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Enacy Mapakame-Business Reporter
BUDDING Zimbabwean enterprise, OpsCORE, is making inroads in the region and abroad with its Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions for cost-effective production processes in mining, which lead to increased volume and earnings growth.
Having established partnerships and markets in South Africa, Namibia, Australia and the Middle East, the South Africa-headquartered entity leverages technological innovations to integrate specialist processes.
The processes include productivity optimisation, equipment availability and utilisation tracking, inventory management, data security, time and attendance and interactive reporting.
A brainchild of Zimbabwean-born Larnston Gowera and Jeofery Zharare, OpsCORE was launched in 2019 following the creation of a mobile platform OpsCORE, which integrates all aspects of mining operations using streamlined processing to improve performance, services, accountability, onsite and offsite asset management, human resource management as well as tracking.
Chief executive officer and co-founder, Mr Gowera, told The Herald Finance and Business that the platform had received commendable response from the region with its AI solutions that help solve some of the problems that miners face.
This comes as the world over, businesses are embracing information communication technologies to boost production efficiencies, with technology seen as an enabler for realisation of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) aspirations.
With the adoption of AI in mining and other sectors like manufacturing and aviation, businesses are seen getting a windfall in volumes and earnings.
“There are a lot of applications you can use (the AI), from operations to human resources (HR), maintenance, finance and accounting. There is a solution we can bring to the industry by automating processes.
“We have a number of platforms we have built and our flagship is a pre-operation, a start-up process and checklist management system where there is integration throughout the operation process,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the Association of Mine Managers of Zimbabwe (AMMZ) conference and AGM in Victoria Falls recently.
With the platform, operators can also easily detect wear and tear on critical pieces of equipment and predict when and where repairs or maintenance activities are needed, allowing miners to make real-time decisions and thus minimising costs.
For artisanal small-scale miners, the platform becomes handy by enhancing production efficiencies and safety measures in operations.
Mr Gowera said, having spent six years in an operations management role handling a lot of paperwork, he noticed there were a lot of mistakes with far-reaching consequences that could be avoided by automating systems.
This prompted him to team up with co-founder Mr Zharare – an IT expert to come up with OpsCORE.
The organisation has grown to employ 16 staff members and has built other platforms like OpsCORE HR Module, OpsCORE Finance and OpsCORE Payroll that can be used by other sectors as well.
“We have created a platform where all interactions can happen in real-time on the platform at the same time, basically taking away the paper trail.
“It can help identify risk-events and drive suggested actions to prevent problems before they happen.
“You do your job a lot better because where you normally make mistakes, we put controls.
“If you input a wrong figure, it can easily detect that mistake.
“For small-scale miners, for instance, this platform allows them to manage multiple operations at the same time. It means they have information and can make management decisions without going to the site,” he said.
The organisation has become distributor of products and services for other businesses in Australia and the Middle East in addition to interests also in earth moving equipment, point of sale (POS) machines, till paper as well as training and leadership development.
“We have partners in Australia, South Africa, and the Middle East who have products they want to push onto the market,” said Mr Gowera.
OpsCORE is also registered in Zimbabwe
“We facilitate the deal on their behalf in the region and provide onsite maintenance as well as support whenever the customer needs,” he said, adding that there is room for further adoption of AI solutions in Zimbabwe to boost production across sectors.
The innovation comes at a time the country is angling to become an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
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