Mining company uses technology to gear up for Covid-19

27th May 2020 By: Tasneem Bulbulia - Senior Contributing Editor Online

Mining company uses technology to gear up for Covid-19

Temperature screening installation

One of South Africa’s oldest mining companies has rolled out a high-tech thermal screening solution at one of its mines in Limpopo and at its Sandton head office, as part of a wide-ranging initiative to protect its employees from the spread of Covid-19, says managed business solutions provider Itec Direct.

The solution, which was rolled out by Itec, will provide instant temperature screening of people passing the various devices with no human contact, and flag any abnormalities with an alarm while also being integrated into the access control system.

“Companies are being challenged on many fronts as they gear up to deal with the crisis. they have to keep their employees and clients safe, while giving their people the ability to stay connected working as close to normal as possible in the face of the pandemic.

"It’s clear that technology and cloud software tools can play a major role in the fight against Covid and keeping the business running,” says Itec national sales manager Elia Menezes.

Menezes notes that technology companies are being challenged like never before to turn around projects quickly and demonstrate availability and adaptability at this time. 

From site inspection to rollout, the temperature screening solution at the miner’s head office was installed within a matter of days, using Hikvision thermal bullet cameras and facial readers with temperature screening, to ensure it was in place before staff returned to work.

The StarLeaf installation had been planned before the pandemic struck, but its implementation was fast-tracked once the client was comfortable with the solution and its capabilities.

StarLeaf allows users to connect across a range of platforms, regardless of location or device, and the existing tools they have in place. Its latest new features include the ability to integrate easily with Microsoft Teams.