for example, five years, and then during that
period we monitor their equipment, drive
production, and replace all parts as needed.
It’s a win-win situation, because there is no
risk for the customer, and there is no risk for
Komatsu Mining, either, because we know
our business.”
Komatsu Mining’s field service support
team, which Papenfus jokingly refers to as the
company’s ‘Hit Squad’, is made up of field
engineers who really know the equipment.
“They’re the brains behind the brains,” he
says, “the guys who know the equipment so
well that if you call one of them at 02:00, he
will be able to tell you where to look without
having to consult anything, and will then be
on site within half an hour to help you out.
They are also the ones we send out to sites to
help embed the new culture based on trusting
the technology.”
Long-term benefits
As interesting as these services and
capabilities may be in their own right,
ultimately, the goal is still to help Komatsu
Mining’s customers improve their
productivity. Papenfus gives an example of
how their technology can assist customers
on this front. “A few years ago, we partnered
with a customer where we undertook to
drive a specific section of their underground
operation and, using all of the tools at our
disposal, raise that section to ‘millionaire
status’ [mined a million tonnes within a
fiscal year],” he says. “When we started
there, they were cutting, on average, around
50 000 tonnes per month instead of the
83 000 tonnes per month required to achieve
millionaire’s status.
“We analysed the data on the typical
operator cycle on a continuous miner — raise
the cutter head, sump in, shear down, and
trim back — and we identified that over time,
the operator for that specific section — one
of the best in the company — was losing
his focus. Based on the data, the customer
decided to move that operator into a coaching
position instead, where he could help other
operators achieve their best performance.
“We partnered with them for about a year,
sending in the ‘Hit Squad’ to help embed the
culture, and at the end of that time, we made
sure they understood the tools and then we
stepped back,” Papenfus continues. “They
are still using those tools, and not only has
their production remained high, it actually
continued to increase after our partnership
with them ended. Now all we need to do is
send them an FSN and they address the issue
immediately. So it’s self-sustainable, which is
a big selling point for the customer — they
don’t need to always have us there on site
coaching them or managing things; once they
are familiar with the tools that we offer, they
can carry on themselves.”
Komatsu Mining teams continue to
monitor the machines’ behaviour and report
anything outside the norm, but now the
mine site personnel are able to handle things
due to the learnings from the partnership.
“The difference is that now the customer
is addressing any issues that may arise
themselves,” says Wilsch. “They’ve seen
proof that even small issues need to be
addressed as soon as possible, because it can
have a significant impact on production, and
they have changed their daily operations to
take this into account. We have gone from
intimate involvement in daily operations to a
support position, and the customer is seeing
tangible benefits from the partnership long
after the fact.” n
“
Data is only one
part of the equation.
What is far more
important is what
you do with the data
you have.”
JULY 2017
27