Raymond Mhlongo, Sedna’s engineering manager.

Sedna Industrial IT Solutions has partnered with Haivision, a global provider of real-time video networking and visual collaboration solutions.

Sedna has active operations on three continents, its solutions include enabling networks (LTE, wired and WiFi), through to autonomous haulage systems, distributed fibre sensing and supplier value management platforms.

The firm’s partnership with Haivision will focus on industrial and mining command control room solutions and software across the continent.

Sedna announced the deal on Wednesday, stating that Haivision technology enables teams to make informed decisions and respond quickly in urgent or emergency situations.

Industry analysts say increasing demand for improved safety, monitoring, and operational excellence coincides with the African mining sector’s adoption of technologies to improve efficiency.

Executives of major African mining companies recently attended the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa and concurred they are beginning to recognise the potential of technology to disrupt the industry.

Benefits that technology can bring include cutting operational costs, increasing efficiency, limiting risk, improving control, and expediting decision-making procedures.

Raymond Mhlongo, Sedna’s engineering manager, said the aim of the partnership is “to bring video feeds and plant SCADA data from anywhere into a control room, transforming control rooms into crucial information centres”.

Haivision provides live low-latency video solutions, with deployments in applications across government, military, aerospace, and public safety organisations.

Mhlongo said: “This empowers operators and stakeholders to make mission-critical decisions from a remote location.”

Matt Stone, sales director for Europe and Africa, Haivision, said the sheer volume of mining and industrial activity taking place across the continent, makes the partnership and expansion a natural progression for the company’s Africa strategy.

He said that Haivision’s solutions are suited for Africa as they are “cost-effective and easy to manage at the front end”.

“However, it can be quite complex on the back end, and we need the right people on the ground in the first and second lines of support. This is why we had no hesitation in choosing Sedna as our partner – they have the expertise and track record we were looking for,” he said.

According to Mhlongo, the advanced visual collaboration platforms by Haivision can monitor different dashboards for plants and machinery and provide live video feeds to give a large view for situational awareness.

He said: “Risk is on the rise for businesses in this area, whether through a seismic event, accidents or any unplanned event, including cyber-attacks. This is why it is important for mines and manufacturers to rethink the way they are currently monitoring their sites.

“In our experience, many companies in Africa have neglected this aspect for too long and are at increased risk of facing major problems when things go wrong, which can happen in a heartbeat.”

Stone added that the same technology can be harnessed to give mining and industrial sites a real-time view of their full operation, which can benefit security and productivity.

He added: “We see immense potential on the continent and will also look to expand into areas like ports and rail, security operational centres at banks and tech companies, as well as areas like public transport, defence, and emergency services. However, we see our first point of entry as mining operational centres, which we are driving through this partnership.”