A wearable. A word that has a very simple definition. It is an item/s that can be worn. When we think about wearables, we think about the current applications available in the media; smart-watches, head-mounted VR gear etc. However, wearable technology has become valuable to engineering industries. Wearables for industrial operations, coupled with modern day automation with the Internet of Things , will ensure that everyone attached to a project or a factory - or even a mine - will all be on the same page with data that is freely and immediately available.
Credit: Vandrico
A 3D real-time industrial operations dashboard is available from a company named Vandrico Inc. The company currently shows off how it interconnects miners and engineers, but can also be used for other industrial endeavors. It connects all the engineers and workers attached to an industrial operation across platforms. Smart watches, smartphones, tablets, and laptops. The company calls it Real-Time Operational Intelligence. As an example, Vandrico shows off their smartwatch technology, which accounts for on-site safety. Once a fire alarm goes off at an industrial operation, the smart watch can ask questions like: "Are you safe?", "Is everyone near you safe?" This way a fire or industrial problem can be quickly contained and lives can be saved. This assists with site security and safety, something that engineers need to focus on as they begin a project and whilst the project is ongoing. Their safety-smart-watches were announced last year, with the help of a company named Illumiti. They call the watch the MineSafe smartwatch, which also assists with the response-time of life-threatening situations in mines. It could ensure that safety in mines is paramount, especially in a mine collapse.
According to the companies the full list of uses the smartwatch has are:
- Safety alerts: Notifications of safety issues and events
- Incident Reporting: Let workers document issues quickly
- Safety monitoring: Automate lone worker checks & procedures
- Safety checklists: Verify proper procedures are followed
The company says their wearable technology would be able to save mines millions and could even save lives.
IoT-connected dashboards for industrial operations could be the most useful way of keeping a close eye on the efficiency of a workforce, and can give engineers a good idea of how far a project is.
Vandrico says their platform can be used for many different applications:
- Virtual barricades: Alert miners that they are near an unsafe area and prevent them from going there
- Lone worker: Individual miner and engineer tracking for safety check-ins and immediate ramifications for missed check-ins
- Real-Time Safety Reminder & Safety Forensic Logs
- Real-Time Incident Reporting: Any injuries can be reported immediately. Any mine maintenance issues can be reported instantly
- Mementos: The miners can deliver voice notes or text messages to other workers that would improve efficiency.
- Automated coordination of work orders: A checklist of what needs to happen during the day. A virtual "to-do" list.
Source: Vandrico
