BIG DATA AND DIGITALISATION
Intelligent maintenance management solutions
collect and manage the overwhelming amounts
of Big Data that mining equipment generates
and parts to repair the issue in one trip.
Additionally, since technicians can now diagnose
a failing component without a physical vehicle
inspection, their safety risks decline
significantly. Mining enterprises with many
equipment units across many sites can also
utilise remote management to identify best
practices at one site, and apply them to other
sites across their organisation.
Data management key to productivity
improvement
Andrew Jessett, CEO of MineWare (now part of
Komatsu) states: “There is a significant
opportunity for the mining industry globally to
unlock the potential of new digital technologies,
with billions of dollars to be gained in increased
productivity, efficiency and reduced costs. Over
the past 12-18 months, we’ve seen a definite
increase in the number of mines adopting digital
technologies to harness the flow of real-time
information. IoT is driving this acceleration,
enabling new levels of connectivity between
mines, people and equipment and unlocking new
ways of working and decision-making.”
But again he asks how can surface mining
operations leverage this opportunity to improve
safety, productivity and efficiency? “Data alone is
useless. Information is useful. Actionable
information is powerful. While the IoT is
delivering large volumes of data, much of this
data is useless if it can’t be managed and
analysed to achieve operational outcomes. The
key to success lies in our ability to analyse and
transform that data into visible, actionable
information to optimise mining operations. The
next critical factor is making sure it’s available to
multiple personnel, from machine operators and
front line workers to mine management and
executives. There’s a real thirst for real-time
information that drives real-time decisions at all
levels. While more mines are extracting big data
from individual machines and systems, many are
also delivering a real-time feed of this
information to Remote Operations Centres. We’re
starting to see much more of this, with remote
centres focusing on continual performance
20 International Mining | NOVEMBER 2017
monitoring and
improvement—in
people, processes and
production.”
To realise the full
value of new digital
technologies, Jessett
argues that the mining
industry needs to equip
its people on site, on
board machines and
inside Remote Operations Centres with access to
real-time information to make decisions in real-
time. “If we do this well, digital technologies
have the power to deliver greater efficiencies,
productivity and safety at multiple levels.
Monitoring systems such as MineWare’s Argus
Shovel Monitor and Pegasys Dragline Monitor
give surface mines a more accurate picture of
their operations than ever before, bringing
multiple sensors and technologies together to
optimise the performance of mobile mining
equipment such as draglines, rope shovels and
hydraulic excavators. This technology delivers
real time data and advanced analytics to optimise
machine movements for maximum efficiency,
from optimising truck and shovel payload to
improving mine compliance, maintenance, safety
and more.”
For example, MineWare’s research with ACARP
focuses on the development of a dragline
excavation sequencing algorithm that combines
real-time information from the Pegasys Dragline
Monitor and Digital Terrain Mapping system to
provide guidance to operators. This operator-
assist technology aims to deliver a common
sequence reference for operators to achieve
consistent and efficient excavation, as well as
providing live feedback on task progress and plan
compliance to on-site supervisors and Remote
Operations Centres.
“A real time feed of
information to Remote
Operations Centres empowers
sophisticated, centralised
decision making and actions to
improve operations across an
entire global operation rather
than local silos. Better data
management is leading to greater
process optimisation in areas
such as equipment utilisation and
scheduling, live reconciliation
and integrated reporting.”
MineWare’s Argus System
has the capability to deploy
direct operator guidance
onboard to improve individual
performance as well as remotely
to benchmark and improve
performance at an enterprise
level
Performance monitoring and
management
The IoT plays a pivotal role in the real-time
monitoring and management of productivity data,
reducing variability in areas such as operator
performance, payload compliance and mine plan
compliance. MineWare technology harnesses
operational data from multiple sources in real
time to deliver real-time performance improvement.
MineWare’s Argus System has the capability to
deploy direct operator guidance on-board to
improve individual performance as well as remotely
to benchmark and improve performance at an
enterprise level. Argus brings several technologies
together such as radio frequency identification
(RFID) tags, sensors and GPS.
Jessett comments: “The use of such technologies
is also helping mines to improve the repeatability or
‘predictability’ of their operations to deliver more
consistent