Electricity and Control October 2024

INDUSTRY 4.0 + IIOT

and interfaces must be used. Every system needs to inter face with other systems – there should be no ‘orphans’ or ‘ghosts’ in a modern operation today.” The electrification of mining operations Regarding the move towards the all-electric mine, van Zyl says this represents another step up from automation and control for mining operations and not all companies are ready for it. ABB Ability™ eMine™ comprises electrification technol ogies that enable the all-electric mine, integrating digital applications and services to monitor and optimise energy usage. As outlined above, it extends from the electrifica tion of mining trucks to the entire mining process, including solutions for processes like hoisting, grinding, and materi als handling. The ABB Ability™ portfolio includes specific digital sys tems developed to suit different industry sectors and meet different needs according to customers’ priorities. Van Zyl notes some of the further common themes the technology is designed to address. The optimisation of operations – restoring a mine site to its nameplate performance rating: this technology ensures that all PID control loops are working optimally and sup ported by advanced process control (APC), where possible and practical. Being able to identify when a specific pro cess has drifted from its expected performance enables technical teams on site to remedy the issue quickly to re store performance. Another aspect of performance optimisation takes a wider view of data sourced from the control system and other systems to provide context related to downtime inci dents. This may include slow running for example, or qual ity concerns. It supports waste reduction and consistent production throughput. Digitalisation also supports effective asset management. It’s about using the data to better manage maintenance. As well as avoiding wasting money on too much unnecessary preventive maintenance, it helps to eliminate downtime by using data effectively to inform maintenance priorities. This paves the way to leveraging AI tools to take the next step to predictive maintenance – a software package and toolset that is also already available from ABB. Van Zyl notes cybersecurity as another concern that needs deliberate consideration and action. For any industry operation or business, cyber-attacks are an ever-present risk; it is not a matter of if but when. He says cybersecurity is a high priority in all ABB applications. In summary, he reiterates, “The main focus of digital solutions is to empower the people on site to make brilliant decisions, using their experience, supported by data and information – and, as far as possible, automate the down stream control of these decisions to deliver the expected results.” □

ABB Ability™ eMine™ extends from the electrification of mining trucks to the entire mining process, including solutions for processes like hoisting, grinding, and materials handling. solutions such as ventilation on demand. This technology determines where ventilation is needed, or not needed; it can monitor air quality in mine tunnels, for instance, using air quality sensors; it can track where there are more people working, or fewer people, or none at different levels of the mine and manage the ventilation system accordingly. This can deliver energy savings of up to 50%,” van Zyl says. He adds that it can connect to other information systems such as access control or fire safety systems, collating all the rel evant data to enhance the control of the ventilation system. Van Zyl adds that ABB’s 800xA DCS is widely used, not only in mining but similarly in power stations, water and wastewater facilities, data centres, the oil & gas sector and pulp & paper operations, among others. Smart solutions can be integrated into the process control environment to improve efficiencies. ABB also provides training, in house and on-site for customers. Open standard protocols The 800xA serves as a single multifunctional platform, but it also needs to interface with other technologies and devices in operation. There may be OEM applications that require a separate interface, or other digital solutions serving dif ferent functions within a plant and interfaces are typically needed to exchange data or provide specific information to the control system. “A common example is the separation of operations management systems (OMS) from the control system. The OMS should be providing instructions, receiving informa tion, providing insights and tools to empower the process team to make decisions related to short-interval-controls, quality monitoring, production reporting and delay ac counting. These digital tools still require human interaction to make effective decisions in the context of the operation. The downstream control system, operating continuously, then receives the specific instructions to adjust, implement a new plan, make changes to parameters or even equip ment, as the case may be. So, there is no room for ‘pro prietary’ or ‘invisible’ control technologies today,” van Zyl says. “Standard open industrial communication protocols

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6 Electricity + Control OCTOBER 2024