Abstract:
A people-centric, systematic approach that involves different stakeholders is considered necessary
to successfully address changes associated with modernizing the South African mining industry.
In this paper we discuss the inclusion of various South African mining industry stakeholders,
particularly the employees, in equipment design and development processes. Data was acquired
through a literature review and inputs from South African mining industry stakeholders through
focus group discussions, interviews, and an online survey. It was suggested that some of the areas
that could be improved by the inclusion of employees in the process are design quality, ergonomics,
equipment acceptance by the workforce, safety, efficiency, skills, insight into context of use, and
early design iterations and identification of problems. Among the issues considered to be barriers
to inclusion were lack of buy-in, lack of resources, difficulty in manufacturers accessing the mines,
difficulties in involving too many people, intellectual property concerns, and unavailability
of mine employees due to their key responsibilities. Identified critical factors in the equipment
design and development process include iterative design, stakeholder participation throughout the
process, needs analysis through consultation, and change management. A guideline was developed
for worker inclusion in equipment design and development that could be used by the South
African mining industry. The study identified several economic and social benefits of including
stakeholders in the early stages of design and development. It is recommended that the South
African mining industry considers using the developed guideline.
