New software that enables an optimal, streamlined approach to mine plant shutdown scheduling to fast track maintenance was the overall winner at the recent Curtin Commercial Innovation Awards, resulting in A$15,000 for its inventors.

Shutdown maintenance optimisation was a research project involving Curtin researchers Associate Professor Ryan Loxton, Dr Reza Parand, Dr Yufei Sun, Mr Chongyi Liu and Mr Praveen Jayakumari. The project was initiated and funded by Linkforce Engineering, one of the largest engineering services companies in Western Australia.

Associate Professor Loxton explained the project team developed unique mathematical algorithms for scheduling maintenance activities in mine plant shutdowns.

“Scheduling shutdowns is currently a time-consuming manual process. These algorithms take just seconds to run and consider a range of factors such as activity workflow, plant access restrictions, safety regulations, and personnel and equipment availability with the aim of creating an optimal schedule that minimises maintenance downtime,” Loxton said.

Linkforce Engineering is currently developing a professional shutdown planning system based on the Curtin team’s algorithms, and is exploring commercialisation opportunities across the mining and resource sectors.