By Christo Visagie, Director at BBE
BBE, a specialist company in mine ventilation and refrigeration, has launched its VUMA HUB software package, offering a safe and user-friendly system to streamline ventilation and occupational hygiene reporting functions. VUMA HUB can be utilised in both underground and opencast mine operations across various disciplines.
VUMA HUB is a state-of-the-art software system specifically developed for mines. It uses approved industry standards, stores information digitally, and provides customised data analysis to promote safe and healthy working environments.
HUB is an internally developed software tool designed based on BBE’s expertise and experience in mining environments.
HUB software was specifically developed for mines and uses approved industry standards. It stores information digitally and provides customised data analysis to promote a safe and healthy working environment.
Measured environmental conditions are logged and stored in HUB. This information is constantly analysed using specified legal criteria supplied by both the mines and the Department of Minerals Resources and Energy (DMRE), and will automatically flag unsafe working environments or conditions. When conditions are flagged, the information is passed through the workflow, and the issue is attended to by ventilation and refrigeration engineers. The information remains client-owned and is securely stored to ensure that the data cannot be tampered with.
HUB can be used in underground as well as opencast mine operations across a variety of disciplines. It was originally developed for mining, ventilation, and occupational hygiene sections specifically in its current form but is a reporting and data analysis system at its core. HUB can be used for any type of reporting and can communicate with third-party systems to be used as a complete reporting system with custom dashboards and external notifications if required.
The VUMA HUB software was developed from inception with various layers of security in mind. The VUMA HUB data centre is installed on a secure server with tightly controlled security measures, including antivirus, VPN, and domain user-protected access control.
The data housed in the database undergoes encoded serialisation during data transfer from the client application to the server. Any identifiable information saved on the server is stored in an encrypted format.
No readable personal data is stored in the data centre. The software itself controls login and access via a secure data credential provider custom-developed for the VUMA HUB software. Furthermore, certain features within the software are only accessible to users with specific user rights/roles assignments.
If a user account does not have a specific right/role, any features associated with that right/role are not available or accessible by that user. Data integrity and backup are among VUMA HUB’s highest priorities.
For the South African mining market, the basic ventilation reporting standards are guided by the requirements of the DMRE, with final configuration as required by the client.
This includes design criteria for specific ventilation conditions surveyed, as an example. A legal tracker shown on VUMA HUB’s dashboard will automatically update survey legal requirements and frequency of reporting based on severity levels configured in the software.
Environmental conditions, such as Wet Bulb (WB) temperatures and toxin or noise exposure limits, can be flagged as surveyed data are captured. BBE’s global exposure and experience across all commodities ensure and drive advancements in safety and the way ventilation and occupational hygiene are maintained and reported on.
In our experience, valuable information is often lost, or responses to findings are delayed due to the approvals process or the distribution of tasks. Using VUMA HUB as a connected and live system, abnormalities and potentially unsafe conditions are flagged as information is captured.
As information gets captured by an observer, it shows conditions or parameters outside the allowable range in real-time. This information grades the severity of the conditions and issues a warning or STOP order for the workplace.
This information is shown on the software dashboard and emailed to the team as defined in the workflow of the organisation. Everything that is captured is reported on. Notifications are logged and traceable to the specific area or workplace. Any related actions are listed and need to be corrected or acknowledged during the next inspection.
The software is ever-evolving, and additional features are added to streamline the user experience while reducing the time required to manage big data.
BBE works closely with clients during the onboarding process, assisting with updates and maintenance of the system, not only the software. Hands-on training is routinely offered as refreshers, promoting Q&A in an open group. This also allows new users to gain from existing user feedback and knowledge sharing.
Self-help tips are included in the system, with guided wizards able to walk a user through the process of capturing data per report type. We also offer the option to assist our clients with SLA contracts to ensure the information is up-to-date. The VUMA team is available to support client queries remotely.
VUMA HUB forms part of the VUMA ecosystem, which includes VUMA Network, our ventilation simulation and engineering software, and VUMA Live, ventilation SCADA and control software.
We are building on the integration of these systems to allow ventilation departments to holistically manage their ventilation system using designed, historical, and real-time data to ensure safe and efficient working conditions. Occupational hygiene management and reporting will be our next addition to this suite of products.
