The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Mining Standards and Guidelines Committee (MSGC) was created as a long-anticipated nucleus for standards and guidelines that apply to the international mining industry.
MSGC is a global organization for the mining community to endorse, advocate, facilitate, collaborate, educate, communicate, research and develop mining industry standards and guidelines, for use by mining stakeholders to improve operational and financial performance.
The scope of the committee includes safety, systems, technology methods, measures, and operating practices and procedures.
This summer, the MSGC priorities focus on community-building, and advancing key projects through six working groups.

The groups are:
Asset management.
A cross-industry representative group is in development to lead a survey of the use of information by operations and maintenance that is derived from equipment status, performance and condition data.
A secondary objective will be to compile the survey results into an update of the Surface Mining Association for Research and Technology (SMART) availability and utilization definitions, and create a set of recommended standard operating and reliability metrics and definitions.

Onboard data and access.
Building on efforts by members of SMART to address an over-decade long challenge operators have struggled with when it comes to the onboard systems and access to data on mobile equipment. This group is focusing on defining the end user use of data and access of mobile equipment.
Members have defined a list of first steps: finalizing the scope; outlining the business case for the efforts; building the data dictionary and the access points required off cable shovels, excavators, haul trucks, dozers, drills; mapping all onboard systems currently on the market and the standards currently adhered to by OEMs.

Onboard technology and connectivity.
With the objective of defining how access to data can be made transparent for all stakeholders, this working group aims to address challenges that arise with the use of proprietary technologies onboard the mining fleet.
Stakeholders from about eight companies across industry will first aim to determine to what level a standard or guidelines needs to be defined, and how a standard or guidelines can be phased in to provide industry stakeholders with sufficient time to prepare for compliance. The group will insure there is a business case for every stakeholder to comply and participate.

Situation awareness.
A research project scheduled to launch by end of July, on the development of integrated common operator interfaces for shovel mine vehicles, with support from two mining companies. Situation awareness is defined as the perception of the elements in the environment within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status in the near future (Endsley, 1995).

Two new working groups launched this month:
Underground mining.

This group will expand the underground mining community network of the MSGC, assess the specific technology standards and guidelines needs of underground Mining and identify gaps.

Operational safety and risk management.

This group will create a network of expertise and experience in operational safety and build the matrix of standards and guidelines supporting mine safety, and analyze needs that become apparent. It will provide the technical expertise, from the operational safety perspective, to help drive forward projects lead by other working groups.

For more information: http://globalminingstandards.org/