MINE MAINTENANCE
maximised asset health , performance and safety , according to the company .
They allow the OEM to cater to all mines ’ needs , according to Tepponen .
“ Not all companies have the same level of maturity when it comes to the digital maintenance side of things ,” he said . “ We see a little bit of difference with the major global miners , for instance , where they have invested a lot in their digital infrastructure , whereas the rest of the industry prefers a little more interaction with the OEM .”
The latter part of the industry could benefit from FLSmidth ’ s extensive KREBS ® slurry pump expertise , developed over thousands of mine site deployments , which could be tapped to diagnose problems at a remote mine site that only has a few of these pumps installed , as an example .
“ We have that large data pool to bring the error down to a level that makes the advice very accurate ,” Tepponen said .
At the same time , some miners are more focused on the operational efficiency dimension as opposed to equipment availability , according to Tepponen . Yet , even with productivity solutions like LoadIQ , which FLSmidth inherited with the acquisition of KnowledgeScape , there is a maintenance element customers can benefit from .
“ LoadIQ , as a single solution , has been a big value creator for some of our customers ,” Tepponen said . “ We did a case study recently for one of our North American customers with LoadIQ where just by optimising the SAG mill throughput with the data coming off the LoadIQ sensors , we got into plus-10 % additional throughput territory . This translates to more than $ 150 million / y of added revenue .”
The data from these sensors also allowed the site to cut its power consumption by 8-9 %, which translated to 37,000 t / y less carbon dioxide generation . This plays into the FLSmidth MissionZero sustainability focus , specifically the aim of cutting customer-associated emissions per revenue by 56 %, or 7 % year-on-year , to 2030 .
Tepponen added : “ While focusing on the optimisation part , there is also the reliability element at hand – that 10 % gain evaporates if the mill stops running ! And , we also add an extra ‘ e ’ to the OEE framework – it is overall equipment efficiency with the lowest environmental footprint .”
For instance , LoadIQ sensors routinely monitor wear parts – an ongoing focus area for FLSmidth across the process flowsheet – at the same time as advising on throughput and potential power / water saving opportunities .
Such analysis is only likely to increase within FLSmidth given the amount of ‘ connected ’ equipment it has on its books – it is approaching 10,000 pieces in the mining and cement industries , combined , Tepponen said – and the establishment of more remote performance centres .
“ We have a remote performance centre in Chile , in South America , up and running to help relay and relate information to customers in their own local language ,” Tepponen said . “ We bring those tools and capabilities from a global perspective , leveraging global expertise from within FLSmidth . That is the breeding ground for what we are doing , and we ’ re now in the process of distributing and getting some of those centres up and running elsewhere .”
These new centres are likely to spring up in the company ’ s other five regional centres – North America ; Australia ; Sub-Saharan Africa & Middle East ; Asia ; and Europe , North Africa and Russia .
And , in addition to connecting to equipment remotely from these centres , the teams are increasingly benefitting from machine-learning algorithms , populated through the monitoring of thousands of equipment installations at mine sites , to offer customers maintenance advice .
Such rapid advancement of the company ’ s digital offering is leading FLSmidth to re-evaluate some of its aftermarket business models .
“ With all of our aftermarket offering , we are trying to capture the risk of operating a piece of equipment ,” Tepponen said . “ If we can , we will look to offload the customer ’ s risk onto our own teams ; that is the new business model we can start to offer with the digital ecosystem we have .”
This could see the company offer up base contracts that include a bonus / penalty element referencing equipment availability over the contract term .
“ We would receive a bonus if we have a better availability than promised , or penalised if availability is below expectations ,” Tepponen explained . “ That business model development is happening simultaneously with all of our digital aftermarket developments . You need to have enough data and insight to offer these business models , and I think we are moving into that realm now .”
Valuing data
Weir Minerals ’ Synertrex ® IIoT solution has formed the backbone of the OEM ’ s remote condition monitoring and predictive maintenance efforts since launch in 2018 and , more than three years on , it is continuing to help advance mining company maintenance strategies , according to Ole Knudsen , Digital Director .
When launched , the company said the Synertrex monitoring system would deliver “ an advanced level of understanding ”, allowing operators to monitor every aspect of their equipment ’ s operation , prevent problems and increase throughput .
Synertrex uses network connectivity to capture
equipment data and relay it to service centres , service technicians , customers and Weir ’ s design centres for trend monitoring , proactive components supply and product improvement .
Recently , the company has looked to build regional Synertrex Monitoring Centres to enhance this offering ‒ with the first established in Johannesburg , South Africa , in March 2021 . These centres have been designed to leverage the full potential of the platform and supplement daily interactions with customers , according to Knudsen .
“ Even though Weir Minerals ’ service teams are constantly providing our customers with a suite of digitally-enabled services via their devices , laptops , tablets and mobiles , the Synertrex Monitoring Centres still fulfil a vital function ,” he told IM . “ Our customers can visit the centres and interact with the Synertrex intelligent platform , allowing them to discuss further opportunities and explore additional optimisation possibilities .”
Knudsen said the regional centres are part of a larger Weir Minerals collaborative digital ecosystem that allows the company to share digital technologies and platforms to help drive “ a structured approach to implementing and continually enhancing best practices ”. More than that , they allow customers to take advantage of Weir Minerals ’ global network so that , regardless of time zone , the right competencies can be sourced from across the globe .
After launching the inaugural regional Synertrex Monitoring Centre in Johannesburg , Weir Minerals opened a centre in Santiago , Chile ; followed by two European monitoring centres in the UK and the Netherlands in June ; and , most recently , a monitoring centre in Brisbane , Australia , to service the Asia Pacific region .
These ‘ local centres ’ could become even more localised , judging by the initial reception Knudsen and the Weir digital team have received .
“ Some customers have requested that we come even closer to their mine sites , which has led to the development of a containerised concept ,” he explained . “ These are smaller , portable Synertrex Monitoring Centres that we can place directly at the customers ’ mine site .” Knudsen expects the first of these “ subcentres ” to be commissioned in Peru this year .
While these centres continue to be established , Knudsen said the value of Synertrex digital solutions continue to be displayed on a regular basis .
“ For example , a few months back , we had a case in South America where the Synertrex platform detected early cracks in the side plates of a screen ,” he said . “ We alerted the customer , who then inspected the screen on site and was able to confirm the cracking . Our regional team was then able to order the new part , deliver and
40 International Mining | JANUARY 2022