First Mining Drc-Zambia 2023 First Mining Drc-Zambia July -August 2023 digital magazine | Page 8

INSIGHT

INSIGHT

ABB ’ s five value pillars for a stronger digitalisation platform in mining

• ABB has developed a digitalisation roadmap that rests on five areas or value pillars
• ABB aims to leverage these pillars alongside its strengths as a provider of physical and digital solutions
• The five solution areas are sustainability , asset performance , process performance , operational excellence , and a connected workforce

Given the mountains of data generated by modern mining solutions , it is more important than ever to ensure digital transformation programmes have clarity , pace , and control . To help companies navigate the complex landscape and pursue programmes that deliver on value , ABB has developed a digitalisation roadmap that rests on five areas or value pillars .

ABB aims to leverage these pillars alongside its strengths as a provider of physical and digital solutions . The company works closely with everything from mining robots and trolley-assist systems to AI and augmented reality . ABB ’ s vision is that automation , digitalisation , and electrification must go hand in hand for real digital transformation and deliver on the values of sustainable and efficient mining operations .
The five solution areas – sustainability , asset performance , process performance , operational excellence , and a connected workforce – can be used to provide demonstratable evidence that digital transformation strategies are working . There is also a horizontal layer , cyber security , that is critical across the five pillars .
While the five areas are based on both long-held customer needs and the company ’ s solutions and domain expertise , they also reflect massive changes in mining in recent years . Another important concept of digitalisation is to promote greater collaboration among different areas of the value chain . The value pillars must all be connected to maximise plant benefits .
As an example , predictive maintenance has a solid connection to the sustainability pillar and production . A reliability engineer , who needs to work closely with the production manager , may sometimes face a decision that involves running a piece of equipment close to a failure curve , even though that could result in higher energy consumption . In the end , for a holistic optimisation of the value chain , digital needs to serve as a basis for collaborative working , instead of the traditional siloed way of operating .
Integration is a critical part of progress in digitalisation . “ With data , it is essential to remember that if we cannot measure , we cannot control . Advanced algorithms cannot make the right predictions if the basics are not right . For a complex and important project such as cost reduction , we can dig into millions of data points , but it still needs to be correctly processed , ingested and managed to extract the right value from operations ,” says Erik Pretorius , Global Lead , Large and Strategic Projects , Mining and Minerals Processing , ABB .
“ Most of the time spent in data-driven projects is still around preparing the data correctly . That is a big hurdle , and mining is no different . Correct usage of the technology associated with the right domain expertise is crucial to enable data integration and the five value pillars ,” concludes Pretorius .
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