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Press Release – Paris, France & Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh, India — Oct 17, 2023
NCL (Northern Coalfields Limited), a flagship subsidiary of Coal India and a significant contributor to the nation’s coal production and electricity generation, has taken a monumental step in ensuring the safety of its mine workers. The company has successfully deployed an avant-garde IoT worker safety solution, “Suraksha Kavach” (Safety Guard), in collaboration with Syook, Abeeway, and Actility.
NCL, headquartered in Singrauli district, operates 10 highly mechanized opencast mines across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. With this latest initiative, the company aims to revolutionize the mining industry, aligning with DGMS’s directive (Directorate General of Mines Safety) to prioritize the safety of its dedicated on-ground staff.
Syook, a leading RTLS company in India, has been instrumental in this endeavor. With a track record of optimizing operations across various sectors, including oil and gas, healthcare, and manufacturing, Syook’s no-code platform has been pivotal in the development of the ‘Suraksha Kavach’ system. The company’s previous collaborations with giants like Indian Railways, Coal India, and Unilever underscore its expertise in the domain.
The Syook team, drawing from their extensive experience in upstream oil and gas, recognizes the intricacies of enhancing safety in hazardous zones by using smart technology.
In the vast expanse of open-pit mines, one can imagine the challenge of ensuring that no personnel are present in the blasting areas. The ‘Suraksha Kavach’ system diligently monitors these zones, sending immediate notifications if someone inadvertently enters this potentially dangerous area.
Furthermore, in the sweltering heat of the mines, workers often face temperature-related challenges. Picture a miner, feeling the onset of heat exhaustion, and with a simple press of the SOS button on his badge, he can swiftly summon assistance, ensuring his safety and well-being.
The deployed solution boasts the following features:
A pivotal component of this safety solution is the Abeeway Smart Badge. Engineered for autonomy, this portable multi-mode tracker is ATEX and IECEx-certified, and equipped with advanced geolocation technologies (GNSS, WiFi, BLE). Ideal for high-risk environments, it ensures precise tracking both indoors and outdoors. Its functionalities include SOS panic alarms, danger zone notifications, and safety evacuation monitoring.
The solution’s use of LoRaWAN® connectivity stands out, offering cost-effective, secure, and extensive coverage, making it ideal for open-pit mining. Currently, 2500 workers are equipped with the smart Abeeway Smart Badges, with BLE Beacons placed on excavating machines to monitor proximity.
The collaboration between NCL, Syook, Actility and Abeeway underscores a significant milestone in the digital transformation of worker safety in the mining industry. While ‘Suraksha Kavach’ is primarily focused on mining, its potential extends to other sectors like Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, and Logistics.
“The ‘Suraksha Kavach’ solution is a monumental stride in worker safety, blending our expertise with the subtle brilliance of Abeeway’s technology. Together, we have crafted a system that not only enhances operational efficiency but, more importantly, prioritizes the well-being of every individual in the mines.”
Saurabh Sharma, COO of Syook
“Our collaboration with NCL and Actility goes beyond mere technology deployment. It’s about harnessing the power of IoT to create tangible, life-saving benefits. The use cases we’ve implemented are not just about improving operations; they’re about ensuring every worker returns home safely at the end of the day.”
Olivier Hersent, CEO of Actility
NCL, a Miniratna Company of the Government of India, is a subsidiary of the world’s largest coal producer, Coal India Limited (CIL). Producing 15% of India’s total coal, NCL contributes 10% to the nation’s electricity generation.
Syook is a leading RTLS company in India, enabling organizations to build customized IIoT and RTLS solutions. With a no-code platform, Syook has transformed operations across various industries, boasting collaborations with major corporations.
Actility is the world leader in low-power wide-area networks (LPWAN) industrial-grade connectivity solutions for the Internet of Things. Actility provides its ThingPark™ platform and network technology to deploy, operate and maintain public and private wireless IoT networks within a unified, scalable and versatile network infrastructure. The vast majority of nationwide LoRaWAN® network service providers (over 50) and hundreds of enterprises trust ThingPark™ all over the world. Through its subsidiary Abeeway, Actility also provides patented ultra-low power tracking solutions. ThingPark Market offers the largest selection of interoperable IoT gateways, devices and applications to simplify and accelerate deployment of numerous use cases.
Abeeway, a subsidiary of Actility, is a leading provider of disruptive IoT solutions for battery-powered tracking, based on innovative LPWAN connectivity and a patented cloud-powered technology that makes positioning low power and more valuable. Abeeway tracking devices are equipped with high-precision GPS, patented Low Power GPS, ultra-low-consumption Wi-Fi sniffing techniques and BLE advertising and scanning technology, and are available in non-ATEX and ATEX versions.
For more information on Actility and the Abeeway tracking solutions please contact:
Atul Gaikwad, Sales Director Indian Subcontinent, at atul.gaikwad@actility.com.
Learn more about the LoRaWAN technology by downloading the Actility “What is LoRaWAN” white paper
