HIGH PROFILE
Customers can interact with the latest technologies in autonomy at Sandvik ' s Tampere test mine
parts are available where you need them and when you need them – all of this .”
When if comes to processes , McCoy said one of the most important things when you move the operator away from the machine , is to clarify who is the person who then physically checks the machine mechanically and ensures the fuel and oil levels are correct ; does the pre-start inspection ; arms the area that needs to be prepared for the automation zone . All so the operator can work remotely from surface or from an underground operation station . “ You are changing fundamentally the way you operate the machine and who within the organisation needs to take up certain roles . This all contributes to the effective use of the equipment .”
Is there a lot of customisation in the approach between different types of customer ? “ There are certain core services elements that we talk about which can be applied in a multitude of ways depending on the customer needs . There is the onsite support , the remote support including both local and factory support . All of our customers have an interface to our customer portal that is a 24 / 7 ticketing system that can log anything from improvement ideas to more serious problems related to their systems . And then depending on the package that they select from us , there may be different response times or Service Level Agreements ( SLAs ).”
McCoy continued : “ In effect the customer is looking at the bucket of services that we can provide , we put together a quote based on how those services are used , and that then becomes the basis of the contractual obligation . But throughout the process we are tracking the consumption of the agreed service elements – we review it constantly on a month to month basis and they might find they don ’ t need as much remote support but need more onsite training – this is where the support flexibility comes in . Its not cast in concrete – within the support selected we can also adapt according to customer needs on an ongoing basis .
Is any of the support contract performance related or is it more time related ? At this stage they are time based , using quotas for each service delivery element , but Sandvik is looking at more performance related contracts with selected customers going forward and in specific scenarios . “ These will tend to be focused on 24 / 7 automation customers where it is a partnership and you are looking at the bigger picture including risk and reward .”
Nature of the demand
Is the demand for this mainly in the automation ‘ onboarding ’ period when the customer is most concerned about getting the value they hoped for and ensuring the uptime they need and expect ? “ Not really , the demand for the AutoMine support services tends to be ongoing . People change and people move at an operation , so there is often a constant need to refresh and upgrade skills . Minesite environments also change – the mining front might move into an area that has really bad ground and as a consequence key automation components start failing more , so you might have to change to way in which you provide the spare parts support and the mix of parts available to them .”
McCoy added that he AutoMine being used now is also very different to the systems put in 10 or even 15 years ago – as with any automation system there are regular software updates . “ Some of this may bug fixes or software improvements and others may actually be new features . Any new
features may bring a requirement for additional training or assistance with upgrades . When we upgrade the way our safety system functions , these may also bring different nuances in terms of how autonomous operations are executed like the recent introduction of mixed fleet shared areas .”
Sandvik is currently in the process of developing its next generation automation platforms which will bring aspects of operation that did not exist on the older systems . If a customer buys an AutoMine system today – they will be expecting ten years or more life out of it . “ So we also need to ensure that existing customer systems do not become redundant due to technology changes – we need to keep them running to the same performance as when they were first deployed . We have an installed base for AutoMine that is now approaching 150 sites worldwide – its not about a handful of customers , we have a massive footprint to cover . This is why we need structured ways of helping customers support themselves . A lot of it is about ensuring that the fundamentals are in place from day one – we then help them manage and grow those fundamentals .”
Moving with the times and the technology , and the people
Component development and evolution is another big topic in the industry . There is a limited pool of skills availability and many of these people are moving regularly from one site to another based on demand . “ One of the things we are doing at Sandvik is trying to address skills development at grassroots level , so that we don ’ t have problems down the line as a result . Part of this is not just delivering training but putting competence programs in place . Sandvik recognises the importance of enhancing both its internal support capabilities and the customers . To this end , Sandvik has developed a suite of complementary tools designed to provide comprehensive training for both technical teams and operators . Our AutoMine simulators and our VR capabilities for maintenance training also play an important role in our competence development programs . This includes training kits that simulate onboard components . All of these can be rented as part of training packages or sold to customers so they can keep those assets on site and use them as part of their own programs .”
There are certain things the customer will want to ensure they are able to do onsite themselves , which is where Sandvik ’ s train the trainer concept comes into play . “ That includes training our local sales area people but training the customer trainers as well so that they can do it on an ongoing and sustainable basis . We do have regional bases in sales areas serving all of our customers . On top of that we have our global factory support as well . The sales areas provide the first line of support to the customers . We will also be formalising soon what we call our centres of excellence – which will be four key centres worldwide that will better enable us to provide 24 / 7 AutoMine including support in different
56 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2024