TECHNOLOGY
regulations on commercial drone use .
So how does Airware fit into the mining industry ? As noted , Airware develops complete drone solutions that will help Fortune 500 companies solve business problems . Downey indicates that this is most typically operational cost savings , enhancing of worker safety and the improvement of decision making .
“ The current mining industry is facing lower productivity levels than the same time a year ago , productivity is a big issue in the industry ,” says Downey .
“ Companies want to achieve more with the same number of machines that they have today , and that ’ s where Airware comes in ,” he says .
Airware works closely with clients to understand all elements of the operation , from material to production , excavation , blasting , transporting and inventory management . The company ties together all the information from machines , materials and all other sources of information from the mine site to allow companies to identify where improvements can be made .
With any technological innovation that stands to change the ways of working of an industry there comes with it a sense of risk and even fear of adoption . Airware is no stranger to that . The company is essentially changing the way mining companies can analyse mine site data , efficiency , health and safety of workers and productivity . Larger mining organisations will have been using established methods of doing so for years but Downey believes that it was simply a matter of if and not when drones will become the norm across the industry .
“ The industry is convinced that commercial drones are an inevitable part of their future , or even their present ,” he says .
“ In most cases , it ’ s about when are they going to adopt this new technology and what is the best way to do so ,”
Downey has seen that despite this inevitability , there are varying levels of risk averseness in the industry . There have been motivations on both ends of the spectrum , early adopters versus late adopters . In the mining industry , with declining productivity and a more competitive environment some companies have been rapid adopters , while others have been happy to
10 March 2017