INTERNET OF THINGS
shovels and other heavy equipment units now generate massive amounts of information about the machines they monitor . Eric Davidson , Vice President , Business Development , at Modular Mining Systems , Inc told IM : When factored across an enterprise-level fleet , the amount of data is even more staggering . As more mining organisations turn to big data and predictive analytics to better understand their mobile equipment health , they face many new challenges in managing the vast amounts of collected data and the infrastructure required to maintain it . How , for example , does a mine know if it ’ s collecting the right data ? How do they make sense of the data they ’ ve collected , and how do they know that their analyses are correct ? How do they then turn the collected data into information , and then into action ?”
When analysed and applied effectively , the vast amounts of data collected from hardware , software , and other equipment systems can significantly impact a mine ’ s productivity and asset health by increasing uptime , maximising equipment and personnel utilisation , and reducing overall maintenance costs . In order to accomplish these gains , mines must utilise an intelligent maintenance management system capable of handling massive data collection and translating that data into actionable information . Davidson states : “ Modular Mining Systems ’ MineCare ® 3 Maintenance Management solution , released last year , is the latest evolution of our asset health solution and does just that . As a cloud-based solution , it is designed to monitor , store and manage large amounts of equipment health data ; an integral piece to the big data / asset management entanglement . Speaking specifically to maintenance management in mining environments , cloud computing enables the combination of powerful data analytics software and dynamic resource process scaling . But rather than just accumulate and regurgitate ‘ all data , all the time ’, cloud computing goes a step further to present big data not as an unintelligible collection of metrics , but rather as streamlined insights into the asset health of a site or organisation ’ s entire fleet .”
Cloud-based maintenance management solutions can offer an intelligent alternative to information overload by providing maintenance personnel with relevant , real-time data . The MineCare 3 solution , for example , uses state‐of‐the‐art data collection algorithms to capture the right amount of data required for a particular organisation . The solution ’ s capabilities provide real‐time , conditional , and aggregate data monitoring , alone or in combination , depending on current data analysis needs . Raw , real‐time machine‐specific data can be collected continuously , or as frequently as
desired , and adjusted to suit the rate of change of the parameter over time . “ This avoids collecting non‐value‐adding data that may ultimately affect network bandwidth , system performance , and storage capacity . For example , instead of collecting engine exhaust port temperature differential data continuously at a high frequency , users can set the data sampling rate based on behaviour ; once the temperature differential hits a conditional threshold the system samples at a higher rate to provide more insights into the failure mode and severity without bogging down the system with extraneous data . One Modular customer used this technique to monitor exhaust port temperatures , and was able to quickly observe an issue with a cylinder ; further diagnosis revealed that the cylinder had a failed injector . As a result of this early detection , the mine avoided a possible engine failure and associated repair costs , which are often upwards of $ 350,000 .”
Maintenance systems with trend analysis , threshold limit detection , and real-time event management capabilities help maintenance personnel make sense of collected data , translating it into concise insights about the specific equipment faults ( and potential causes ) occurring across their mine . Typical maintenance organisations can perform in excess of 60 % of maintenance in an unscheduled manner , and unscheduled downtime can often be much costlier than scheduled downtime . “ By leveraging the data from the MineCare system , an Australian coal mine was able to identify numerous defects and work towards reducing or eliminating the defects that were most detrimental to their operations . This resulted in a 150 % improvement in MTBF ( Mean Time Between Failure ) in the first year . An increase in MTBF translates directly into a decrease in unscheduled downtime .”
Increasing the visibility of operational data , and making it more accessible and understandable for mine personnel across the board , empowers maintenance professionals to make the right decisions about how to best maintain their equipment . The increased awareness of in-pit conditions and equipment performance criteria also facilitates crucial adjustments in a timely manner , going beyond equipment maintenance to also maximise equipment and labour utilisation . For example , since cloud-based maintenance systems constantly and continuously monitor equipment , units no longer have to be brought online for inspections and troubleshooting . Additionally , cloud-based systems provide technicians with all the insights and information they need , so they ’ re better prepared with the necessary tools and parts to quickly resolve the problem without making multiple trips into the field .
“ Cloud computing also improves the scalability of data collection , allowing mining organisations of any size to collect pertinent information about their fleets across one minesite or many , and make vital maintenance decisions based on that information . Large mining enterprises can monitor many fleets across many sites , from one central location . Small mines and quarries , which typically have a very small number of units to monitor , gain significant value with a standalone maintenance system that requires only limited network communication ; these systems , including MineCare 3 , eliminate the need for costly onsite server infrastructure , which then also eliminates capital expenditure investments .”
Network outages can pose an additional challenge for data management in mines ; gaps in data collection as a result of these outages can threaten data integrity and further confuse analysis . The Store & Forward feature , part of the MineCare solution , ensures that data integrity is maintained in the event of a network outage .
Huawei FusionCloud for one-stop service
At the recent HUAWEI CONNECT 2016 event , Huawei and Accenture underscored the momentum of their existing alliance agreement and expanded on their future goals . The two companies jointly provide verified enterprise SAP and Oracle cloud solutions which are based on Huawei FusionCloud solution for global enterprise customers ' core applications to provide one-stop service .
“ As companies continue to manage ever more complex business environments , organisations are increasingly recognising the enormous benefits of cloud and cloud-based solutions . Cloud computing has become a key contributor to agility and market competitiveness for these organisations .”
Two years ago the companies formed a strategic alliance in order to address clients ’ cloud requirements and provide better cloud solutions . The alliance leverages Huawei ’ s extensive experience in ICT infrastructure , and Accenture ’ s capabilities in consulting , systems integration and outsourcing . Over the past two years , experts from Huawei and Accenture have worked side by side to develop enterprise cloud solutions to help clients reduce large capital investment in IT and meet flexible and scalable system requirements .
The companies state that successful cooperation between Huawei and Accenture is getting wide recognition from clients and the global market . Huawei and Accenture joint solutions have been applied to organisations from a variety of industries including resources , where the joint team helped a large state-owned enterprise define its data centre strategy , and
International Mining | NOVEMBER 2016