XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3 1113
producers. Lastly there was interest among the produc-
ers, as well as challenges from the solution providers, that
related to a lack of training in using the solutions. Training
has been offered in the project but has not been formally set
up or obligated. This means it could be connected to a fur-
ther code in expectations where a lack of human resources,
namely time, is identified and discussed later.
The next category within the theme of human fac-
tors was expectations. Almost all participants noted some
challenge related to misaligned expectations. The first area
discussed was unclear use cases for digitalization and con-
necting systems. This is a common feature of innovation
projects and could be related to some partners being new
to innovation projects and not being aware of the levels
of uncertainty at this stage in development. It could also
be related to communication challenges which is further
discussed in this section. The use case has the potential to
influence the level of interoperability needed, and unclar-
ity at this point may have contributed to the differences in
understanding of interoperability discussed later. However,
due to the exploratory nature of the study, no causal rela-
tionships could be identified at this time. Misaligned goals
were also identified as a challenge, both linked to work-
ing in silos for individual goals rather than overall project
goals, as well as different perceptions of what is reachable.
Another area discussed was a lack of human resources,
namely among producers who lack time to dedicate to digi-
talization tasks. This highlights the need for systems to be
interoperable and allow for analysis to be conducted more
easily with the available data. However, it may also indicate
a lack of investment which is needed in the initial setup
and transition to digital solutions. Lastly, responsibility was
found to be a potential hindrance as it was not always clear
who was responsible for improving data interoperability.
Communication was the last category identified con-
nected to human factors. Enablers, barriers, and tools were
discussed within this category. Collaboration was named
as a key enabler for inter-company connectivity and while
digital interactions were a well-used tool for enabling col-
laboration, in-person meetings seemed to be important for
close collaboration. The project consists of partners from
several European countries and language barriers were also
mentioned as hinders in the development. Also seen in the
results is the positive attitude for the use of environmental
information as an external communication tool which can
help in aligning expectations.
Technology
There was a general belief among participants that the tools
and technologies needed were available, and human factors
were more limiting to improving connectivity. Therefore,
more enablers were noted in the technology theme, how-
ever, some barriers were still noted.
The first category that emerged from the data is digita-
lization. A majority of participants perceived digitalization
within the industry to be low which left many opportunities
to utilize already existing tools and technologies for gaining
benefits. Further, the value gains from being involved in
digitalization projects was also noted in general along with
the benefits of collaboration to find new use cases for tools,
but also the value for environmental information was lifted.
A challenge discussed by half the participants was a lack of
data, despite the underutilization of data suggested for the
extraction industries in general. This may be because there
is still a lot of digitization to be done within the industry
considering the low levels of digitalization noted. However,
it can also suggest that there is still much more valuable
data that can be collected from aggregate sites. Lastly data
management was discussed where the importance of defin-
ing the data clearly with appropriate associated metadata to
allow for traceability and higher interoperability were lifted.
Data interoperability emerged as a further category.
The participants from solution providers were much more
familiar with the term data interoperability than the pro-
ducers themselves, and, similar to the definitions in the
literature, there were slightly different levels of detail for
different participants. One thing that was noted was a lack
of clarity in the difference between interoperability and
integration. The platform framework shared resonated well
with most of the participants and helped to provide clarity,
suggesting it can be a useful tool when trying to identify
and understand different degrees of interoperability needed
between systems. It was noted as particularly useful for
identifying where challenges lie. Previous to the DEQ proj-
ect, most partners noted mainly working with improving
interoperability between internal systems rather than exter-
nal systems suggesting inter-company connectivity is still
novel for both solution providers and producers. A foreseen
challenge is seen in the verification of the data and any anal-
ysis that is conducted, as the quality of data is lifted by the
producers as important. Currently, it is easy to make errors
in entering data manually and there are potential benefit
gains from increasing the data interoperability to improve
the quality, however, this needs to be adequately verified to
ensure that errors are not embedded in the systems and go
unidentified. Lastly, a concern that is lifted by the produc-
ers that should be addressed refers to the confidentiality of
data that is shared.
The last category discussed was linked to knowledge
transfer where lessons from previous experiences were
producers. Lastly there was interest among the produc-
ers, as well as challenges from the solution providers, that
related to a lack of training in using the solutions. Training
has been offered in the project but has not been formally set
up or obligated. This means it could be connected to a fur-
ther code in expectations where a lack of human resources,
namely time, is identified and discussed later.
The next category within the theme of human fac-
tors was expectations. Almost all participants noted some
challenge related to misaligned expectations. The first area
discussed was unclear use cases for digitalization and con-
necting systems. This is a common feature of innovation
projects and could be related to some partners being new
to innovation projects and not being aware of the levels
of uncertainty at this stage in development. It could also
be related to communication challenges which is further
discussed in this section. The use case has the potential to
influence the level of interoperability needed, and unclar-
ity at this point may have contributed to the differences in
understanding of interoperability discussed later. However,
due to the exploratory nature of the study, no causal rela-
tionships could be identified at this time. Misaligned goals
were also identified as a challenge, both linked to work-
ing in silos for individual goals rather than overall project
goals, as well as different perceptions of what is reachable.
Another area discussed was a lack of human resources,
namely among producers who lack time to dedicate to digi-
talization tasks. This highlights the need for systems to be
interoperable and allow for analysis to be conducted more
easily with the available data. However, it may also indicate
a lack of investment which is needed in the initial setup
and transition to digital solutions. Lastly, responsibility was
found to be a potential hindrance as it was not always clear
who was responsible for improving data interoperability.
Communication was the last category identified con-
nected to human factors. Enablers, barriers, and tools were
discussed within this category. Collaboration was named
as a key enabler for inter-company connectivity and while
digital interactions were a well-used tool for enabling col-
laboration, in-person meetings seemed to be important for
close collaboration. The project consists of partners from
several European countries and language barriers were also
mentioned as hinders in the development. Also seen in the
results is the positive attitude for the use of environmental
information as an external communication tool which can
help in aligning expectations.
Technology
There was a general belief among participants that the tools
and technologies needed were available, and human factors
were more limiting to improving connectivity. Therefore,
more enablers were noted in the technology theme, how-
ever, some barriers were still noted.
The first category that emerged from the data is digita-
lization. A majority of participants perceived digitalization
within the industry to be low which left many opportunities
to utilize already existing tools and technologies for gaining
benefits. Further, the value gains from being involved in
digitalization projects was also noted in general along with
the benefits of collaboration to find new use cases for tools,
but also the value for environmental information was lifted.
A challenge discussed by half the participants was a lack of
data, despite the underutilization of data suggested for the
extraction industries in general. This may be because there
is still a lot of digitization to be done within the industry
considering the low levels of digitalization noted. However,
it can also suggest that there is still much more valuable
data that can be collected from aggregate sites. Lastly data
management was discussed where the importance of defin-
ing the data clearly with appropriate associated metadata to
allow for traceability and higher interoperability were lifted.
Data interoperability emerged as a further category.
The participants from solution providers were much more
familiar with the term data interoperability than the pro-
ducers themselves, and, similar to the definitions in the
literature, there were slightly different levels of detail for
different participants. One thing that was noted was a lack
of clarity in the difference between interoperability and
integration. The platform framework shared resonated well
with most of the participants and helped to provide clarity,
suggesting it can be a useful tool when trying to identify
and understand different degrees of interoperability needed
between systems. It was noted as particularly useful for
identifying where challenges lie. Previous to the DEQ proj-
ect, most partners noted mainly working with improving
interoperability between internal systems rather than exter-
nal systems suggesting inter-company connectivity is still
novel for both solution providers and producers. A foreseen
challenge is seen in the verification of the data and any anal-
ysis that is conducted, as the quality of data is lifted by the
producers as important. Currently, it is easy to make errors
in entering data manually and there are potential benefit
gains from increasing the data interoperability to improve
the quality, however, this needs to be adequately verified to
ensure that errors are not embedded in the systems and go
unidentified. Lastly, a concern that is lifted by the produc-
ers that should be addressed refers to the confidentiality of
data that is shared.
The last category discussed was linked to knowledge
transfer where lessons from previous experiences were