Working beyond the four walls of an office? We don’t often think about the behind-the-scenes operations of keeping a dispersed workforce connected, but orchestrating and maintaining those operations is no easy task. Now imagine you’re not only working beyond the four walls of an office, but you’re working beneath the earth’s surface. That’s right, imagine you’re a miner working at one of the largest worksites in the world. Trying to stay connected with your team without the proper digital infrastructure could be a disaster. That’s where API integration comes in to keep operations running smoothly and safely in the mining industry.
Some common challenges the mining industry faces are having the ability to check in on or update employees and visitors on workplace updates, weather events, or emergencies, authorizing specific access for specific employees, maintaining equipment, and understanding up-to-date supply chain information. One company is setting the gold standard in API integration to solve those challenges: Rubicon Red.
Rubicon Red is a MuleSoft Industry Champion partner headquartered in Brisbane, Australia. They enable mining companies to unlock data and deliver real-time insights wherever needed, with a mission to help customers “cross the Rubicon.”
Though mining may seem like a unique industry, the learnings from Rubicon Red’s API integration approach are broadly applicable to numerous industries. Through an API-led integration approach, coupled with their custom-built tools, they are able to break down data silos to enable mining companies to respond to real-time needs around worker safety and supply chain visibility.
As a trusted partner to some of the world’s biggest mining customers, Rubicon Red intuitively understands the three most important metrics for modern mining: safety, ROI on assets, and the unit cost of production.In the video below, DJ Munuswamy, Consulting and Delivery GM at Rubicon Red shares the tools, technology, architecture foundations, and API-led approach in place to succeed on these three metrics and deliver a strong digital backbone in the mining industry.
Let’s dive into the specifics of how API integration is helping drive impact across three key mining metrics
Real-time data improves worker safety
In mining environments, worker safety is paramount.
Having real-time access to employee and equipment information enables organizations to manage risk and prevent unauthorized access or equipment usage.Through the use of APIs and real-time API integration, sSafety officers can easily access a dashboard of critical statistics to see who is on-site, where they are, and how long they have been there. When emergency evacuations occur companies can quickly and accurately track and communicate updates and staff wellbeing.
Technological advances in IoT safety equipment have come a long way. Smart hard hats, safety vests, and cameras that detect mandatory safety gear are a few examples but new tech is being rolled out daily. APIs that collect all this valuable information have to translate disparate data points into processes and procedures that modernize mining companies, totally revolutionizing the way they worked before.
Asset optimization means asset cost savings
Every time large mining equipment is moved, used, re-fueled, or serviced, it triggers a data event. Usually, those events are triggered autonomously, creating data silos in unique digital repositories. This creates a massive volume of data. If that data isn’t harnessed, organizations can’t schedule proactive maintenance activities on their equipment or use that data in any meaningful way, rendering the data useless. Through streamlined data sharing and an API-led approach the life of assets can be maximized and unplanned outages can be minimzed.
Supply chain visibility leads to optimization
Mine and port operators have real-time access to stock volumes, stock quality and train schedules and use this real-time information to enable decision-making at the edge, reducing the costs of production. A healthy supply chain means preventing stock-piling, stockpile contamination of mixed quality, and redundant handling. AI recommendations are at the fingertips of decision-makers.
Visibility of the entire supply chain coupled together with real-time data and asset optimization act as three metrics that make modern mining companies successful.
API integration has unlocked real-time data in mining
You don’t have to work in the mining industry to understand the challenges that dispersed and digitally-transformed teams are facing. Real-time data, asset optimization, and supply chain visibility are critical components for countless industries. For the mining industry, having the ability to collect data that’s spread across large sites and integrate that data into smart analytics is key.
Rubicon Red uses MuleSoft Anypoint Platform to modernize and accelerate digital transformation through API integration and data optimization for their mining customers. To learn more about their story, check out their MuleSoft Partner page.
