistical planning and successful transportation of the miners, their working materials and the mined materials.
“Communication, logistical planning and successful extraction are often times without mobile devices and done well below today’s state‐of‐the‐art. Lack of efficiency, high manpower requirements, insufficient planning and the inability to analyse data and procedures signalled a clear need for a high technology mobile solution. What was once handled by paper, clipboards and unnecessary staff costs, may now be handled by a computer‐based communication system and explosion‐proofed handheld computers. The goal of this change is to improve the flow of materials, better plan the workforce and improve the efficiency of transportation and storage, as well as ensuring a better capacity utilisation of machines and vehicles.
“Mobile computing benefits include: reduced user fatigue, improved user experience, improved real‐time visibility, control of containers, equipment and tools. Organisations will also see improved accuracy of the item’s cradle‐to-grave history; reduced risk for safety non‐compliance, improved decision making and accountability and higher profitability.
“With innovative developments in mobile communication and identification systems that may be incorporated into mobile computers for explosive environments, ecom instruments GmbH responds to the latest requirements. The result is embodied by the i.roc® Ci70 ‐Ex, a mobile computer that in many aspects points to an industrial revolution for ex‐protected handheld computers, especially in mining.
“The i.roc® Ci70 ‐Ex is the latest development in ecom‘s successful i.roc® product range and the first PDA to have been jointly developed in conjunction with Intermec/Honeywell. This makes it a great mobile computer – not least because of its many features that are unique to mobile computing in explosive environments.
ecom and Snively have combined their competence and achieved the “world´s first successful MSHA certification for this one‐of‐a‐kind intrinsically‐safe handheld computer. It also comes with the highest number of global approvals for use in such areas – from ATEX through IECEx to NEC – and it is also entirely compatible with all applications developed for the Intermec 70 series, which means that it can be incorporated into existing systems.