INTERNET OF THINGS_proof 26/10/2016 11:01 Page 5
INTERNET OF THINGS
the asset health of a site or organisation’s entire
fleet.”
Cloud-based maintenance management
solutions can offer an intelligent alternative to
information overload by providing maintenance
personnel with relevant, real-time data. The
MineCare 3 solution, for example, uses
state‐of‐the‐art data collection algorithms to
capture the right amount of data required for a
particular organisation. The solution’s
capabilities provide real‐time, conditional, and
aggregate data monitoring, alone or in
combination, depending on current data analysis
needs. Raw, real‐time machine‐specific data can
be collected continuously, or as frequently as
desired, and adjusted to suit the rate of change
of the parameter over time. “This avoids
collecting non‐value‐adding data that may
ultimately affect network bandwidth, system
performance, and storage capacity. For example,
instead of collecting engine exhaust port
temperature differential data continuously at a
high frequency, users can set the data sampling
rate based on behaviour; once the temperature
differential hits a conditional threshold the
system samples at a higher rate to provide more
insights into the failure mode and severity
without bogging down the system with
extraneous data. One Modular customer used
this technique to monitor exhaust port
temperatures, and was able to quickly observe
an issue with a cylinder; further diagnosis
revealed that the cylinder had a failed injector. As
a result of this early detection, the mine avoided
a possible engine failure and associated repair
costs, which are often upwards of $350,000.”
M aintenance systems with trend analysis,
threshold limit detection, and real-time event
management capabilities help maintenance
personnel make sense of collected data,
translating it into concise insights about the
specific equipment faults (and potential causes)
occurring across their mine. Typical maintenance
organisations can perform in excess of 60% of
maintenance in an unscheduled manner, and
unscheduled downtime can often be much
costlier than scheduled downtime. “By
leveraging the data from the MineCare system,
an Australian coal mine was able to identify
numerous defects and work towards reducing or
eliminating the defects that were most
detrimental to their operations. This resulted in a
150% improvement in MTBF (Mean Time Between
Failure) in the first year. An increase in MTBF
translates directly into a decrease in unscheduled
downtime.”
Increasing the visibility of operational data,
and making it more accessible and
understandable for mine personnel across the
board, empowers maintenance professionals to
make the right decisions about how to best
38 International Mining | NOVEMBER 2016
maintain their equipment. The increased
awareness of in-pit conditions and equipment
performance criteria also facilitates crucial
adjustments in a timely manner, going beyond
equipment maintenance to also maximise
equipment and labour utilisation. For example,
since cloud-based maintenance systems
constantly and continuously monitor equipment,
units no longer have to be brought online for
inspections and troubleshooting. Additionally,
cloud-based systems provide technicians with all
the insights and information they need, so
they’re better prepared with the necessary tools
and parts to quickly resolve the problem without
making multiple trips into the field.
“Cloud computing also improves the scalability
of data collection, allowing mining organisations
of any size to collect pertinent information about
their fleets across one minesite or many, and
make vital maintenance decisions based on that
information. Large mining enterprises can
monitor many fleets across many sites, from one
central location. Small mines and quarries, which
typically have a very small number of units to
monitor, gain significant value with a standalone
maintenance system that requires only limited
network communication; these systems,
including MineCare 3, eliminate the need for
costly onsite server infrastructure, which then
also eliminates capital expenditure investments.”
Network outages can pose an additional
challenge for data management in mines; gaps in
data collection as a result of these outages can
threaten data integrity and further confuse
analysis. The Store&Forward feature, part of the
MineCare solution, ensures that data integrity is
maintained in the event of a network outage.
Huawei FusionCloud for one-stop
service
At the recent HUAWEI CONNECT 2016 event,
Huawei and Accenture underscored the
momentum of their existing alliance agreement
and expanded on their future goals. The two
companies jointly provide verified enterprise SAP
and Oracle cloud solutions which are based on
Huawei FusionCloud solution for global
enterprise customers' core applications to
provide one-stop service.
“As companies continue to manage ever more
complex business environments, organisations
are increasingly recognising the enormous
benefits of cloud and cloud-based solutions.
Cloud computing has become a key contributor
to agility and market competitiveness for these
organisations.”
Two years ago the companies formed a
strategic alliance in order to address clients’
cloud requirements and provide better cloud
solutions. The alliance leverages Huawei’s
extensive experience in ICT infrastructure, and
Accenture’s capabilities in consulting, systems
integration and outsourcing. Over the past two
years, experts from Huawei and Accenture have
worked side by side to develop enterprise cloud
solutions to help clients reduce large capital
investment in IT and meet flexible and scalable
system requirements.
The companies state that successful
cooperation between Huawei and Accenture is
getting wide recognition from clients and the
global market. Huawei and Accenture joint
solutions have been applied to organisations
from a variety of industries including resources,
where the joint team helped a large state-owned
Huawei installed Australia's largest private 4G communications network for Santos' coal seam gas
operations, while in China it helped coal giant Shenhua raise the capacity of its Shuohuang railway
with a customised eLTE solution. The wireless broadband system guarantees the communication
between the master and slave locomotives located at both ends of trains, which could be up to 2,500
m apart. The eLTE network also enhances operational and maintenance efficiency with trunking
dispatching, remote data acquisition, wireless video surveillance, data transmission and other
services. It is the world's first LTE network for heavy-haul railways. It will allow them to continue to
expand transfer capacity from 200 Mt to over 350 Mt of coal per year