Modular Construction & Prefabrication Conference
Mining is a capital intensive and technologically demanding industry. Several issues can arise and must be taken into consideration with modular construction projects, including some geographic considerations. For example, when you’re moving a multi-ton piece of equipment you must get permits in advance and have a police escort in some instances. There’s ice roads and barges and FIFO zones and a whole host of issues to think about. These issues take time to confirm and could impact the project’s delivery schedule. Making sure your supplier has past experience and the resources to handle these issues is critical.
Modular construction is currently under-used in this industry yet it stands to be a real game changer. It can help new mines, legacy mines, and mines in remote locations looking to offset costs and increase efficiencies.
During the conference, a variety of speakers from the oil, gas and mining industries all shared their best practice tips and unique perspectives on these issues.
Delegates heard from Martin Clutterbuck of Devon Energy in an enlightening presentation about the issues his company has dealt with during their modular construction phases. Martin’s presentation included an A to Z guide for the various phases of modular construction, including the logistics and technical implications of utilizing modular construction components and prefabricated buildings on site.
There was a great presentation by JS Canton of Rio-Tinto Iron Ore which was about building a sustainable workforce. JS shared his tips for identifying the total cost of turnover, issues when competing for the same workers and how lodge design can impact employee’s quality of work. He also shared some of the challenges his company faced and overcame during some of their modular construction projects.
As a whole, the mining industry has not been quick to embrace these leading edge technologies – this is an industry in transition. Some of the advice given was to seek out best practices from within the advanced manufacturing industry.
For example, during the conference, radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging was discussed as a means to track all types of inventory and materials. There was even talk about implementing some tracking technology to help prevent or speed up aid in the event of worker injury.
We need more discussion on this topic – if you have an opinion that you’d like to share email me, I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Next year, I’m looking forward to even more speakers at this conference and much more lively conversations about this and other new topics. You can pre-register here for the 2014 modular construction conference and we’ll send you more information as it becomes available.
