"Telematics systems for drilling operations have been actively used by mining companies around the world for more than 20 years. This includes Australia, North America and Europe," notes Pierre de Groulard, Export Director at LIM SAS.
"For equipment manufacturers, telematics systems as such are no longer a novelty. However, for many mining companies, the use of such solutions is still not quite familiar. Our dealers hold meetings with miners to tell them about the efficiency of telematics systems.
Given the fact that modern realities dictate their own rules of cost optimization, the management of enterprises has begun to pay much more attention to such solutions," says Dmitry Krasavin, Hitachi Construction Machinery Eurasia Technical Support Manager.
"For the last 2-3 years, we have been approached with a large number of requests for the implementation of complex, integrated projects, where a large set of functions, flexibility and the ability to program the equipment are required. Now the devices help enterprises to monitor fuel level in the tank, tire pressure, position of the car in space (accident tracking), etc." says Mr. Revyakin.
"It's 2020. Quarries without telemetry collection look like endangered mammoths. Transportation monitoring is tightly integrated into the management processes of mining enterprises. Today, GLONASS monitoring technology provides not only positioning, but, together with a terminal for processing data from various sensors and dispatch software, represents a full-fledged business management center," says Dmitry Zhuravlevlev, Managing Partner of MONTRANS Group of Companies.
"But the world does not stand still. New technologies make it possible to operate machinery non-stop and achieve an operating ratio of 0.8 to 0.92" says a specialist from MONTRANS Group of Companies.
"Let me show you by example how it works. We have a map of our own design that shows all the machines equipped with JDLink. Here is a real grader in front of you, and here it is on the map. We specially generate an error: the current of the front headlights is lower than normal - and this information is immediately reflected on the screen of the monitoring center specialist. We have several such centers, each responsible for its own regions.
The information is transmitted to an employee in the relevant branch, who calls the customer, gives a transcript of the error and explains what it can lead to. This is proactive support: the owner of the machine may not even know that there is something wrong with his machine at that moment. We coordinate the service engineer's visit, and the service engineer already has a solution ready to fix the problem.
In this way we manage to prevent serious breakdowns, reduce the time for diagnostics and promptly eliminate the problem", - Ivan Komarov, specialist for after-sales technical support of Timbermash Baikal customers, described the capabilities of the system as a service tool.
"One of the useful functions of ConSite is control of unexpected breakdown of special equipment. When a machine alarm is triggered and a malfunction occurs that requires emergency intervention to avoid downtime, the system generates and sends an emergency report to the client.
It contains the location of the machine, the name of the fault, etc. At the same time with the owner of the machine, the report is also received by the dealer's employees, but with recommendations for troubleshooting," said Dmitry Krasavin about the similar capabilities of Hitachi telematics system.
"The main task of the My Sandvik system is to form a detailed picture of the processes occurring with machinery in the mines to make informed decisions. Thanks to their application, the productivity of the equipment fleet increases.
They can also improve mine safety by identifying operator misconduct, including speeding or driving in neutral. An important aspect is also the reduction of costs for unplanned repairs: telemetry identifies errors in control, which lead to the failure of components.
We are always ready to organize training of personnel to work with the system to improve the quality of equipment operation. The system analyzes fuel consumption, noting the time of idling. Subsequently, when adjustments are made to the operators' actions, it can be significantly reduced," said Oksana Gromova, Director of Marketing and Business Intelligence for the CIS, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology.
"The task of telematics systems is not only to collect data on the location of machinery, its operating parameters and fuel consumption, but also to analyze the information obtained. In this regard, the ConSite service - a tool for monitoring, comparing and analyzing machine operation data - is easy to use.
Hitachi developers have introduced two main indicators: the non-operating time factor and the operating time factor of the excavator's turntable rotation operation. By obtaining these values, a fleet owner can quickly assess the efficiency of each machine," explains Dmitry Krasavin.
"There was a case when a customer came to us: he was trying to figure out what was causing the low productivity of the excavator. We looked into the system: out of 800 motor-hours, the hydraulics were only working for 300. It turned out that the problem was that there were not enough dump trucks for the quarry to work optimally. As a result, the company got two additional dump trucks," said a specialist of Timbermash Baikal.
"Telematics help to automate processes and reduce costs. For example, an enterprise engaged in geological exploration and oil production connected fuel level sensors to our devices to control consumption, refueling and prevent drains.
The dispatcher uploads data for a specific period and sees the time, place of refueling or unauthorized actions. The dispatcher easily compares actual fuel consumption with data from the driver. Such control has allowed the company to reduce significant financial resources during the working season.
After installing our devices, fuel expenses decreased by 30%, saving millions of rubles per month. In addition, the monitoring system was integrated with the 1C program. This helped to automate many processes in the company - from accounting to writing off spare parts, as the company's specialists receive real-time data on the parameters of equipment operation," Maxim Revyakin shared.
"We worked at a site in Guinea, where the percentage of wells that met the customer's parameters (in terms of geolocation with an accuracy of 10 cm and depth) was as high as 64%. After the navigation system was installed, the number of such wells increased to 95%.
At the same time, the navigation system eliminated the need to physically mark the wells on the surface, well names were automatically displayed in the system, rig travel time was significantly reduced (with NaviLIM it took about 40 seconds to move the rig from one well to another), and the actual drilling plan was updated automatically based on the results of completed wells," said Pierre de Groulard.
"Unfortunately, companies using telematics occasionally encounter sabotage by drivers. Most often it happens because of fuel consumption control - a dishonest employee loses additional and illegal income and tries to disable the device. The best way of protection is to place the devices in such a way that the driver does not have direct access to it," advises Maxim Revyakin.
"Most likely, when drilling operators start working with such equipment, they will be wary of it, because it is designed to control their work in one way or another. However, over time they usually come to realize that such solutions significantly increase drilling productivity, and with the right company policy, the time savings and improved comfort level of working conditions motivate personnel to adopt new technologies" Pierre de Groulard believes.
The purpose of this service is to advise everyone involved in the process on how to operate the machines correctly in certain modes that correspond to the conditions of the work site, and to prevent breakdowns and subsequent costly repairs" explains Dmitry Krasavin.
"The human factor is a very common problem. However, we position our system as a diagnostic tool to manage and adjust production processes and improve the availability of the equipment fleet. Having obtained data on machine operation, we can conduct training seminars for employees of the mining enterprise and reduce the influence of human factor on the technical condition of the equipment," emphasizes Oksana Gromova.