MINE MAINTENANCE
To solve this challenge , the mine ’ s maintenance crew worked with the on-site MineCare analysts to implement a plan to safely increase engine life without risking damage to additional components . By carefully monitoring critical engine parameters , analysing the data collected , and immediately reporting anomalies to the maintenance crew for repair or replacement before failure could occur , the team was confident the MineCare system could help the mine hit their excavator longevity goals .
First , the MineCare team , together with the mine ’ s maintenance personnel , configured the MineCare system ’ s trend reporting functionality to monitor , among other parameters , the excavator engine ’ s coolant temperature and pressure ; oil temperature ; intake manifold temperature ; crankcase pressure ; and exhaust gas temperature on all valves .
Using the data collected from these engine parameters – all common indicators of potential engine failure – the MineCare team established predictive inspection routines to detect anomalies that could indicate a potential or impending failure . For example , premature oil degradation , ruptured seals , damaged intake and exhaust valves , oil leaks , and other seemingly minor issues , if left unresolved , can lead to significant engine damage .
Leveraging this more proactive approach to component failure practices , the maintenance team could minimise their mean time to repair and overall likelihood of component failure , while safely maintaining excavator productivity well beyond the 12,000-hour OEM specification .
The MineCare team also conducted weekly followup meetings with mine personnel to evaluate results , including a detailed analysis of the MineCare Trend report generated for each tracked parameter . These meetings helped ensure not only that the activities performed while the team was on site were driving the customer ’ s goals , but also that the mine was equipped and empowered to continue the improvements after the MineCare team left site .
For the six months prior to Modular Mining ’ s involvement , the excavator in question averaged 62.4 % availability . In the six months following , the excavator averaged 84 % availability , according to Modular Mining , representing an 11.6 % increase .
Additionally , by the end of the MineCare team ’ s improvement plan , the excavator engine had clocked nearly 14,500 hours – exceeding the initial goal of 13,000 engine hours – for an increase of more than 11 %.
Lastly , the mine was able to postpone having to replace their excavator engine , delaying the morethan $ 400,000 labour and component cost associated with engine replacement for a more opportune time .
Modular Mining concluded : “ Maintenance teams can gain more control of their practices , equipment , and budget by leveraging an asset health system that actively monitors for minor anomalies to prevent major disruptions .”
Gaining inSiTE
The ability to distil complicated and seemingly random information into powerful tools for equipment analysis has hit home with potash and salt miner K + S . A more than three-month trial of GHH ’ s inSiTE digital analytics solution on a 14-t-payload LF-14 LHD recently convinced the miner to complete a rollout of the platform across multiple mine sites .
GHH inSiTE , powered by talpasolutions , can condense information into powerful tools for analysis , according to GHH , with the manufacturer promising the integration into daily operations leads to continuously improved productivity .
In one of the first applications of GHH inSiTE in an operation in the CIS region , the customer achieved decreased downtime , increased utilisation , a 7 % reduction in fuel consumption , the identification of inefficiencies in cycle time , and a 12 % boost in overall equipment efficiency , according to the company .
K + S , acknowledging these results , initially agreed on a technical pilot of the platform on the GHH LF-14 operating at one of its sites .
This technical pilot and the promising opportunities regarding data analysis and visualisation must have been convincing because , in July , K + S signed up for a commercial deployment of GHH inSiTE . This will see the platform used on 150 machines across its mine sites . Andreas Walczyk , Program Manager , Digital Transformation , at K + S , told attendees of The 2nd International Conference on High-Performance Mining in November that the trial was a chance for the company to not only gather machine data , but also leverage it to make improvements in its maintenance , production and training processes .
“ The main reason for this pilot was to figure out if we were on the right path regarding data logging , network , WLAN and more ,” he said . “ The answer is yes ; the pilot was and is very successful because all of our expectations were met .”
The company came away with around 3,500 operating hours and 27 GB of data to play with and analyse .
GHH inSiTE can be used on any OEM equipment , with the system collecting , analysing and presenting data independently of the manufacturer of the machines or retrofitted sensors
It acquired this by connecting to the on-board CAN BUS and engine control systems on the LF-14 , logging the machine data over that three-month period , creating a “ data buffer ” at each site , displaying said data on customisable dashboards , and connecting it all through a cloud-based WLAN system .
K + S has already started the rollout of GHH inSiTE across its operations , with Walczyk keen to see how the machine-to-machine connection can allow loaders to , for example , pick up data from scalers to further improve the operations ’ data analytics .
Dr Jan Petzold , GHH Group CEO , says the GHH inSiTE system does not discriminate between mobile or fixed machinery , with operators and supervisors able to customise their dashboards to monitor the data and key performance indicators most important to them .
“ Owning data is not good enough , you need to know what to do with the data ,” he said . “ There is now a tool available to help you improve your maintenance intervals , your mean times between failures , and you have the chance to store this data for review afterwards . We also enable our customers to integrate the data in existing workflows to take better actions based on actionable insights .”
Following the rollout of GHH inSiTE across the 150 machines at multiple operating sites – taking four to six months to complete – Walczyk says one of the next steps by K + S will be to create an SAP interface solution .
Also included on the K + S roadmap is a plan to leverage GHH inSiTE for a move into the predictive maintenance arena at its sites , using the platform for spare parts and resource inventory management , performance benchmarking and innovations for targeted product development .
Already in use at mines in Greece and Russia , GHH
48 International Mining | JANUARY 2021