Miners, Exploration Companies, Exploration Drillers, Farmers, Agribusinesses And Aboriginal Stakeholders Should Look to Geomoby Location Technology – Its Protect App is a Vital Tool to Manage Risk as New Aboriginal Heritage Laws in Western Australia Begin on 1 July
‘We are here to help manage risk and our real-time data assists with ESG’
Australian technology company GeoMoby – shaping the future of location intelligence – says its heritage monitoring technology can reduce the risk of mining companies and agribusinesses trespassing onto Aboriginal heritage sites, an activity that could attract huge fines from July 1, 2023, when the new WA Indigenous heritage laws come into effect.
“We urge mining and exploration companies and others such as exploration drillers, farmers, agribusinesses and Aboriginal stakeholders to look at our technology. Our Protect technology defines restricted areas and is a vital tool to manage risk and protect heritage sites. We are here to help, and our data collection facility assists with ESG and governance requirements,” says GeoMoby director Mathieu Paul.
GeoMoby is currently working with several mining and renewable energy companies to use its location intelligence technology – Protect – to protect cultural heritage sites. GeoMoby says its technology can be incorporated into Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Plans to benefit all parties.
https://www.wa.gov.au/system/files/2023-06/20230427-ach-management-plan.pdf
“Our technology is a great tool to manage risk and can be implemented very easily to help mining and agribusiness operations run smoothly,” says Mathieu Paul, GeoMoby Director.
“We recognise that many – working in the mining and farming sectors – are anxious about the new WA heritage laws. From July 1, in Western Australia, there are potentially much larger fines if people and vehicles trespass on heritage sites.”
Location technology digitises mapping of culturally-sensitive areas and provides an app-based platform to alert land users working in these areas. This technology immediately reduces risk and simplifies a process that currently relies heavily on human intervention.
“Our technology can monitor people and vehicles in real time, and record that data so all parties – including, for example, miners and Aboriginal groups – will know if there is any illegal or unauthorised activity. For example, if a truck drives over a culturally-sensitive area – such as a songline or special part of a river – an alarm will be triggered, in real time. Unauthorised activities are recorded. Protect customers can also implement buffer zones around heritage sites which trigger warning alerts. This technology is extremely useful if companies and organisations are managing large teams in remote areas.
“Conversely, if mining companies and agribusinesses have acted with cultural sensitivity and respect to Aboriginal heritage sites, then they can prove, with Protect data, that they have adhered to heritage agreements. Concrete data will be increasingly important, as measuring ESG outcomes is now a crucial component of the social license of companies of operating in the Western Australian community and their ongoing governance requirements.
Example
“GeoMoby powered data – collected through its Protect app – can be used as part of reporting and measuring ESG (Environmental Social Governance) outcomes. You can imagine, mining and agribusiness companies employing large numbers of people, and training would detail which heritage sites require protection. However, it could be easy for company employees, say in exploration teams, to make mistakes in vast, remote areas of Western Australia. Our technology can limit risk for companies, and trigger alarms when transgressions are made, so mistakes can be quickly rectified. We think every exploration and mining company, and a vast number of farmers, should review our technology, especially in light of these new laws.”
The new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 was passed in Western Australia’s parliament, after Juukan Gorge was destroyed in the Pilbara in 2020. Penalties for damaging a cultural heritage site now range from $25,000 to $1m for individuals and $250,000 to $10m for corporations, as well as up to five years in jail.
There are about 130 mining companies operating in the state and 5200 farmers in Western Australia.
How does it work?
“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,” says GeoMoby founder Chris Baudia. “Receivers can be carried on-person, in vehicles, machinery or equipment, with the app compatible to most modern devices including phones and tablets. It can also operate with smart phones. 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.”
“We know our technology is best in class, as recent trials with large energy companies – monitoring heritage sites –have proven that, we are delighted to assist Australian companies establish best practice in terms of heritage management,” Baudia said.
Please see an explanative video about GeoMoby’s Protect solution: https://youtu.be/zd3Tj0L-2gs
Here is a link to a film showing GeoMoby’s flagship technology used in underground mines: https://geomoby.com/case-study/underground-asset-management/
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 14 staff. Most are software specialists and based in Perth but some are located remotely. GeoMoby values highly 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.
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, Director 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.
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 a $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, Director
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. He 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 a principal at Insight Advisory Group.
