Australian technology company GeoMoby – shaping our future with location intelligence – says its technology has now been proven as a crucial real-time tool to improve the safety of underground mine workers, after implementation at the 2023 Underground Mine and Emergency Response Competition (UMERC) for the first time this year.
At one of the most important emergency response competitions in the world – held on November 4 and 5 at FMR Investment’s Gordon Sirdar underground operation, 55km north-east of Kalgoorlie – GeoMoby’s trackers and health sensors meant team members could be monitored at all times.
The Goldfields Mine Emergency Rescue Competition began in WA’s Goldfields in 1903, with regular competitions taking place since 1911. Now the Chamber of Mines and Energy and the Mine Rescue Competition Committee now host two mine competitions each year, the Surface Mine Emergency Competition (SMERC) in April/May and the Underground Rescue Competition (UMERC) in November. Teams compete in multiple events including: search and rescue, underground fire, rope rescue, first aid, team skills and breathing apparatus skills.
In Perth, GeoMoby director Mathieu Paul, said: “This is the first time GeoMoby has participated in the competition. We installed our green ‘lunchbox’ nodes throughout the mine area, in less than 30 minutes over six levels, and participants carried our tags. At the start of the competition, some of the participants had not heard of GeoMoby, and our Bluetooth connectivity network, and many were sceptical, but all involved were soon constantly watching our real-time screen with ‘live’ action. With GeoMoby, you are able to accurately see every person and vehicle – across an underground mine – in an instant. It’s not theory, it’s reality.”
GeoMoby’s technology received extremely favourable support from participants, after seeing and experiencing the technology in action.
FMR Investments’ Gordon Sirdar Foreman and FMR’s Rescue Team Captain, Anthony Scharf, said:
It’s fine on the surface, I know where my people are, but underground it is very hard to accurately know exactly where our miners are all the time. This competition has shown us, for the first time, we have the ability to see our people operating in real-time.
UMERC participant John Farr said:
If GeoMoby can deliver even half of what they say this weekend, it’s a total game changer. Never before have we had this kind of visibility for our underground operations.
Mathieu Paul added: “GeoMoby’s Underground Solution is a key offering in the GeoMoby product line-up which includes three core geolocation solutions for underground mining, surface mining and cultural heritage protection. After years in development and testing, it is fantastic to see our technology in action, and the hugely positive response to that technology by the UMERC participants.”
GeoMoby founder and CEO Chris Baudia said: “We are extremely proud of the recent application of GeoMoby’s technology during the UMERC competition. The platform seamlessly integrated with key IoT sensors including an Environmental Monitoring System, Portable Gas sensors, Smartwatches (monitoring heartbeats live from the Control Room) and an Extensometer. The real-time demonstration showcased the immediate utility of our user-friendly and low touch technology. We anticipate that our innovative solution will set a new industry standard, ensuring the safety of workers and their return home to their families every, single, day.
“We have some big goals. We want every one of the estimated 2290 underground mines in the world to use GeoMoby safety technology, and our mission is to educate miners – we can help keep your people safer, right now. There is reasonably-priced, geolocation technology that can be implemented in your mine, quickly and easily.
“Over the weekend, I was fortunate to go down the hole during the competition and I was reminded how difficult and dangerous the work is underground. GeoMoby technology is a safety game changer and we are grateful and unbelievably proud to bring this to the attention of the global mining industry.”
For more information please contact:
Cate Rocchi, Perth Media cate@perthmedia.com.au 0428431699
About GeoMoby
Perth-based GeoMoby provides an all-in-one, visibility platform allowing real-time monitoring of assets and people. GeoMoby’s goal is to change the way businesses make decisions and reach people, to help businesses control their data and their future. It was established in 2013, in Perth, by founder and CEO Chris Baudia. GeoMoby’s leadership team is also consists of Mathieu Paul who was appointed as a director and head of strategy in 2016. Mathieu oversees sales and marketing. In September 2021, Andrew Rouse – an experienced mining professional with a passion for enhancing the METS (mining equipment technology services) sector, also joined GeoMoby as a director. Andrew helps develop strategic technology, software, and B2B partnerships in conjunction with Chris and Mathieu. GeoMoby employs 15 staff. Most are software specialists and based in Perth, but some are located remotely. GeoMoby highly values its hard-working team, a priceless asset for any business. Its years of investment in R&D before going to market have ensured a quality, tested and proven, cost-effective, outcome-based offering that can now be delivered to market. In late 2022, GeoMoby undertook a successful capital raising of $3m, the second funding round undertaken by GeoMoby. In 2021, the company raised $1.25m.
GeoMoby: Working Together with Cisco Systems
In 2023, GeoMoby announced an official collaboration to work together with US-based Cisco Systems regarding technology for underground mining solutions. The complementary technology of both companies will improve safety and operations in underground mining, as the mines of the future become smarter. Chris Baudia – founder and CEO of GeoMoby – said: “We are delighted to collaborate with leading global technology company Cisco. This is a significant development for our company and it will accelerate our growth in Australia and overseas. We look forward to working closely together as we continue to improve safety in underground mining and ultimately accelerate the digitalization and automation of the industry.” GeoMoby director Mathieu Paul said: “GeoMoby’s innovative technology has been rigorously tested by Cisco and has been proven to vastly improve underground mining visibility; the ability to locate assets and people in real-time; and protect people. With the support of Cisco, GeoMoby is looking forward to rolling out our technology to many of the world’s largest underground mines over the coming years.”
Here is a link to Cisco Systems blog on the new agreement with GeoMoby: https://blogs.cisco.com/internet-of-things/mining-innovation-underground-mining-visibility-locating-assets-and-protecting-people
Here is a link to a film showing GeoMoby’s flagship technology used in underground mines: https://geomoby.com/case-study/underground-asset-management/
Underground Mine Collapse Inspires Technology
Chris Baudia was inspired to create GeoMoby underground technology – on a visit to Australia from France more than a decade ago – after hearing about an underground mine collapse. Lives were lost and rescue efforts were negatively impacted by not knowing, in any accurate way, where those trapped were located. He knew that he could develop a technology to avoid, or greatly improve, positive outcomes in such incidents in the future, and so, the idea of GeoMoby was born.
It is imperative that every team member returns safely to their family at the end of their shift, but what you can’t measure, you can’t manage, says founder Chris Baudia. This is particularly important in challenging environments such as mining (where staff, vehicles and machines are located underground) and visibility is limited. Compound these challenges, with a work environment increasingly impacted by health issues, and it is clear businesses must work smarter to ensure the safety of their teams. With our technology, staff health metrics can be monitored in real- time from the moment they arrive on site, detecting emergency situations the moment they arise, and prompting immediate action. Location-based safety analytics are crucial to implementing a safe system while ensuring little impact on production.
Technology
Underground mines: GeoMoby technology is based on Bluetooth and a proprietary mesh network. Nodes are bright green and the size of a lunchbox. Many are fixed throughout mines. GeoMoby has a patent for its underground location technology. For underground installation, onsite electricians are not required. Mining operations do not need to be shutdown – the technology is fully wireless and cable free. There are two ways of putting nodes on rock walls: nodes can be strapped onto existing underground mesh which is commonly onsite or they can be bolted onto walls. Underground installation generally takes less than an hour of training. GeoMoby technicians easily attach nodes or ‘green lunchboxes’ underground at strategic intervals, by hooking them to mesh, often already on walls. It is very simple and GeoMoby has experience installing kilometres of coverage in just a few hours. A small team will go to site and oversee the initial installation. Maximum space between the nodes is about 400m underground and 600m in open pits. The entire deployment process is generally around two days.
“Many underground mines – in Western Australia and the world – still use employee monitoring systems that revolve around whiteboards, spreadsheets and tag boards,” said Chris Baudia, founder of GeoMoby. “Mistakes concerning equipment and people can easily be made, especially at the change of shift crews or during an emergency. There are no excuses in 2023 – our technology can monitor workers at all times, making sure everyone returns home safely, every single day. It is a valuable, modern tool in the kitbag of any mine manager ensuring the health and safety of large teams, working underground. Companies always need to know where their people are underground otherwise – in an emergency – response times can lag. Too often, in underground mining, there can be an inability to quickly and accurately locate personnel involved in critical incidents so the relevant emergency response can be employed in a timely manner.”
Surface mines: GeoMoby technology is a ‘fusion’ of various technologies including small batteries, smart phones, GPS, BLE tags and geofences. GeoMoby has a geofencing patent for this.
GeoMoby Technology in a Nutshell
- GeoMoby technology can solve a range of operational inefficiencies on mine sites that can occur due to: lack of accurate and timely data; stakeholder engagement issues; and ESG compliance limitations, specifically relating to the protection of cultural heritage.
- GeoMoby has unprecedented capabilities to turn data into real-time value – providing indoor, and outdoor geofencing with higher accuracy than industry standards – along with a negligible battery consumption, a solution it has patented.
- GeoMoby uses location intelligence, geolocation, contextual data, geofencing, location analytics and a network carrier-agnostic. This solves many problems by providing a hyper accurate Live Tracking Platform (LTP) and a Real Time Location System (RTLS) for underground and surface operations.
- GeoMoby’s feature-rich technology also enables users to trigger alerts and actions based on predefined sets of conditions including dwell-time, body temperature, weather, real-time traffic, user profile, and more. Complex geofences (virtual geographic boundaries) can be configured to trigger customised actions when crossed.
- The technology offers a cloud-based SAAS platform. GeoMoby acts as the bridge that generates powerful data and converts it into meaningful information from which critical business decisions can be made to achieve health, security, efficiency, and productivity aims.
GeoMoby’s Protection of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and Environmental Sites with Protect Solution
- GeoMoby’s technology uses location services including GPS, fusion sensors and our own patented live tracking algorithms in order to geofence sites and trigger an alert if users enter or come within close proximity of a heritage site, even in remote areas with no connectivity.
- Receivers can be carried on-person, in vehicles, machinery or equipment, with the app compatible to most modern devices including smart phones and tablets.
- The technology allows those operating on site to create or upload geofences on a map from any GIS systems, then define different alerts and triggers, while ensuring minimum drain on the device battery.
- Information is then uploaded to a cloud-based platform with replay features and reporting capabilities for compliance purposes.
- Please see an explanatory video about GeoMoby’s Protect: https://youtu.be/b7XfQVQMxMU
TopDrill Deal
Earlier in 2023, GeoMoby was contracted by Kalgoorlie-based Topdrill’s wholly-owned subsidiary JBC Contracting. The large-scale drilling company to roll out GeoMoby’s Protect technology to 30 drilling rigs working in its Australian operations.
Western Australian Government’s Work Health and Safety Act
“Western Australia introduced new tougher laws on work, health and safety (WHS) in March, 2022 and now, in 2023, there are no excuses,” said Chris Baudia of GeoMoby. It is particularly important for WA underground mines to embrace world-leading technology. The State Government’s Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WHS Act) replaces previous legislation circa 1984, effectively aligning all workplaces under a single act to improve protections for WA workers. This is the most significant upgrade to WHS legislation in 30 years. The new WHS Act introduces the offence of ‘industrial manslaughter’ – the offence carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and $5m fine for an individual, and a maximum fine of $10m for a corporation or employer. Senior decision-makers must exercise due diligence to ensure compliance, with responsibility firmly sitting with management when it comes to workplace safety.
About Chris Baudia, CEO and Founder
Chris is an entrepreneur, inventor and driving force behind GeoMoby. In the past, he managed multi-million dollar projects for global consulting companies. He holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science and Telecommunications and is a certified Scrum Master since 2009. Chris has been a QuantumTX National Finalist (WA winner 2022), Hot 30 Core Innovation award winner (2022), a finalist in the RISE Business Award for Startup of the Year (2020), a recipient of the Amcom Upstart Investment Program in 2015 and WA Innovator of Year finalist in 2013. He lives in Perth, Western Australia and is originally from France.
About Mathieu Paul, Director
Mathieu has been a director of GeoMoby for the past six years and has been instrumental in recent capital raising of $3m. He is now focused on business development and sales at GeoMoby.
Mathieu has a Master’s Degree in Entrepreneurship, Finance, Project Management and Business Strategy from NEOMA Business School in France and received a Bachelor of Business Administration at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. Prior to GeoMoby, Mathieu has worked in audit/finance analysis at KPMG and Grant Thornton. He has also been employed by Siemens France China and the South African Embassy in Paris. He has experience in management consulting, business valuations and sales and acquisitions. Mathieu lives in Perth, Western Australia and is also the principal of Insight Advisory Group.
