Practices and initiatives to transfer Simrac developed ... · PDF fileSimgap and Simcom represent tripartite committees that oversee the gold, platinum, coal and ‘other’ mines

▲283The Journal of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy JULY/AUGUST 2002

Introduction and background

Simrac funds approximately R40 millionannually on exploratory and fundamentalresearch, applied research and development,technology transfer, piloting, implementation,and promotion of safety initiatives. Thenumber of projects that are in progress varybetween 40 and 60 per annum. Duration ofprojects varies from six months to three years.The research focus areas are currentlycategorized into nine thrusts areas, namely:

➤ Behavioural safety➤ Rockfalls➤ Rockbursts➤ Explosions and fires➤ Machinery and transport systems➤ Airborne pollutants ➤ Physical hazards➤ Occupational diseases➤ Special projects.

During the early 1990s, only isolatedinformation dissemination took place and thecommunication of research outcomes wasmainly confined to Simrac committees. In1997, the organizational structure wasenhanced with a full-time technical managerand additional administrative staff. Thisfacilitated the establishment of a formalinformation dissemination system to end-users and stakeholders and limited technologytransfer. During 1999, three programmemanagers were appointed to manage occupa-tional health, rock engineering andengineering and machinery-related projects.No formal or dedicated technology transferfunction was catered for within the structure.\(Figure 1).

Simrac is a permanent committee of theMine Health and Safety Council and isconstituted on a tripartite basis. Simpross(Simrac Project Support Services) consists ofmanagement, technical and administrativestaff that facilitates the expediting of theannual programme. Simgap and Simcomrepresent tripartite committees that oversee thegold, platinum, coal and ‘other’ mines portionof the programme and are assisted by twoexpert groups, Simrock and Simeng. TheSimhealth committee consists mainly ofoccupational medicine and hygiene practi-tioners and operates across mining sectors.

During the late 1990s, Simrac realized thatits technology transfer initiatives were notbalanced against its research efforts, and aproject was commissioned to assist in theformulation of effective technology transferstrategies. An insightful recommendation

Practices and initiatives to transferSimrac developed technologies to itsstakeholders and other partiesby P. van der Heever*

Synopsis

The genesis of Simrac’s technology transfer practices and futureinitiatives are discussed in this report. Simrac produces a relativelylarge volume of research-based health and safety outputs that mustbe communicated to its tripartite stakeholders and to otherinterested and affected parties. The wide spectrum and complexityof the transferables, together with the diversity of end-user needsand skills of the recipient population, necessitate customizing oftechnology transfer practices.

In an attempt to optimize this process, a variety of practices areemployed. Information is transferred by means of publication anddissemination of a variety of reports (paper, website and CD).Knowledge transfer is directed to health and safety practitioners bymeans of workshops, seminars, best practice booklets, handbooksand textbooks. Promotion of recently completed projects is directedat targeted recipients by means of project launches. Only isolatedcases of piloting and implementation of technologies have beenundertaken due to lack of resources and past organizational focus.It is anticipated that Simrac’s new organizational structure andmanagement system, together with end-user involvement byindustry champions, from project inception to implementation, willenhance the effectiveness of the technology transfer process.

* Research Manager, Simrac Project SupportServices, Johannesburg, Gauteng.

© The South African Institute of Mining andMetallurgy, 2002. SA ISSN 0038–223X/3.00 +0.00. This paper was first presented at the SAIMMColloquium: Knowledge and Technology Transfer,26 February 2002.

Practices and initiatives to transfer Simrac developed technologies

arising from this project (GEN 504) can be summarized asfollows:

‘It is essential that priority be given to successfultechnology transfer, that best practices are acknowledged,that an enabling environment is provided in which tooperate, that a thorough understanding of the benefits oftechnology transfer is instilled in all stakeholders and thatkey role-players engage in building relevant capacity.’

The outcome of a strategy workshop, which was heldduring November 2000, identified several issues to enhancethe organizational effectiveness of Simrac. In particular, theestablishment of sustainable technology transfer mechanismsand the involvement of industry users from project inceptionto implementation stage were identified as critical issues.Several strategic interventions and structures have beenformulated with a view to embedding technology transfer asa permanent and sustainable component of Simrac’s primaryfunction.

Technology transfer : Simrac’s mandate andinvolvement

Although Simrac’s primary function is to initiate and managehealth and safety projects, the ‘...communication andpublication’ of research results is the only activity that hasan element of technology transfer. No mention of technologytransfer is made in the section of the Mine Health and Safety

Act that relates to Simrac’s duties and responsibilities andhence the accent of the annual programme has been onresearch and publication. The organizational structures,procedures and allocation of resources that were in operationduring the late 1990s, were not aimed at transferring newlydeveloped technologies and hence technology transfer is notreflected in the mission statement:

‘To initiate and manage research aimed at improvedunderstanding of significant occupational health and safetyrisks; the development of solutions that will lead toimprovements in occupational health and safety conditionsand performance in the South African mining industry and toadvise the Mine Health and Safety Council on matters asrequired by the Mine Health and Safety Act (Act no. 29 of1996)’

Simrac’s involvement in technology transfer should beguided by the requirements and conditions that are inherentin the transfer process. This process should be a bipartite,managed activity of:

➤ communicating information, imparting knowledge,demonstrating products, services, processes andsystems and facilitating piloting by a technologyprovider, and

➤ the receipt, acceptance, sharing of ownership andinitiation of implementation by technology recipientsand users.

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284 JULY/AUGUST 2002 The Journal of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

Figure 1—Simrac’s former organizational arrangement, a matrix structure between sectoral committees and functional-based technical experts

According to this definition, technology transfer is notmerely an event, but a managed process that involvespersonal interaction between two parties who must bemutually dependent and committed. If these conditions arenot present, the potential benefits of innovation, researchand development, productivity and safety will not be realized.

There are several reasons for and impediments toestablishing sustainable technology transfer within Simracand these are briefly discussed in the next section.

Typical barriers to technology transfer

The main barriers to successful transfer that have beenidentified can be summarized as follows.

➤ During the first few years following its inception,Simrac did not appreciate the need to have a formaldedicated technology transfer strategy as communi-cation and publication of research results were deemedadequate. The onus was placed on mines to act onrecommendations.

➤ Simrac did not plan nor allocate funding for thedissemination and publication of research results andassumed that the assimilation of changes in technologywould result from technology-pull by mines.

➤ Because of their non-involvement and non-ownershipof projects, end-users are not convinced that theadoption of new technology would be beneficial.

➤ The majority of mines do not possess the organiza-tional culture, skills and procedures to utilize newtechnology. Planning and budgeting for newimplementation of new technology are thereforeseldom formalized.

➤ The long-term value of new technology is often notsupported by senior management on mines (who oftenhave a relative short tenure and are unwilling tosupport long-term technology development).

➤ The Mine Health and Safety Act is silent on technologytransfer; only research programme content, costs andthe communication of research results are required.

➤ There is no ‘recipe’ for success and every technologytransfer must be customized according to the needsand receptiveness of the recipients.

➤ Simrac has only recently started to produce moretangible and implementable project deliverables.

Technology transfer practices: past, current andfuture

The first Simrac projects were started in 1994 and, to date,more than 217 reports have been completed with a further 85in progress. There has been a marked change in the type andnature of research since Simrac’s inception with commen-surate changes in technology transfer practices. Theprogression of technology transfer practices will therefore bediscussed for three different periods.

The period: 1994 to 1997

The type of research was mainly exploratory in nature and

aimed at expanding the knowledge base and basicunderstanding of safety hazards, mainly rock engineering.Final reports were disseminated to selected committeemembers and interest groups only. The reports were verytechnical and formal with minor transferable content and fewrecommendations for implementation. Project scopes had nodefined technology transfer deliverables. No procedures werein place for dissemination of reports. During this period, theannual research programme was arranged into gold andplatinum, coal, ‘other’ mines and generic projects inaccordance with the levy imposed on the different miningsectors. Project management was done on a functional basiswith rock engineering, engineering and environmentaladvisory groups and special interest groups advising sub-committees which reported to Simrac. During this period, thenumber of committees and groups varied between 12 and 14.

This period is typical of an approach that assumes thattechnology transfer is a passive process between thedevelopers and users. The process is only initiated on aneeds-driven basis and only existing structures and links areutilized. Deliberate technology transfer mechanisms are notconsidered necessary.

The period: 1998 to 2001

The spectrum of research was expanded by including occupa-tional hygiene and occupational medicine to the portfolio.The nature of the project deliverables moved fromfundamental to more applied and development content aimedat producing potential solutions and not merely betterunderstanding. A new, more systematic and reader-friendlyreport format was introduced with more accent onrecommendations for possible implementation and technicalcontent was presented in a more digestible form. Projectscopes outlined potential technology transfer componentsand mechanisms.

Systematic dissemination procedures and channels(websites, CDs and newsletters) were established todistribute all completed reports to levy-paying mines,tripartite institutions, libraries, and selected institutionsoverseas. Comprehensive handbooks on rock engineeringand occupational health were produced that summarized bestpractices and accumulated knowledge and research findings.Well-illustrated booklets were produced that were presentedto selected user-groups at special project launches. A fewmine-based user-groups were established to obtain input forprojects that will produce tangible and implementable projectoutputs. Several equipment prototypes were produced andtested in the user-environment. During this period, twoprojects (GEN 504 and GEN 604) were commissioned torecommend practicable technology transfer strategies forSimrac

This period is typical of a dissemination approach thatrecognizes that R&D is being under-utilized and establishesdissemination mechanisms to inform potential users of theavailable research outputs. Initiatives are typically technologypush in nature and although end-user involvement isrecognized as being pivotal in the process, the researcher is




still viewed as the primary agent to transfer a particulartechnology. There is a realization that technology transferneeds to be a systematic process with buy-in from end-users.

The period: 2002 onwards

Strategic workshops were held towards the end of 2001 atwhich several critical technology transfer issues wereidentified and strategic and tactical plans, organizationalstructures and resource allocation, were formulated. Simrac’stechnology transfer has progressed towards a knowledge-utilization approach that will involve all role players, usersand producers of technical research to explore implementablesolutions, some of which may have commercial applications.The focus will be on structured, interpersonal interactionbetween technology developers/owners and recipients,designed to reproduce technical knowledge, apply newapplications and jointly initiate novel technologies. Anintegrated market-pull model is the preferred approach thatwill be pursued because receiver organizations will play asignificant role in defining relevant, needs-driven technologythat will be transferred. The technology transfer processeswill be understandable and demonstrable, as many of thetransferables represent people-embodied technologies thatare more difficult to transfer than product-embodiedtechnologies. Some of the changes that have been introducedare discussed next.

The organizational mission

The scope of the mission statement was amended to includetechnology transfer and points to the aims of the research:

➤ the initiation and management of research and surveysaimed at eliminating, controlling and minimizingoccupational safety and health risk to persons at mines

➤ the facilitation, promotion and communication ofknowledge, transfer of technologies and piloting ofimplementable solutions that will lead to improvementsin occupational health and safety conditions andperformance at mines, and

➤ advising the Mine Health and Safety Council on mattersin accordance with sections 43(1) and 42(2) of theMine Health and Safety Act.

Information presentation will be further advancedtowards uncomplicated, concise formats in reader-friendlystyle and if applicable, interactive in nature. Simracinformation will be free with no access restrictions. A keyelement will be the appointment of credible and motivatedtechnology champions who are familiar with organizationaland individual dynamics, who can communicate effectivelywith end-users. Ideally, technology transfer managementshould be a dedicated function that aggressively promotesresearch results and practicable implementation plans.

Several new safety-related technologies have emergedthrough technology push, for instance, self-contained selfrescuers, hydraulic stope support, seismic monitoringsystems and trapped miner location systems. A balance

between technology-push and market-pull will therefore bepursued to optimize potential technologies.

Changes to the organizational structure

Simrac has restructured its management systems by investi-gating the establishment of a simplified, practicablearrangement that incorporates stakeholder involvement,professional programme management and technologytransfer components. Simrac will continue to focus on policyand strategic issues, while Simpross will be responsible forthe execution of the annual programme and the provision ofadministrative and management services. Input from a multi-disciplinary advisory panel of consultants and auditors willbe solicited to assist with organizational issues, includingtechnical and technology transfer and promotional aspects.The new structure is depicted in Figure 2.

Incentives for technology transfer participants

A key element for ensuring successful and sustainabletransfer of new and developing technologies is the provisionof incentives for participation. Simrac is investigating thepossibility of instituting compensation for participation bymines, end-users, champions and manufacturers in Simracprojects. Ideally, involvement of all participants should beformalized with a guarantee of compensation during theproject’s life cycle for expenses incurred during the period ofparticipation.

Champions will be invited to selected meetings anddiscussions and should be released from their normal dutiesto participate in Simrac business. Potential participants infuture projects will include a variety of stakeholders that willbe actively involved during the duration of the research,development and implementation phases. (Figure 3)

Outsourcing of routine technical auditing and qualitycontrol

Simpross management will employ consultants for auditingand verification of technical content of reports and for otherdiverse tasks that require specialist assessments. It isenvisaged that such an arrangement will allow Simpross tofacilitate more end-user involvement and liaison withchampions. The focus of Simpross’ current primary functionswill shift from project management and quality control,towards integrated programme management and the facili-tation of technology transfer.

Project phasing, scoping and funding allocation

Projects commencing in 2002 have been formulated toincorporate phases, (exploratory research, development,transfer/implementation) and if applicable, commercial-ization. Technology transfer will thus form an integral part ofthe contractual project deliverables.

It is imperative that organizational interventions, such asthe establishment of sustainable technology transfer

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strategies, should be grounded on shared vision, adequatecapacity and practicable implementation actions. Elementsthat were considered during the formulation stage aredepicted in Figure 4. This matrix will be used to assess theeffectiveness of the resultant change outcomes during 2002.

Summary of Simrac technology transfer initiatives

Technology transfer of Simrac-sponsored project deliverablesand technologies is relatively new and has to cater for a widespectrum of recipients that include Labour unions, the

Department of Minerals and Energy, employers, researchersand manufacturers. Figure 5 summarizes the nature andfrequency of techniques that have been employed to date.

Conclusions and recommendations

Simrac is committed to embedding organizational structuresand mechanisms within Simpross and Industry with a viewto enabling sustainable technology transfer and end-userinvolvement. During the past few years, there has been asteady increase in technology transfer effort, which hasprogressed from a passive approach to a more active andintegrated approach, The spectrum of future research-relatedfunctions has been widened to include development, pilotingand implementation of project deliverables and project scopeshave been expanded to incorporate technology transfer as adeliverable output. The participation of technology championsand incentives for continued involvement are key successfactors to ensure the practicability and motivation forimplementation.

Managing the appointment and continuity of part-timeindustry champions and their interaction with Simrac andSimpross will be a challenge within the current skills supplyand economic constraints within the different mining sectors.Simrac evaluated the incorporation of four full-time industryrepresentatives to liase, champion and promote Simracprojects, but it was considered to be relatively costly. Theeffectiveness of the current arrangements will bereconsidered in 2003 and amended if required.



Figure 2—The new organizational arrangements. Technology transfer is now a recognized Simpross function. Involvement of technology champions andend-users are included under ‘stakeholder involvement’

Figure 3—Participants in the research-technology transfer chain


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Figure 4—A diagram to assess outcomes of organizational change

Figure 5—A summary of technology transfer types and techniques. Numbers represent the approximate frequency of adoption by Simrac

Documents

Practices and initiatives to transfer Simrac developed ... · PDF fileSimgap and Simcom represent tripartite committees that oversee the gold, platinum, coal and ‘other’ mines