Aiming to keep the workforce safe and informed, the iPICK (Information Point Illawarra Coal Kiosk) computer system is designed to provide information access to all workers and mine visitors, including those not based at office computers, such as underground miners.
Developed by Illawarra Coal in partnership with local software company iQmultimedia, the technology gives workers access to the relevant in-house documentation via the company intranet or through specially developed touch-screen kiosks.
Illawarra Coal general manager of sustainable development Wendy Tyrrell said the new technology would assist the miner in meeting its obligations to provide reliable access to information for employees at all times.
“It’s user friendly and it adheres to the new Australian Standard 4804,” she said.
Illawarra Coal is the first in the BHP Billiton operation to develop such an interface into its records management software.
iQmultimedia director Sam Marciano said the software presented information to the miners and their managers where and when they needed it.
“iPICK orders the documents, procedures, forms and diagrams you're looking for in the way you're wanting to find it,” he said.
“You can view all the documents by their type, or by the activity they're linked to, or any other method designated by the document controller. You can search for a document, too, even by document number, so if you want a specific document quickly, it's never far away.”
Illawarra Coal now plans to extend the technology to its West Cliff, Appin and Appin-Douglas mines, with the possibility of taking the system overseas in the future.
