Orica Digital Solutions connects the physical and digital worlds, giving customers the right intelligence at the right time across their operations for better decisions and more predictable outcomes.
Digital solutions are becoming increasingly vital to a quarry’s daily operations across Australia.
Orica, the Australian-based technology solutions provider, has revealed how customer feedback shaped its BlastIQ program designed for the quarrying sector.
Orica’s senior manager for technology, blast design and execution, Matthew Craft, details the key benefits of the blast control solution to Quarry.
“Overall, BlastIQ Quarry is a powerful and comprehensive solution that can help quarries improve the efficiency of their drill and blast operations, reduce overall cost, ensure data accuracy, drive productivity, and maintain regulatory compliance,” he said.
“Its integrated and connected components provide a complete solution that delivers real results and drives continuous improvement for the industry.”
BlastIQ Quarry uses digital technologies to help quarry operators improve their drill and blast activities in near real-time. It allows quarry operators to design blasts according to performance objectives and presents drill and blast insights for continuous blast optimisation.
The company revealed the platform was developed by leveraging customer feedback and Orica’s deep blasting experience in quarry operations.
Craft said the smart digital blast optimisation platform provides a single source of truth and delivers instant pre- and post-blast insights. Operators can collate their data digitally instead of manually handling paper-based information and derive insights to inform their drill and blast performance.
Complementary applications to enable a “synergistic workflow” include the SHOTPlus blast design and modelling software; BlastIQ Mobile Lite, which places blast designs and hole conditions in the palm of operators and engineers; and BlastIQ Insights, which enables the tracking of key performance indicators and comprehensive document storage.
“These technologies work together to offer customers improved productivity. The blast loading instructions and rules are instantly digitally communicated to field operations to ensure the right explosive product and quantity is used at the right place and initiated at the right time,” Craft said.
bench with BlastIQ Mobile Lite. Image: Orica
Operators can achieve improved in-field blast quality control and assurance by using the BlastIQ Mobile Lite application, which captures auditable data directly. Operations and engineering personnel can share the blasthole condition, which is captured in near real-time, allowing data to empower rapid decision-making and improved operational efficiencies.
With these features, the BlastIQ Quarry solution can integrate easily into existing operational systems and processes.
“This allows quarries to significantly improve blast quality control, eliminate rework, and reduce excess drilling and explosives consumption,” Craft said.
“It allows quarry operators to confidently optimise their drill and blast activities, reduce costs, improve productivity, and manage regulatory compliance, ensuring the long-term success of their quarry operations.”
KEY FEATURES
The BlastIQ Quarry platform is compatible with the public application programming interface and allows custom reporting and software integration in a single workflow.
The electronic capture and transfer of field data to BlastIQ Insights eliminates manual entry and enables rapid reporting, intelligence, and audits with minimal transcription errors.
Orica designed the platform to eliminate excess expenses and reduce the risk of poor environmental outcomes while enabling efficient documentation management.
“Smart and automated capabilities ensure the right explosive product with the right energy is loaded every time. Blast documentation and job pack functionality ensure relevant documentation is uploaded throughout the drill and blast execution process,” Craft said.
Craft said other key features include remote auditing, centralised collaboration, and market-leading blast design tools.
“With information securely and centrally stored, drill and blast information can be audited remotely. In addition, information can be shared collaboratively via cloud-hosted web portals,” he said.
“Exception reports can be generated to provide better visibility to manage blast quality control. Market-leading blast design tools are available for survey, profiling, loading and timing rules.
“BlastIQ Quarry undergoes continuous development and works with users to improve its value, and is supported 24/7 by Orica’s global network of support engineers and technology specialists.” •
For more information, visit orica.com/blastiqquarry
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