As part of its coverage of innovative fleet management solutions in mining, IM recently spoke to Paul Keenan, Business Development Manager at MachineMax, which develops solutions that it says provide visibility and actionable insight for construction and mining professionals worldwide. The company was established in 2018 by Shell and BCG Digital Ventures and in September 2024 was acquired by Vesta Software Group, which supplies industry leading enterprise management software and related services to more than 50,000 customers worldwide across more than 15 different vertical markets.
Q What would you say was MachineMax’s main selling point to mining in terms of functionality and upside?
MachineMax’s core strength lies in its simplicity, scalability, and rapid deployment capabilities – all without compromising on data richness or reliability. Our platform delivers real-time visibility across mixed fleets, regardless of manufacturer, model, or equipment type. This agnostic approach enables mining companies to gain a unified view of operations across their entire fleet. Functionally, MachineMax excels at measuring and reducing idle time, tracking utilisation rates, and providing granular operational data across remote and rugged environments. The upside for mining customers is immediate: improved productivity, reduced operating costs, and better-informed decision-making – often without the need for complex installations or IT infrastructure. This is particularly valuable in mining, where distributed assets and harsh conditions make traditional fleet management tools difficult to deploy and maintain.
Q How would you contrast it with more costly traditional fleet management options in the mining industry?
Traditional ‘all-in-one’ fleet management systems are often heavy, expensive, and time-consuming to implement. They typically require integration with OEM systems, extensive hardware installations, and significant internal resources to manage – making them more suited to Tier 1 operations with large budgets and high in-house digital maturity. MachineMax, by contrast, provides a lightweight yet powerful alternative. Our solution is designed to be non-invasive, quick to deploy (often within hours), and easily scaled across multiple sites and asset types. It delivers 80-90% of the value of legacy systems at a fraction of the cost and complexity – making it ideal for mid-tier and junior miners, as well as for supplementary deployment in larger operations that need fleet-wide visibility beyond OEM silos. Moreover, our platform can co-exist with existing FMS systems, acting as a flexible overlay that enhances data accessibility and decision-making without locking users into proprietary ecosystems.
Q How does it help mining customers reduce costs and increase productivity and safety?
MachineMax delivers measurable cost and performance improvements across several key areas. First, reduced fuel and maintenance costs. By identifying and eliminating unnecessary idling and underutilisation, customers can reduce fuel burn and wear-and-tear on machines – leading to lower operating costs and fewer breakdowns. Productivity gains come from real-time visibility into asset usage that enables operators to make informed scheduling, allocation, and dispatching decisions. Mining customers can easily identify bottlenecks, underperforming assets, and redeploy equipment to maximise output. Our platform also helps detect operational anomalies and irregular usage patterns that could indicate safety risks. By encouraging efficient operation and reducing unplanned downtime, MachineMax also helps reduce the risk of hazardous events caused by overused or misused equipment. Finally it allows data-led decision making as managers can access easy-to-understand reports and dashboards, which drive actionable insights and help drive behavioural change across operations, from the pit to the boardroom.
Q What are customers looking for today when it comes to fleet dispatching, monitoring and management?
Today’s mining customers demand flexibility, interoperability, and simplicity. The industry is shifting away from rigid, proprietary systems toward solutions that are OEM-agnostic, easy to integrate with existing infrastructure, and adaptable to the specific needs of each site or project phase. Key requirements include real-time tracking of equipment and performance metrics. seamless data integration across fleets and locations, intuitive platforms that require minimal training to operate. They also want rapid deployment to meet tight project timelines and scalable pricing models suited to both large-scale mines and pilot programs. Additionally, as ESG and decarbonisation pressures grow, mining companies are prioritising sustainability insights – including fuel burn, CO₂ output, and equipment lifecycle metrics – which MachineMax is uniquely positioned to deliver.
Q Do you work both directly with equipment OEMs as well as with mines directly – and with OEMs do you offer MachineMax as a factory-fitted option?
Yes, we collaborate both directly with mining operators and with OEMs and rental companies across the industry. Our dual engagement model allows us to serve mines of all sizes while also integrating upstream with equipment providers to simplify deployment. For OEMs, we offer MachineMax as a factory-fitted or pre-integrated option, streamlining the onboarding process for customers and enabling equipment to be monitoring-ready upon delivery. This also opens the door for deeper partnerships, where OEMs can enhance their digital offerings without building proprietary platforms from scratch. For mines, our plug-and-play approach means that MachineMax can be retrofitted to any asset, including older or non-connected machines, giving customers full fleet coverage regardless of brand or age.