The dust management company is using its DAS Monitor to show operators, in real time, whether a suppression programme is working and where it is falling short
Dust-A-Side, a South African dust management company, is placing its DAS Monitor at the centre of how it works with mines, quarries and industrial sites. The IoT-enabled system measures airborne dust continuously, sends the readings to a cloud dashboard and alerts site teams by SMS and email the moment levels cross a set threshold. The company’s position is that dust control should be judged on measured results, not on how a road looks from the cab of a vehicle.
The timing is deliberate. The summer rainfall season is often treated as a break from dust problems, but storms bring wind shifts, and the dry spells between rains produce some of the sharpest dust spikes of the year. At the same time, mining operations face growing scrutiny on air quality from regulators and from neighbouring communities, and a complaint that arrives after the fact is far harder to manage than an alert that arrives during the event.
What the DAS Monitor Measures
The unit records PM2.5 and PM10 particulate concentrations alongside wind speed and direction, ambient temperature, relative humidity, rainfall and GPS location. All data is transmitted to a secure web-based dashboard where authorised users can view live and historical readings from a computer, tablet or phone. The unit is portable, so it can be moved to wherever the day’s work is happening.
The hardware is built for the environments it serves. The monitoring unit sits in a robust steel enclosure with secure mounting to protect against theft, vandalism and accidental damage. It runs on 230 VAC mains supply or on a solar system with integrated battery backup, which allows deployment at remote off-grid sites as readily as at fixed facilities. The system is in use across mining, industrial, infrastructure and construction operations.
From Readings to Action
Wind direction paired with particulate data tells an operator where dust is coming from and where it is heading, whether that is towards a working area, a boundary fence or a neighbouring settlement. Configurable alarm thresholds turn that information into an SMS or email before the situation escalates, giving site teams the chance to dispatch a water cart or adjust an activity while it still matters. The system can also be linked directly to fog cannons and other dust suppression equipment, so a dust spike can trigger a response without anyone having to make the call.
Over time the historical record does a second job. It shows which activities generate the most dust, whether a treatment is holding up, and how conditions compare month to month, which is the evidence base an environmental officer needs for compliance reporting. It also settles a question that too often goes unanswered on site: did the suppression programme actually work?
“Data-driven suppression is the future of ESG compliance on site. Integrating real-time weather and particulate telemetry into our DAS Monitor lets operators act on facts, not guesswork. Proud to support the automated instrumentation making this continuous tracking possible,” says Enson Moyo, instrumentation engineer at Dust-A-Side.
The DAS Monitor sits within a complete dust suppression system that includes the DASMetrics road performance evaluation service, products matched to each surface and application method, and equipment such as fog cannons for busy work zones. Dust-A-Side’s argument is that the product, the application and the measurement belong together, and that a supplier who cannot show the numbers is asking the operator to take its word for it.
Dust-A-Side is encouraging site operators to ask one question of any dust palliative or supplier before the season is out: how do you know it is working?
More information on Dust-A-Side’s products and services is available on the Dust-A-Side website at https://dustaside.com/. The team works with each operation to assess its roads, surfaces and dust challenges and to put together an approach suited to the site and the season.
Media Contact
Dust-A-Side
Email: info@dustaside.com
Phone: +27 12 648 8900
Website: https://dustaside.com/
