Diesel particulate matter (DPM), in particular, has been likened in a somewhat inflammatory manner to be the next asbestos'.From the business change perspective, there are three areas holding the industry back from fully engaging with the issue:There is no real feedback loop in any operational sense to assess the impact of investment or application of controls to manage diesel emissions.DPM are getting ever smaller and more numerous, but there is no practical way of measuring them to regulate them in the field. Mass, the current basis of regulation, is becoming less and less relevant.Diesel emissions management is generally wholly viewed as a cost, yet there are significant areas of benefit available from good management.This paper discusses a feedback approach to address these three areas to move the industry forward. The six main areas of benefit from providing a feedback loop by continuously monitoring diesel emissions have been identified: Condition-based maintenance. Emissions change instantaneously if engine condition changes._x000D_
Operator performance. An operator can use a lot more fuel for little incremental work output through poor technique or discipline._x000D_
Vehicle utilisation. Operating hours achieved and ratios of idling to under power affect the proportion of emissions produced with no economic value._x000D_
Fuel efficiency. This allows visibility into other contributing configuration and environmental factors for the vehicle._x000D_
Emission rates. This allows scope to directly address the required ratio of ventilation to diesel emissions._x000D_
Total carbon emissions. For National Greenhouse Emissions Reporting (NGER)-type reporting requirements, calculating the emissions individually from each vehicle rather than just reporting on fuel delivered to a site._x000D_
CITATION:Cox, F I, Bodisco, T and Peeler, D, 2014. Continuous remote emissions monitoring - the lynchpin for air quality management, in Proceedings 12th AusIMM Underground Operators' Conference 2014, pp 137-142 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).