Since its release in September, ShovelMetrics™ Oil Sands Edition has been well received, says developer and supplier Motion Metrics International. “One of the largest players in the Canadian oil sands market successfully trialled our newest product offering and, after only two months, purchased 10+ ShovelMetrics™ Oil Sands Edition systems for large rope shovels at two of its mine sites in Northeastern Alberta. As a solution provider, it’s extremely gratifying when a client uses a product and then immediately comes back to order many more. Installation is slated for the end of 2017, and will be supported by our domestic team.”

ShovelMetrics™ Oil Sands Edition is the first system of its kind to harness thermal imaging technology. Harsh environmental conditions make missing tooth detection for oil sands shovels notoriously difficult. Bitumen accumulates in the GETs of shovel buckets as they dig, obscuring the bucket teeth and lip shrouds, and making it impossible for a standard visible light camera to reliably capture useable images for analysis.

“Our revolutionary new system utilises a ruggedised thermal imaging system to identify shovel teeth even when they are obscured by bitumen. ShovelMetrics™ Oil Sands Edition can also monitor tooth wear to help the GETs crew at the mine predict and schedule change-outs more effectively. By connecting ShovelMetrics™ embedded computer to our MetricsManager™ Pro system for analysis, mine management can optimise their operations for maximum efficiency and safety.”