Real-time dispatch for block-cave production.

BCD Dispatch coordinates LHD fleets across drawpoints in real time. Six user roles on one platform — dispatchers, supervisors, planners, operators, maintenance, management — 24/7. Built with Graybeard Solutions.

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What we built

BCD Dispatch is a complete real-time dispatch and production management platform, built from the ground up around the specific demands of block-cave mining at Palabora Mining Company. It coordinates underground LHD fleets against draw-card targets shift by shift, drawpoint by drawpoint. The platform exists to protect ore recovery — every dispatcher decision is logged, every load is measured against plan, and every drawpoint stays within its even-draw envelope.

  • Real-time dispatch

    Dispatchers assign LHDs to drawpoints and see every machine in the fleet at a glance — Available, Assigned, Breakdown, or Standby. Assignments travel through MQTT to the operator's HMI underground within seconds, and load confirmations flow back in real time. Every status change is logged with a full audit trail.

  • Draw control

    Mine planners upload draw cards that define target tonnage for every drawpoint, every shift. Dispatchers see those targets alongside real-time progress as ore is extracted. Even-draw compliance is visible at all times — the ore body collapses evenly only when the plan is followed.

  • Production reporting

    Load data flows in automatically from underground equipment, and production can be viewed by machine, tunnel, shift, or operator. PDF reports — machine status, production summaries, shift performance, equipment breakdowns — are generated server-side and emailed automatically to configurable mailing lists.

  • Mine-map visualisation

    Custom SVG-based mine maps show the layout with draggable drawpoints and tip positions; asset-tracking views display live equipment positions updated via MQTT. Chart.js powers the KPI visualisations. The whole platform installs as a Progressive Web App on tablets and mobile, so operators and supervisors carry it underground.

  • Hardware integration

    A two-way MQTT-over-SSL data flow links the dispatch platform to underground LHDs. Hydraulic sensors detect bucket tilt and boom lift to confirm loads automatically; RFID readers throughout the tunnels confirm position; IFM HMI touchscreen panels in the LHD cabs are the operator's interface. The on-machine hardware and HMI work was delivered by Graybeard Solutions.

  • Audit + handover

    Every assignment, status change, load record, and message is captured with user, timestamp, and reason. Production delays are logged with categorised reasons, machine, location, and duration. Shift boundaries are respected throughout — incoming dispatchers see exactly where the outgoing shift left off.

BCD Dispatch production dashboard — Total Loads, Total Tonnes, Average Cycle Time, charts per operator/tunnel/LHD BCD Dispatch detailed production data — load level/tunnel/point/orientation per machine, timestamped BCD Dispatch LHD status grid — every machine across the fleet at a glance BCD Dispatch asset tracking — mine map with live machine positions across drawpoints IFM HMI on-machine touchscreen — operator main screen in the LHD cab IFM HMI on-machine touchscreen — boom sensor pressure fault state IFM HMI on-machine touchscreen — diesel level reading (75%)

Outcomes

Block cave

Mining method

6 user roles

One platform

24/7/365

Coverage

Common questions

What is block-cave mining and why does dispatch matter?
Block-cave mining undercuts a deep ore body and lets gravity collapse the rock under its own weight; LHDs collect the broken ore from drawpoints hundreds of metres underground. Recovery depends on drawing evenly across neighbouring drawpoints to the targets set by each shift's draw card. Get it wrong and ore is stranded in dead zones, waste contaminates the ore stream, extraction tunnels can be crushed by stress redistribution, and uncontrolled caving can trigger lethal air blasts. Dispatch decisions are the critical human link between the mine plan and what happens underground.
How does the system track production in real time?
The platform talks to underground LHDs through a two-way MQTT-over-SSL data flow. When a dispatcher assigns a machine to a drawpoint, the instruction appears on the operator's IFM HMI panel within seconds. When the LHD loads, hydraulic sensors detect bucket tilt and boom lift, RFID readers confirm the tunnel position, and that data flows back through MQTT to update the dispatch platform live. Dispatchers work on live information, not data that is five minutes old.
What stack runs in production?
Laravel 12 with Livewire 3 for a fully reactive UI without a separate JavaScript front-end; PostgreSQL in production for reliability under continuous write-heavy workloads and complex queries; MQTT over SSL for surface-to-underground messaging; a Progressive Web App for installable tablet and mobile access; Chart.js for visualisations; custom SVG-based mine maps; and server-side PDF generation for scheduled reports.
How is the partnership with Graybeard Solutions structured?
BCD Dispatch is an equal-partner delivery between two specialist companies. Strata Logic designed and built the web dispatch platform — draw-card tracking, mine maps, machine status, production reporting, audit trail. Graybeard Solutions designed, built, and installed the on-machine hardware, the MQTT broker infrastructure, and the custom IFM HMI touchscreen panels in the LHD cabs.
Who uses the platform inside the mine?
One codebase serves six distinct user roles: dispatchers managing machine assignments, shift supervisors overseeing performance, mine planners uploading draw cards and reviewing compliance, equipment operators receiving assignments on underground terminals, maintenance teams tracking equipment status, and mine management accessing reports and analytics. Everything runs through a browser — no desktop software to install.
How is the audit trail handled?
Every status change, assignment, load record, and message is captured with the user who acted, the timestamp, and the reason. Production delays are logged with categorised reasons, associated with specific machines and locations, and tracked for duration. The system is shift-aware throughout, so handovers never lose context — the incoming dispatcher sees current assignments, progress against draw-card targets, active delays, and any messages awaiting response.

Stack & partnership

Strata Logic designed and built the dispatch management platform — the web application, the data layer, the dispatch logic, the dashboards, and the reporting. The stack is Laravel 12 with Livewire 3, PostgreSQL in production, MQTT over SSL for real-time messaging, a Progressive Web App for installable mobile and tablet access, Chart.js for visualisations, and server-side PDF generation. One codebase, one platform, serving six user roles.

Hardware integration, MQTT broker infrastructure, and the IFM HMI panels in LHD cabs were delivered by Graybeard Solutions. Equal-partner delivery.

Block-cave dispatch is unforgiving. Uneven draw rates can strand 15 to 25 percent of total ore permanently in dead zones where it can never be recovered. Overdrawing a single point can pull waste rock into the ore stream and reduce grade by 20 to 40 percent. In the worst cases, uncontrolled caving causes stress redistribution that crushes extraction tunnels, destroying infrastructure worth tens of millions of rand. The most dangerous consequence — air blasts caused by sudden void collapse — can be lethal. These are the stakes the system addresses, one drawpoint at a time.

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