The quarrying sector faces three challenges over the coming five years: boosting productivity, enhancing safety, and improving profitability. Pressure on the industry is consistently rising, particularly as workload doubles while recruitment declines.
Modern digital technology solutions, such as installing sensors and hardware on machines to track and map movement, collecting data to produce digital twins of quarry sites and adapting drone use to elevate site safety, are examples of how digital innovation is set to transform the industry.
Experts from Komatsu Smart Construction share insights into how digital innovation is reshaping the quarrying landscape, setting the stage for a digitally optimised and more productive future to improve safety standards and boost productivity and profitability to drive long-term success.
Safety on site through drone flying and visualisation
Drone flying and visualisation technology are redefining the quarrying industry by enhancing processes and safety on-site. Drones equipped with advanced imaging capabilities including Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) are able to create aerial photography and detailed 3D maps enabling business owners and site managers to survey large areas quickly and accurately prior to being on site.
Digital solutions, for example, Smart Quarry Site by Komatsu, work to address operational challenges on quarry sites including assessing jobsite needs, cycle time, fuel usage, and operator performance – which makes quarry operations more profitable.
Drones are another digital solution to alleviate operational challenges. By providing detailed aerial views and data that enable better decision-making and streamline processes, drones make it easier to spot potential earthmoving hazards before they become a serious problem. In the long run, this can save time on manual and administrative tasks, leading to a more efficient workforce and, ultimately, improved profitability.
Streamlined site monitoring and reporting using digital twins
Digital twins is a tool that has been utilised within the last decade that can transform the quarrying industry by providing a virtual model of current operations that merges real-time data with existing site information.
By leveraging advanced solutions that produce live replicas of a site, quarry operators can create accurate representations, unlocking the ability to create detailed and accurate reports within minutes and monitor various factors including material movement, bench height, material stock and haul road conditions.
This virtual replica enhances decision-making as it enables managers to visualise site dynamics without physically being on-site, significantly improving safety, resource management and also reducing travel time. Additionally, supplementary data can be integrated with drone-captured data – if drones are already utilised at the quarry site, creating digital twins is the next viable digital implementation.
Digital solutions in practice – Société des Carrières et Matériaux de Savoie
Tracking polluted materials in landscaping can be challenging for quarry site managers, often leading to wasted labour from guesswork in locating where materials have been spread. However, Thierry Marboeuf, quarry manager at Société des Carrières et Matériaux de Savoie, has implemented digital solutions to enhance efficiency on his site.
Admin tasks that were once manually logged, such as the number of runs performed and the tonnage produced, can now be automated using digital solutions like Smart Construction Fleet, saving Thierry’s team hours on the job site while refining tasks and providing more accurate results. The Fleet solution has enabled Thierry to track his teams’ machines during movement between extraction zones, as well as track progress during the transfer of materials from the plant to stockpiles.
Commenting on his experience, Theirry said: “Smart Construction Fleet has been a game-changer for us. With the ability to access real-time altimetric and planimetric positions of where incoming materials are on-site, we gain an unprecedented level of detail. This allows us to track material flow with complete traceability—essential for managing a high-volume operation like ours, where we produce around 2,000 tonnes of aggregates per day.”
By eliminating guesswork and improving accuracy, digital solutions are streamlining operations, reducing errors, and minimising disruptions. As a result, quarry productivity and profitability have significantly increased, showcasing the transformative impact of innovation in the industry.
For more information on quarrying solutions, please visit smartconstruction.io
