Workforce systems provider Gensys’ FireFly, an access, time and attendance, safety, employee control, training, induction and benefits solution is designed and developed in such a way that power failures and network downtime have little to no effect on on-site rules and parameter enforcement, says Gensys project manager and workforce management consultant Claytin Capell.

FireFly is a Web-based management tool developed and customised for the mining industry.

“In the mining industry, energy shortages lead to production losses, equating to daily losses of hundreds of thousands of rands,” he tells Mining Weekly.

A mine comprises an integral network of subsystems and any failure within the per- sonnel safety system will result in an immediate shutdown. Therefore, the growth of a mine and its components are dependent on energy availability, Capell explains.

However, every component of the FireFly system is supported by a secondary power source. Should the main power be lost, the FireFly system will automatically switch to an alternative power mode, resulting in uninterrupted system operation, he says.

“The backup power is derived from several possible sources, which include batteries, solar or generators, which subsequently ensures that, in the event of a power failure, all parameters and health and safety procedures will still be enforced.

Further, access to the FireFly system during a network failure or complete power failure is achieved through a straight connection to the master controller for application and database queries and to individual controllers for other more specific queries.

FireFly is an integral part of many mining operations, enforcing general and local safety rules, assisting in personnel management and serving as an asset protection system for personnel and local assets, Capell points out.

He adds that the system also assists mines in meeting the requirements set by the Department of Mineral Resources.

“The FireFly solution emphasises data integrity through its ‘always on’ backbone that has limited network and power dependencies. It is locally manufactured, which ensures shorter turnaround times, and, when required, the devices can easily be replaced.

“Solid-state clock point Web servers main-tain in-step master tables when the application server or network is down, with up to 300 clock point Web servers in synchronisation, while the distribution feature ensures that data is synchronised automatically when the network fails or when a device is replaced,” Capell concludes.