Implementing a DIKW model on a deep mine cooling system

The South African mining industry has been experiencing increasing economic pressure. Deep mines also suffer from very hot workplaces, which leads to safety risks. These factors place stress on managers to reach their production targets while providing safe workplace conditions. The data information knowledge wisdom (DIKW) model, also known as the wisdom hierarchy, was implemented on a deep mine cooling system. This study aims to show that a simple model such as the DIKW model can assist managers in improving their deep mine cooling system’s performance. The study found that the DIKW approach is a suitable approach for use on mine cooling systems to facilitate operational improvements. Applying the DIKW approach to a case study on a mine cooling system created substantial awareness and facilitated a cooling duty improvement of 55% which relates to an increase of 5.3 MW of refrigeration. The results of this study indicate that the DIKW approach may be a suitable approach to optimise management on deep mines using their existing infrastructure.