WENCO MINING SYStems
Personnel Tracking Mobile Application
Executive Summary
WENCO Mining Systems is a Canadian technology company that develops systems to manage surface mining equipment. Their global network of mines requires the highest level of safety protocols, so we developed a personnel tracking application to provide labourers with technology to keep them safe.
With the new personnel tracking application, users are able to view their current GPS location on a site map, be provided alerts of danger, notified of site-wide alarms, and have the ability to trigger an emergency panic mode. This ensures that safety hazards are mitigated and that all workers are aware of potential risks on the job at any point of the day.
Site managers are also able to utilize the application to see where individual workers are within the mine, push notification warnings to employee devices, and track their teams in times of distress. The devices used are configured to run only on a site’s private network, and only allow for the use of this application.
Challenge
WENCO is a global leader in mining fleet management software and has developed working relationships with some of the most respected mining companies in the world. The conditions and workplaces for their clients can be grueling, but WENCO strives for excellence in the realm of safety. Ensuring that employees are centrally accounted for and knowledgeable of any threats or hazards is a key component of their operations moving forward.
WENCO’s goal to increase workplace safety for mine employees comes to life through the development of a custom mobile application. The environment within a working mine isn’t exactly ideal for connectivity, accessibility, or user interaction, so a variety of challenges were on the table.
WENCO was seeking a solution that was reliable, simple, and effective for their clientele that ranges from small mine sites to massive pits.
Solution
Incorporating industry research and learnings, we created a modern and friendly UX that improved functionality for seamless personnel management. Given the gruesome work conditions some mines operate in, we optimized the application to be highly functional with weak signals and extreme temperatures.
The WENCO Personnel Management application ensures front-line labourers are aware of any hazards and dangers at all times within the mine site. The use of alarms and warnings as well as the user panic feature greatly improve the manner in which the safety of employees is managed. The application is simple yet effective and allows for use with minimal training, a low number of interactions, and extended battery life.
Features
The WENCO mobile application allows its users to view alerts and warnings in a given mine site. These alerts and warnings indicate hazards such as upcoming blasts occurring within the workplace. Other types of alerts include lost connection, low battery, entrance of zones that are marked as dangerous, and more. These notifications appear as full screen alerts accompanied with loud warnings that ensure all employees are aware of any hazards or alerts.
A panic feature is also included for users to indicate if they are in an emergency situation and require assistance from their safety department. This feature is activated by simply pressing the panic button which then sends an alert to their site manager and other necessary members of the team.
The application boasts a mapping system and location-based alarm system to ensure safety for employees. The map shows their geographical location and overviews of the mine site and their exclusion zones. Additionally, the mobile application also allows users to save their credentials, which makes for a faster, more convenient login process.
TEch Stack
Android App
- Programming language – Java
- SDK – Android SDK
- IDE/ Toolset – Android Studio
Backend
- Framework/Technology – MQTT