Gone are the days where magnetic tiles are used on whiteboards for shift planning in the resource sector, with Sundial Technologies introducing a more efficient and accurate replacement – an Electronic Whiteboard software application. “Start planning your drill and blast, load and haul, ancillary activities, project works, maintenance and labour from one easy to use interface,” Sundial Technologies Managing Director Charles Connell says. “The traditional planning board is usually a board with a set of magnetic tiles, which represent the equipment and personnel that form the resource and labour allocation for the upcoming shift.
“The Electronic Whiteboard maintains the same functionality of the traditional planning board, however, it uses graphical drag and drop features, as well as maintains an electronic record of the shift plan and pre shift meetings.”
Glencore Ravensworth Surface Operations Systems Coordinator Neil Pollard says, the system rolled-out seamlessly six-months ago at their site. “We just had to configure it a little to suit our site’s operation,” Pollard says.
A big advantage according to Pollard since the rollout of the technology at the project for them has been the remote access and the program’s ability to store historical line-up data.
“The Production Supervisors can sit in the comfort of their office and complete their shift’s entire line-up via the time frame program. The other advantage is the carry over functionality, which decreases the amount of time spent planning for activities which are continuing from the previous shift.”
Other benefits of the software include, accurate and efficient allocation of site resources and shift personnel and that it is interactive and can be changed with ease during a pre-shift briefing.
“The software also allows for maintenance and production plans to interact, which eliminates potential errors in resource allocation, while allowing multiple users to communicate with each other,” Connell adds.
“You can even highlight emergency response personnel, upcoming blast schedules, communicate hazards and safety briefing notifications in a clear and effective manner.”