Modern Quarrying Q3 2024

there is dust ingress into an engine, for instance, which could severely damage components within a matter of days,” he says. “Through the protocols that we have estab lished with customers, we would then contact the correct person on site and alert them to the identified risk before it leads to an unplanned stoppage.” The report to the customer would include not only the readings and analysis, but also practical recom mendations for maintenance teams to follow in the investigation of the issue. It is therefore little surprise that the uptake of RMS has been enthusiastic – with over 40% of the entire connected fleet in Southern Africa having moved onto the RMS customer base. De Witt highlights that the mining sector includes a growing num ber of younger managers, engi neers and technicians who readily embrace the digital revolution, and want to put technology to work in improving operations. “Our experience is that mining staff are increasingly data hungry when it comes to monitoring and maintaining equipment,” he says. “They also want to see this data in real time, and in a fully analysed format to guide quick decisions.” Local understanding of mining operations is also a key factor in the successful application of RMS, says Pillay. Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions is therefore continuously upgrading the skill levels of its local staff, to con textualise and apply the support being received from the company’s global data experts. There has been considerable experience developed in applying RMS in underground mining, and the company now has exciting pilot initiatives underway in the opencast environment. The benefits of RMS have been demonstrated not only through avoiding unscheduled downtime, but by achieving longer lifecycles between maintenance through improved operator techniques and behaviour. RMS also allows production cycles to be tracked and analysed, creating opportunities to identify more productive strategies that boost the bottom line. l

Zandre de Witt, Portfolio Specialist for RMS and Digitilisation at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions.

Logan Pillay, Sales Support Manager at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions.

By enhancing the power of data, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions’ RMS takes proactive maintenance to another level.

SNAPSHOT

The digital age has seen mines embracing the value of data in their decision making.

The My Sandvik telemetry data reporting solution has allowed data to be gathered on the ‘Knowledge Box’ installed on Sandvik equipment.

The report to the customer would include not only the readings and analysis, but also practical recommendations for maintenance teams to follow in the investigation of the issue.

The strategic focus today is on safety, cost effectiveness, productivity and sustainability.

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MODERN QUARRYING QUARTER 3 | 2024