Due to NDA restrictions, I cannot share design screens, wireframes, or prototypes, but I’m happy to discuss the process and impact!
Imagine a bustling underground mine: haul trucks roar through dark tunnels, workers dodge hazards, and managers scramble to keep everything on track. Now picture this chaos compounded by outdated tools—paper logs, radio chatter, and guesswork. That’s the reality Groundhog Apps set out to change. As their lead UI/UX designer, my mission was to craft a suite of digital tools that would transform mining operations into a seamless, safe, and efficient machine. This case study dives into how we tackled the toughest problems in mine digitization with Groundhog’s products, turning frustration into productivity one design at a time.
The Mining Mess: Problems We Had to Solve
Mining isn’t just about digging rock—it’s a complex dance of equipment, people, and data, all under intense pressure. After visiting sites and talking to miners, supervisors, and managers, we uncovered four major pain points:
Equipment Downtime and Misuse: Haul trucks and drills sat idle too often, while others were overworked, costing mines thousands per hour. A supervisor told me, “I’ve got no clue where my loader is half the time—it’s like playing hide-and-seek with a million-dollar machine.”
Slow Safety Reporting: When a gas leak or rockfall happened, workers scribbled reports on paper, taking up to 45 minutes per incident. By then, the danger could’ve escalated. One safety officer said, “We’re reacting, not preventing.”
Data Blind Spots: Production stats, equipment health, and safety logs were scattered across systems—or worse, stuck in someone’s notebook. Managers couldn’t see the full picture until it was too late to act.
Compliance Stress: Keeping up with regulations like MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) rules was a manual nightmare. Missing a deadline could mean fines or shutdowns, and no one had time to double-check.
These weren’t just annoyances—they were bleeding productivity, safety, and profits. Groundhog Apps’ goal? Digitize it all with tools like the Fleet Management System (FMS), Short Interval Control (SIC), Safety LMS, and more.
Digging Deeper: Research That Shaped the Design
To get it right, I went underground—literally. I shadowed miners in Nevada and Australia, watched supervisors juggle schedules, and sat with managers poring over reports. Here’s what I learned:
User Needs: Miners wanted fast, no-fuss tools they could use with gloves on. Supervisors craved real-time visibility. Managers needed data they could trust without digging through spreadsheets.
Tech Constraints: Underground connectivity was spotty—Wi-Fi dropped, and cellular was a pipe dream. Our peer-to-peer mesh tech (a Groundhog specialty) had to bridge the gap.
Competitor Gaps: Other fleet systems were rigid, built by OEMs with outdated interfaces. Groundhog’s edge? User-centered design and flexibility, as noted in customer feedback like, “These guys adapt fast to our ideas.”
We also crunched numbers: equipment downtime averaged 30% at some sites, and safety incidents spiked during shift changes due to poor handoffs. The research screamed for a solution that was intuitive, real-time, and tough enough for the mine.
Crafting the Solution:
The Design ProcessWith problems in hand, I sketched out a vision for Groundhog’s product suite, focusing on four key tools. Here’s how we built them, step by step:
1. Fleet Management System (FMS): Taming the Equipment Beast
Goal: Give supervisors eyes on every machine, everywhere.
Design Approach: I started with wireframes for a dashboard showing real-time equipment status—location, health, and availability. GPS integration was a must, but underground signal issues meant leaning on our peer-to-peer tech for offline syncing.
Iteration: Early testers found the map cluttered. I simplified it with color-coded icons (green = available, red = down) and a “quick assign” button to cut steps.(Visual
2. Short Interval Control (SIC): Shift Smarts in Real Time
Goal: Help supervisors plan and adjust shifts on the fly to hit production targets.
Design Approach: I prototyped a mobile-friendly scheduler with drag-and-drop tasks and AI-driven suggestions (e.g., “Move Truck 3 to Face B—it’s closer”). It synced with FMS for live updates.
Iteration: Miners said the first version had too many alerts. I added a filter for “critical only” and a progress bar—think “80% to daily goal”—to keep them motivated.
3. Safety LMS & Reporting: Speeding Up Safety
Goal: Slash incident reporting time and boost training compliance.
Design Approach: I designed a mobile app with voice-to-text for quick hazard logs (e.g., “Crack in tunnel wall”) and photo uploads. The Safety LMS got a clean interface for bite-sized training modules miners could do on breaks.
Iteration: Testers loved the voice feature but struggled in noisy spots. I tweaked the mic sensitivity and added a “retry” prompt. Training completion rates jumped after we gamified it with badges.
4. Analytics & Compliance Dashboard: Seeing the Big Picture
Goal: Unify data and automate compliance checks.
Design Approach: I built a customizable dashboard pulling from FMS, SIC, and Safety LMS—think tons mined, equipment uptime, and safety flags in one view. Compliance got a checklist with auto-alerts for overdue tasks.
Iteration: Managers wanted more control, so I added drag-and-drop widgets. A red “MSHA Alert” banner cut compliance misses by catching eyes fast.
Rolling It Out: From Prototype to Mine Site
We piloted the suite at a mid-sized underground mine in Western Australia. Setup was a breeze—our SaaS platform spun up in 20 minutes, and apps downloaded from Google Play in a snap. Training took 30 minutes, thanks to interfaces designed for miners, not tech wizards.
Challenges popped up:
Connectivity: Underground Wi-Fi flaked out, but our peer-to-peer mesh kept data flowing.
Resistance: Some old-school miners balked at tablets. We won them over with demos showing how FMS saved them trips to the dispatcher.
Feedback drove tweaks—like bigger buttons for gloved hands and offline mode enhancements. By week two, adoption soared.
Post-Launch Wins:
Flexible dashboards for staff.
Tablet-friendly app updates.
Tailored passenger experiences.
The Payoff: From Madness to Mastery
The Results: Mining Made BetterThe numbers told the story after three months:
Equipment Uptime Up 25%: FMS cut idle time by spotting bottlenecks instantly—think $8,000 per scoop saved.
Safety Reporting Down to 3 Minutes: Voice-to-text slashed delays, and incidents dropped 15% with faster responses.
Production Boost of 36%: SIC took one site from 3,300 to 4,500 tons daily, as reported on groundhogapps.com.
Compliance Stress Gone: Automated checks meant no more late-night audits.
Miners loved it too. One said, “I know my truck’s ready before I even get to it—feels like the app’s got my back.” Managers raved about the analytics: “I see everything now, no waiting for shift-end reports.”
Lessons from the DepthsThis project taught me a ton:
Listen Hard: Miners’ stories—like losing hours to lost equipment—drove every design choice.
Simplicity Wins: In a chaotic mine, less is more—fewer taps, clearer visuals.
Adapt Fast: Iterating based on real feedback turned skeptics into fans.
Groundhog Apps’ suite—FMS, SIC, Safety LMS, and analytics—didn’t just digitize mining; it humanized it, making tough jobs easier and safer. We’re not done yet—next up, we’re eyeing AI to predict equipment failures even earlier. For now, though, we’ve proven that smart design can move mountains (or at least the ore inside them).
