Experience, Intelligence and Innovation
Detecting and clearing mines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) tends to incorporate a 'tool box' approach. No one detection or clearance methodology will work in all areas. Groundwater, vegetation, terrain, temperature, rocks, waddis, laterite soils, metallic litter, and of course the mines/ERW we are detecting can all affect, or negate an otherwise effective technology.
At Impactii Solutions, we believe that demining is still effectively in the mid-20th century, in terms of the methodologies currently used in mine clearance and UXO clearance programmes across the globe. That is, despite the recent advances in technologies such as Ground Penetrating Radar, Robotics and DGPS navigation and mapping. For the record, we do not believe that bees and rats are effective clearance tools!
We are constantly looking at new inventions and ideas from companies both inside and outside the clearance industry. We therefore ensure that we can advise on, and deliver the most cutting edge proven technical soutions that are available.
Experience:
Damian Walker has run large and complex mine action programmes for various clients, including international donors, Oil & Gas, Mining, and Engineering Business across the Middle East and Africa. He is also experienced in proposal writing, contract negotiation, project planning and delivery.
Intelligence:
Conducting a mine clearance task is no longer as simple as having a row of deminers 26 metres apart, or blindly throwing a heavy ground preparation/clearance machine at it. A thorough and well planned non-technical survey is key to understanding the threat. Understanding this threat and how it impacts our client's needs is central to developing the technical solution. As mentioned above landmine clearance should be seen as a 'tool box' approach, as there is no single magic bullet that will work in all scenarios. Outside of the immediate issue of threat lies other issues that must be considered. Future land use, the local population and landowners, enviornmental management, vegetation, protected plants and species, time of year, political issues, local security, required time to complete the task, and labour law are other factors that must all be considered. These factors then inform the clearance plan.
Innovation:
Most clearance tasks will still involve a combination of mechanical and manual deminers. Whilst these are good, safe solutions other technologies available allow us to expand on these solutions to offer a more robust and cost effective clearance plan. items such as; rollers, ground penetrating radar, hyperspecteral cameras, differential gps, multiple towed arrays, sifter buckets and drones can be used at different stages of the clearance process to offer the appropriate solution.
