The remote living associated with mining
Living and working in remote locations as a mining employee presents a unique set of challenges. The isolation and harsh conditions often inherent in these locations necessitate an increased emphasis on comfort, safety, and sustainability. Fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers fly in for work on their rotation and then fly back to their home cities to rest and spend time with family until their next rotation. While on their rotation, mining camp service providers are tasked to create a home-away-from-home, where workers can rest, recuperate, and remain in contact with their families. This involves providing quality accommodations, nutritious meals, reliable communication systems, and comprehensive medical care if needed. While geographical remoteness can complicate service delivery, effective mining camp management can overcome this through careful planning, resource allocation, and continuous monitoring.
Challenges experienced in delivering mining camp services in remote areas
Delivering mining camp services in remote areas comes with a set of unique challenges that make day-to-day operations a complex task. Some of the challenges reported by leading mining camp providers include:
- Optimized camp occupancy management. Overbooking of accommodation at remote mining camps can lead to the displacement of staff and the disruption of their rest time, which can, in turn, impact productivity and morale. Conversely, underbooking of rooms leads to vacant spaces that represent an unnecessary cost.
- Emergency preparedness. The geographical isolation of mining camps also makes it challenging to deal with emergencies, requiring mining camp management to have robust safety and emergency protocols in place. It also requires a significant investment in reliable communication systems to connect with the outside world.
- Site safety. Securing the camp or lodge from unwanted visitors that could place workers and equipment at risk remains a top priority for mining camp providers, especially in regions where remote sites are more easily accessible by car.
- Isolation in remote environments. Isolation in remote environments, particularly mining locations, can significantly affect performance and well-being due to practical complications like insufficient internet connectivity. This lack of reliable connectivity hampers communication between crew members and their family and friends, not to mention the use of business applications needed by camp staff for efficient operations and team collaboration.
- Extreme weather. Employees often face difficulties adapting to harsh environmental conditions, leading to significant discomfort for camp residents, if mismanaged. Examples of mining regions with extreme weather include Canada, where temperatures are known to dip uncomfortably low, and Western Australia and West Africa, where the sun burns bright for a greater part of the year.
Technologies that help companies address the challenges of delivering mining camp services in remote areas
Leading mining camp catering companies and camp management staff at remote camps are rapidly embracing technology to help them counter the challenges experienced in delivering services to workers staffed and living in remote areas. Below are a few types of technology that have helped to reduce the challenges faced by mining camp providers:
Camp Management Software
Camp management software is pivotal in running remote mining camps efficiently and safely. It optimizes operations, manages resources, and helps implement safety protocols effectively by digitizing and centralizing information. This streamlining of administrative tasks minimizes manual labor and potential errors, a crucial benefit in logistically challenging remote mining locations. Below are three of the key ways a camp management system can benefit operations at a remote camp.
Maximize the utilization of rooms or beds at camp
Mining camp management software enhances room utilization during periods of peak demand by streamlining communication between workers and staff, allowing room reservation bookings and room assignments the flexibility to be easily edited or canceled. These systems also provide comprehensive tracking of a worker’s room booking from start to end. This type of software also allows multiple ways to book rooms to accommodate a variety of workflows, and the ability to book rooms for groups of workers en masse, saving staff lots of time.
Ready for emergencies and evacuations
Mining camp service providers may perform electronic muster station roll calls with the use of camp management software that expedites the time it takes for workers on-site to be accounted for during an emergency and/or evacuation. The software can also facilitate communication with workers that remain unaccounted for during these high-stress moments. For example, If a worker has not checked into their assigned muster during an emergency, systems of this nature may send them a text to ask if they are safe and to provide their current location.
Security at camp
Preventing unwanted visitors in certain regions is very important to stop unnecessary interruptions of project work, as well as to protect workers and equipment. Remote camp management systems can allow security personnel at security checkpoints to access necessary reporting so that only workers or guests who should be on-site are allowed on-site. This type of technology enables mining camp providers to achieve heightened site security and gain greater visibility into site access points.
Satellite Internet
The integration of in-room internet and phone systems offered by companies such as StarLink, a top global provider of satellite internet, can help overcome isolation at remote camps. High-speed internet and reliable phones can keep workers connected with the outside world so that workers can communicate with friends and family while on rotation and keep themselves entertained. Additionally, stable internet connectivity at camp means more streamlined and centralized communication between crew camp staff and any workers staffed at headquarters.
Smart Energy Control Systems
As companies in the mining sector and beyond seek to save money on energy costs and to decarbonize, they have begun implementing smart heating and cooling systems to combat the extreme weather conditions experienced by staff and crew at their remote work camps. While this practice has been commonplace in hotels for over a decade, many camps are not designed to heat or cool only when guest rooms and common spaces are presently occupied.
However, mining camp providers are able to utilize smart heating and cooling systems that ensure the rooms accommodating the workers are regulated according to their wishes, but that no excess energy is utilized to monitor temperature for empty spaces.
Need help delivering essential mining camp services to your workers?
If you operate a remote mining camp for your own workers or on behalf of a mining company client, Camps and Crew’s technology can assist you in seamlessly delivering various essential mining camp services in any remote location. Camps and Crew can also connect you with other technology vendors re-shaping remote camp management in the mining sector. To learn how their technology may be customized to the specific requirements of your projects or assets, book a demo today and find out how they can support your remote mining operations.