Australian geological consulting and software systems company Cube Consulting has made the INX software available to the African mining industry as a result of the interest shown by Africa-based mining companies in the software. The INX software system has been successfully applied to mining operations by multinational mining firms operating in Western Australia, including AngloGold Ashanti, Kimberley Diamonds, and Rio Tinto. INX Africa was established in October this year and through local company African Human Logistics will provide implementation, support, and maintenance for the range of INX products in Africa. “African Human Logistics is appointed as the agents for Cube Consulting’s range of INX products in Africa. The full range of INX products is fully available with support in South Africa and internationally,” says Barnett. He says that two of the modules in the INX range, namely INcontrol and INtuition, create a functional tool to effectively help manage safety risks in mining activity.

“We are now able to offer mining companies in Africa a complete management solution to the mining safety problem that exists. “The three INX modules are all Web-based applications and can be purchased together or individually and are fully integrated.” Occupational Health and Safety Management Software “The InControl module is an Internet and ebusiness occupation health and safety / risk management system that streamlines the safety and risk management process.” The INX software assists managers in eliminating risks of injuries or deaths at mining sites, and creates a strategy that managers can follow as it streamlines the entire risk management process, explains Barnett. “INcontrol is designed to record and report workgroup, divisional and corporate safety statistics.

“It is designed to assist in risk assessment and risk management in the safety environment, and power- ful key analysis functions allow you to identify problem areas and then interrogate the data down to specific incident details,” adds Barnett. The system provides a total, enterprisewide solution that is fully integrated, encompassing cause analysis, risk rating and compliance, incident and injury reporting, lead and lag indicators, audits, inspections, and suggestions, reports Cube Consulting. Barnett says that the system enables real-time data processing, and is fully integrated so that a company does not have to rely on multiple mediums of communication to relay information between different mining sites. “The INcontrol and INtuition software system promote multiple user participation that effectively filters information and responses throughout the organisation. “It also facilitates the creation of a company culture that is geared towards safety and applying best practice systems,” he explains. It is an advanced competence, compliance and procedure management system that is designed to efficient role-based compliance and procedural audits. Skills and Training Management Software “INtuition forms part of the risk management process and is a logical Internet-based system that manages staff competences,” says Barnett.

Eight separate datasets com- prising people, roles, competences, compliances, procedures, training courses, duty statements, and regulations are all combined to create a logical self-documenting system. An individual within an organi-sation or mining firm is mapped on the system in accordance with its role and any shortfall in compliances, competences or procedures is displayed using a traffic light analogy; green, if compliant, red, if noncompliant, and orange if in training or about to expire, reports Cube Consulting. The power of INtuition, states Cube Consulting, is its ability to display information across the organisation as a matrix of competences and roles, providing super- visors and managers with the ability to quickly identify compliance gaps and schedule required training. “Roles of individuals are defined in line with company expectations,” states Barnett. Site Rostering and Flight Scheduling INflight is the third module in the INX suite and enables mines to manage off-site operations, says Barnett. “It is a management tool to help managers with the complex task of rostering, accommodation, and flight scheduling.

“The system has a high degree of automation that streamlines the roster, accommodation, flight booking, and notification process. “The system was developed because of a need at African mines for this type of software,” states Barnett. As a Web-based application, all authorised users have instant access to travel information. INflight has a unique ‘show me the problems’ view of the workforce, that allows an administrator to filter workgroups and highlight problems with overbooking, inappropriate flight schedules, and other conflicts, reports Cube Consulting. Technology in the Workplace INX is an intelligent human logistics solution, that uses leading-edge technology to offer a wholly modern system of risk management and site safety to the mining industry, says Barnett. “The software was developed using modern Microsoft Tools, Web applications and programming languages, ensuring a robust and highly scalable solution,” explains Barnett.

The provision of a central database accessed through Internet technology means that data is available to all users, including managers, in real time through a secure, based Intranet within the site domain, or an encrypted data connection to the corporate head office, states Cube Consulting. INX is designed to solve com- plex logistical problems using of new-generation Internet-enabled human logistics management system to create a single integrated database that replaces disparate systems to efficiently manage an entire pro-ject, says Barnett. “There is no other software that provides the full functionality that the INX range of products provide. There are companies that have updated the front end of a product, but the back end is still outdated and unchanged. Information technology has improved and the Internet has come to the fore and INX uses these advancements to provide a modernised software system that is sophisticated, yet easy to use,” states Barnett.

African Expansion is the Agenda Cube Consulting has grown from strength to strength and secured many significant contracts in Australia over the last few years, since the INX product range was developed in 2004. “Owing to the resounding suc- cess in Australia and increased interest shown from Africa-based mining companies, plans were put into place to create a base for INX software sales in Africa,” says Barnett. “ We are busy with proposals and configuration for a few of the mining companies in Africa,” says Barnett. He says that the INX system can be implemented in a mining organisation within a period of three weeks, depending on the size of the mining operation and its configuration. “With mine safety being a hot topic at the moment, African Human Logistics is now able to offer mines in Africa a complete management solution to the problem,” says Barnett.