Digitisation strengthens risk management

Digital fleet and transport management specialist CtrlFleet has completed the development and rollout of a comprehensive risk and compliance module designed to support transport operators servicing mining and minerals supply chains across Africa. The module was initially developed for the Middle East transport market and has now been extended to Africa, where it has been positively received, particularly among transporters working in high- risk mining environments. The system enables operators to configure a detailed risk matrix aligned with the specific health, safety and compliance requirements of mining clients before transport orders are executed. According to CtrlFleet’s Renko Bergh, the configurable workflow ensures that each trip meets operational, safety and compliance standards prior to release. “Transporters are able to define their own compliance questions, scoring logic and approval conditions, allowing the system to reflect real-world operating conditions rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach,” he told Freight News. Risk parameters can include permissible driving hours, weather conditions, geographical risk zones, commodity type, equipment suitability or driver requirements. These factors are assessed cumulatively, with the system automatically flagging elevated risk levels and triggering escalation or approval requirements before instructions are issued to drivers via the mobile application. The development comes amid growing scrutiny of transport risk in mining supply chains, where road- based logistics continues to play a central role in moving minerals to ports, processing facilities and regional markets. “One of the most persistent risk factors in mining transport operations remains the driver and the impact of driver behaviour on safety, compliance and operational continuity. “What is changing, however, is the way mining companies and their transport partners are working together to use data as a primary risk mitigation tool,” said Bergh, indicating that they were increasingly seeing companies taking a bottom-up approach where drivers actively participated in submitting trip data, behavioural inputs and risk observations through mobile platforms. He said by voluntarily contributing data, drivers were also able to build a performance profile that could function as a form of professional CV, enabling benchmarking, skills development and incentive- based improvement. “This approach reduces the need for transporters to continually introduce additional layers of monitoring technology at the behest of mining clients, while still meeting stringent safety expectations.” Bergh said CtrlFleet saw significant opportunity for the mining and minerals sector to further leverage digitisation to improve risk management, asset utilisation and communication across supply chains. A key challenge, however, remains the alignment of technology adoption across different role players. “There is a growing risk of duplication when mining companies and transporters independently onboard similar technologies,” he said. “Clear alignment on who owns and operates which systems is critical to avoid inefficiencies.” Rather than mining operations implementing standalone track- and-trace or driver tasking systems, Bergh said transporters were better positioned to deploy integrated platforms that met mining clients’ visibility requirements while simultaneously supporting broader fleet and operational management. Asked about the regulatory environment, he said risk and compliance requirements were expected to tighten further, driven by increased dependence on road transport for mineral movements and the associated pressure on national road networks. Measuring and proactively managing this risk through technology is likely to remain a defining focus for the sector. LV