{"id":6271,"date":"2025-01-30T17:47:05","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T22:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/?p=6271"},"modified":"2025-09-24T16:10:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T20:10:16","slug":"safety-partnership-thrives-at-gold-fields-ghanas-tarkwa-mine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/safety-partnership-thrives-at-gold-fields-ghanas-tarkwa-mine\/","title":{"rendered":"Safety partnership thrives at Gold Fields Ghana\u2019s Tarkwa mine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">By Neville Judd<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cImagine human beings not sleeping,\u201d says Stephen Boamah, Safety &amp; Occupational Hygiene Manager at Gold Fields Ghana. \u201cThat would have been an awesome world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">In mining, fatigue and distraction are as real as the long, monotonous shifts, noise and poor visibility facing vehicle operators. That\u2019s why Gold Fields Ghana turned to Hexagon in its pursuit of safer operations at its Tarkwa gold mine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">In a newly released series of interviews with Boamah and his Gold Fields Ghana colleagues a story of partnership emerges.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/D8Dtq21SopE\">Watch the video.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/D8Dtq21SopE?si=l7cgqdg74E56iquA\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cHuman beings are designed to sleep, so during night shifts, fatigue sets in,\u201d says Boamah. \u201cThis is where Hexagon assists in managing the safety of our people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cOver the years, we have recorded significant incidents, and the stats are clear, the data doesn&#8217;t lie. We had recorded fatigue-related incidents and equipment-to-equipment head-on collisions. We wanted to bring to bear our culture of care, and to fulfill the corrective actions, leading to Hexagon coming on board. They have improved our operations significantly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Tarkwa uses Hexagon\u2019s Operator Alertness System (OAS) and Collision Avoidance System (CAS). OAS employs advanced sensor technology and machine-learning algorithms to monitor operators&#8217; alertness levels. When signs of distraction, drowsiness, or microsleeps are detected, operators receive real-time notifications, providing a crucial layer of protection during their shifts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">C<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">AS is the industry\u2019s leading collision avoidance solution for protecting drivers and equipment, providing 360-degree NLOS (non-line-of-sight propagation) operator awareness for vehicles, assets and operators &#8211; through snow, rain, fog and dust. More than 65,000 systems are deployed worldwide.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"TextRun SCXW28090272 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW28090272 BCX8\">How safety data helps evaluate at-risk behavior<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW28090272 BCX8\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cIt&#8217;s evident the role technology plays in enhancing safety,\u201d says Daniel Korsah, Business Improvement Manager, Tarkwa, Gold Fields Ghana.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cHaving access to data allows us to evaluate at-risk behaviour from a system point of view. This has helped management narrow down the specific at-risk behaviours we need to target to ensure operators are safe. It has been an integral part of Tarkwa\u2019s success as far as our safety journey is concerned in building the safety discipline and culture we want to build as part of Gold Fields\u2019 operations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cWe\u2019ve had a 91% reduction in fatigue-related incidents \u2026 we have operational shifts running entire quarters without a single fatigue event being recorded, which is a great success for the job that has been done with this system at Tarkwa.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cFor the CAS system, we get to know our heatmaps, we get to know our intersection areas where we had frequent occurring collision events that leads to the sort of interventions that we need to put in place at these targeted areas.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Boamah adds: \u201cBringing Hexagon on board has strengthened our mining operations. There are other products, but they don\u2019t bring us the safety and security that Hexagon brings to the table. They have real-time reporting, and the fatigue management is superb \u2026 the collision avoidance is a state-of-the-art product, and then the support from Hexagon is top-notch.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"TextRun SCXW4349244 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW4349244 BCX8\">Training journey integral to <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW4349244 BCX8\">compliance and a safer mine<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW4349244 BCX8\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Technology is just one layer of mine safety. Change management and data insights are also important layers. Neither CAS nor OAS stand alone as 100% effective. Even when both solutions are combined operators must still be engaged and re-engaged in a cycle of continuous improvement.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:210,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Tarkwa Mine Manager, Gold Fields Ghana, Dr. Catherine Kuupol Kuutor, describes the journey of training and improvement: \u201cIt took their [Hexagon\u2019s]<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\"> training for us to build the people within the company, the engineers, to start managing it. So, there has been that transfer of knowledge from Hexagon to Gold Fields and now Gold Fields is using this knowledge to maintain the system as expected.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:210,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cThere has been a win-win for us in terms of safety, in terms of transfer of knowledge, in terms of how we can proactively resolve issues.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:210,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cGold Fields has demonstrated its duty of care towards employees by committing to some of these capital investments, which then makes the operator feel that if Gold Fields as a company has invested so much for my safety, why don\u2019t I comply so I can be safe for my family, my kids and the community?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cSo, we have demonstrated that and Hexagon, through the technologies, has actually allowed us to be able to live up to our values. And one of the first values in Gold Fields is safety. If we cannot mine safely, we will not mine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">Throughout 2025\u202fwe\u2019ll\u202fbe blogging about the challenges facing the mining industry. Drawing upon insights from thought leaders in our customer community and from within Hexagon,\u202fwe\u2019ll\u202fshare how trusted partnerships and proven technology are\u202faddressing those challenges,\u202fhelping to improve\u202fsafety\u202fand cut costs while balancing the demands of productivity and sustainability.\u202f<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Neville Judd \u201cImagine human beings not sleeping,\u201d says Stephen Boamah, Safety &amp; Occupational Hygiene Manager at Gold Fields Ghana. \u201cThat would have been an awesome world.\u201d In mining, fatigue and distraction are as real as the long, monotonous shifts, noise and poor visibility facing vehicle operators. That\u2019s why Gold Fields Ghana turned to Hexagon<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/safety-partnership-thrives-at-gold-fields-ghanas-tarkwa-mine\/\" title=\"Read More\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":6272,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[378],"tags":[780,417,783,782,405,781],"class_list":{"0":"post-6271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-in-the-field","8":"tag-cas","9":"tag-collision-avoidance","10":"tag-fatigue-management","11":"tag-ghana","12":"tag-mine-safety","13":"tag-oas"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Safety partnership thrives at Gold Fields Ghana\u2019s Tarkwa mine - Hexagon - Mining Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/safety-partnership-thrives-at-gold-fields-ghanas-tarkwa-mine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Safety partnership thrives at Gold Fields Ghana\u2019s Tarkwa mine - Hexagon - Mining Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Neville Judd \u201cImagine human beings not sleeping,\u201d says Stephen Boamah, Safety &amp; Occupational Hygiene Manager at Gold Fields Ghana. \u201cThat would have been an awesome world.\u201d In mining, fatigue and distraction are as real as the long, monotonous shifts, noise and poor visibility facing vehicle operators. 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