DEQ: February exams

The first Reporting Period Meeting just arrived. A very important date for DigiEcoQuarry. A time to get together, exchange insights, keep everyone informed about the developments of our specific tasks, and coordinate to ensure the success of the project.

The goal of this meeting was to report to the EU Commission about the work that has been done in every area of the project for the first 18 months (Jun 21-Nov 22). During the reunion, each work package leader presented the developments reached in their respective field to the Project Officer of the Health and Digital Executive Agency, supported by an external expert reviewer. Now it’s time to wait for their feedback and make the necessary arrangements, in case there are any, to consolidate or improve the way the project it’s going.

Visiting a pilot site: Valdilecha

The DigiEcoQuarry team never loses an opportunity to put on our hard hats and security boots and go to a quarry. We like the smell of aggregates and the sound of drilling every morning. Since all work package leaders were together in the flesh at the same place and at the same time, something that does not happen very often, we thought it would be a great idea to take them to check one of the pilots of the project and see everything (like the drill rig) firsthand. We did not care about the ruthless wind forecast, we grabbed a bus and went to visit the Valdilecha quarry, just a 20-minute drive from Madrid’s city center where ANEFA’s headquarters, the leader of the project, are located.

In fact, we just put out a video about the visit for you to watch on our Youtube channel,

DigiEcoQuarry. Watch it here

Valdilecha, property of Hanson Hispania (Heidelberg Cement group) it’s the reference pilot for drilling and blasting. Other developments that will be tested there are:

  • Advanced rock mass characterization (UPM).
  • New drilling technology (SANDVIK ) and explosives (MAXAM).
  • Drill to mil concept implementation (UPM).
  • Monitoring sensors for mobile machinery (ABAUT).
  • Aggregate quality by colorimetry and Grain size determination (AI algorithms: Sigma + UPM ).

There are also four advancements that will be implemented in this quarry that are common to the other four pilots:

  • 3D BIM modeling
  • H&S improvements
  • Environmental platform simulation
  • Social engagement strategy

We would like to take the chance to especially acknowledge César Fernández Castro (performance manager at Hanson and our liaison in this company) and José Ramón Doheijo (quarry manager at Valdilecha) for their kindness and patience in showing us around and answering all our questions.

DigiEcoQuarry is a project funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 that aims to develop systems, technologies, and processes to drive the digitization and automation of mining operations to make them safer, more sustainable, and more competitive. To achieve this goal, we will combine tools such as artificial intelligence (AI); cyber-physical systems, or the possibilities brought by the Internet of Things (IoT).

The final step will be to test these systems in five EU quarries to improve worker health and safety. The overall goal is to sustainably increase the supply of minerals for the construction sector.

Please follow us too on our social media accounts: