Iron Mine Uses RFID to Locate and Control Equipment

Equipment used at a West Australian open-pit iron mine is being managed across a 40-square-mile area via active radio frequency identification tags to identify where certain equipment is located, as well as control its operation. The solution, provided by IT and professional services company CSC, using Precyse Technologies's Smart Agent battery-powered RFID tags, enables the mining company to control the power within more than 100 mobile light towers used to illuminate the mine during nighttime work hours. "Improving 'time-on-tools' for maintenance crews was the primary driver for the project," says Jarrod Bassan, a CSC senior consultant. The amount of time workers spend with tools is a measure of productivity, he explains, and the mining company sought to reduce time-wasting activities, such as searching for assets or discovering that critical equipment was out of fuel.