HIGH PROFILE
BEVs combined with autonomy is already broadening the scope of AutoMine Lifecycle Support Services
languages . They will be manned by what we are calling a digital excellence advisor . Their role will be all about helping you improve performance and ensuring the technical support is in place that is needed and ultimately ensuring you are getting the most out of your system .”
It is not that this role did not already exist within Sandvik – it is more about formalising it in these centre of excellence locations – part of improving how Sandvik structures its support . “ Aside from more ongoing and day to day support we also have an annual automation audit where we come in with a full team of experts and do a full AutoMine audit providing the customer with feedback and then use this to build an action plan for the coming year to help them reach their targets .”
Sandvik has had recent cases where a customer has given us a very specific production growth targets and as automation is at the core of their operations , it is putting the necessary processes and changes in place to try to help make sure they reach those targets .
McCoy : “ For customers using autonomy 24 / 7 , continuous improvement is at the heart of this . This includes as stated before having new automation areas ready but also optimising routes and cycle times , or the way the operator is interacting with the system , bucket fill factors , roadway maintenance etc . We like to say it is about unlocking excellence in your autonomous operation whilst sustaining that , keeping it going and continuing to make improvements .”
He adds : “ Built into the packages is a very structured way of engaging with the customer where we sit down on a monthly and quarterly basis with different focus areas for those reviews , and then work on adapting the lifecycle support package accordingly .”
Key differentiators in the Sandvik offering
Is the lifecycle support for automation that Sandvik offers unique in the industry ? “ I would say a key differentiator for us is our network of people . We have an unrivalled internal network of experts around the world which form our Expert Network concept . Within Sandvik they can access each other 24 / 7 , bounce ideas of each other and support each other . That provides a real strength behind all of the commercial support structures that we have in place . And it enables true knowledge sharing between regions where automation is being used , whether it is Canada , Chile , Australia or wherever . Knowledge sharing is really important . As part of that we really encourage different automation customers to talk to each other . We have facilitated many cross border and inter company interactions . On top of that in Tampere , Finland we have our test mine where we are able to demonstrate fully all of our technologies whether to individual customers or as part of global workshops and customer events . We also work with customers to test new technologies that are coming out before they are commercially available to help them future proof their systems as well .”
In terms of actual customers for the automation lifecycle services – Codelco in Chile is a good example . This has been in place for several years now and is a full maintenance solution both onsite and using remote experts . “ We have other sites as well that we can ’ t make public – these are around the world covering multiple commodities including copper , gold and base metals , but I would say even over the past year there has been a very good uptake in these support packages from a range of customers . We have been providing these types of services on an ad hoc basis for many years – what is different is that it is now formalised , commercialised and much more structured . It is also helping customers to become more independent and more aware of the capabilities of the technology that they are using .”
New support for new power
Finally a note on autonomy combined with new power sources – specifically battery electric . As take up of battery electric machines continues to increase and as those customers want to keep using autonomy as well ( something already happening with the LH518iB loader ), this brings a whole new dimension to the AutoMine lifecycle support services going forward . McCoy : “ Battery electric of course brings a whole new dynamic in terms of the automation system and its functionality . As an example , battery swapping and charging becomes a key part of that . We are currently busy with a lot of field testing of autonomous operations on the LH518iB as you mentioned . From a productivity point of view we are seeing some very encouraging things in terms of uphill speeds for example , compared to a diesel engine – which plays into automation ’ s advantages very well . From a support services viewpoint as well we are putting in place the necessary additional training resources to support autonomous BEVs as well .” IM
Autonomous system component development support is another key aspect to the offering
58 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2024