As part of bringing its cutting-edge collision prevention system (CPS) or proximity detection system (PDS) technology to the world, South Africa-based Booyco Electronics is now in a strategic collaboration with technology systems integrator Ramjack Technology Solutions.

“Technology is changing the way that key technical services are provided to mines,” says Anton Lourens, CEO of Booyco Electronics. “The world is becoming a smaller place, and the value that service providers deliver to mining customers is no longer determined by a corporation’s size.”

Technological specialisation now demands expertise, skill sets and hardware that extend far beyond what single multinational companies can provide, says Lourens. This invariably leads to silos of expertise developing on mines that require bridging. Booyco Electronics will therefore be working with Ramjack Technology Solutions to help mines to integrate their CPS and PDS solutions with other technologies effectively, in the interests of greater safety and productivity.

“With South Africa’s mine safety legislation being very advanced in terms of requiring Level 9 compliance for collision avoidance, our partnership can offer considerable overall value to mines across the world,” he says.

According to Mike Jackson, president and CEO of Ramjack Technology Solutions, Booyco Electronics fills an important space as a best-of-breed technology provider in a critical component of mine safety.

“Our role as a systems integrator is to help mines get more value from their chosen production and safety technologies,” says Jackson. The company does this in two main ways, he says; horizontal integration bridges the gaps between the technology ‘silos’ on mines, while vertical integration takes the process right from instruments up to platform level.

He highlights that the inter-operability of leading technologies such as Booyco Electronics’ collision avoidance systems is the optimal way to achieve the ‘mine of future’. This allows mines to take up the best technologies available and ensure that they work together on their on-site platform.

“Technology providers like Booyco and Ramjack have the advantage of learning from the experience of many mines – not just one,” he says. “This gives our customers significant added value, as they can benefit from the learnings that have taken place elsewhere, without bearing the cost of developing that experience on their own.”

The two companies have already collaborated informally on a significant deep-level gold mining project in South Africa, and are excited by the prospects that this work has opened up. Lourens notes that mines globally are moving toward the Level 9 requirements outlined by the Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table (EMERST), even though relatively few have made it compulsory through national legislation.

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