Tag Archives: Internet of Things

Doosan expands Smart Solutions portfolio

Automation, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , ,

Doosan Infracore Europe, under the theme ‘Powered by Innovation’, has announced a number of new developments that, it says, not only add to the company’s current Smart Solutions portfolio for the construction, quarry and mining equipment, but also gives a preview of what will be coming in the future.

They include a new strategic partnership with Palantir Technologies, an American big data start-up. This agreement is the first of its type in Korea and forms part of the company’s efforts to provide new products and services by converging ICT technologies such as big data and the Internet of Things, Doosan said.

The service programs within Doosan Smart Solutions also aim to maximise operating efficiency by creating a smart work environment and, as part of this, Doosan has launched a new mobile app for Apple and Android devices for its DoosanCONNECT™ fleet and asset management system, now covering over 70,000 Doosan machines worldwide. Further support is provided by a package program of regular maintenance and extended warranty designed by Doosan and carried out by the service teams at Doosan dealers.

To meet increasing demand for the increased efficiency offered by machine guidance systems on excavators, Doosan Smart solutions is offering new Leica, Trimble and Xsite Ready Kits for the Doosan wheeled and crawler excavators from 14 to 30 t, it said. Doosan Smart Solutions already provides factory-installed options for the increased flexibility offered by SVAB/Steelwrist tilt rotator systems for the Doosan wheeled excavator range.

Doosan provided an industry-first with a demonstration at Bauma 2019 of long distance remote control of machines using a 5G telecommunications platform, previewing the company’s ConceptX suite of solutions for site automation including fuel cell drones and autonomous vehicles, which will be shown off at another event later this year.

Charlie Park, CEO of Doosan Infracore Europe, said: “The construction, quarrying and mining industries are becoming increasingly digitalised. We want to stay ahead by investing heavily in new technology for our product development, which includes investing in our drone solutions and automated machine control. We are also partnered with many big solution providers such as Trimble, Leica, Moba (Novatron) and now Palantir. We want to be known as the most technology-friendly brand in our markets.”

Dassault and IPACS look at IoT sensing and 3DEXPERIENCE platform combination

Communications in mining, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , ,

Dassault Systemes has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IPACS to jointly pursue technical and business opportunities in key industries in Australia, namely natural resources, defence, marine and offshore, cities and territories.

IPACS is an Australia technology company specialising in the collection, monitoring and reporting of real-time asset performance in various industries.

Dassault Systemes and IPACS went through a value assessment during a pre-qualification phase for the South Australia Government’s marine and defence industry supply chain programme, the “Virtual Shipyard”, to develop a strong domestic defence industry that will support the Federal Government’s Future Submarines and Future Frigates programmes set to commence in 2020.

In the course of the assessment, Dassault and IPACS identified each other as partners with strong and desired skills for technical and business collaboration as they explore opportunities in natural resources, defence and other key industries in Australia, they said. Under the terms of the agreement, Dassault will collaborate with IPACS to create a “first-of-a-kind industrial demonstrator in Internet of Things (IoT) for joint exploration of these business opportunities”, which will leverage IPACS’ IoT sensing technology and Dassault Systemes’ software solutions on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Kailash Nath Sriram, Managing Director and CEO of IPACS, said: “IPACS currently operates South Australia’s pioneering Remote Operations Centre (ROC) for the state’s resources industry. This new industrial IoT demonstrator will be a fantastic platform for IPACS in expanding our expertise to service other major industries.”

The ROC is a collaboration between OZ Minerals, the University of South Australia, IPACS Power and the South Australian State Government that provides an information and communications technology (ICT) platform for remote applications. It examines how vibration analysis of equipment at a distant mine site can indicate impending problems and failures. This enables equipment to be repaired before issues arise and used more intensively for longer periods.

The collaboration also further extends Dassault Systemes’ ongoing partnerships with local companies in Australia for industry capability development and expansion.

Said Masaki Sox Konno, Managing Director, Asia Pacific South, Dassault Systemes, said: “As a technology partner to IPACS, already an established player in South Australia’s resources sector, Dassault Systemes brings its global expertise and best practices in industrial processes and digitalisation solutions to the collaboration.”

Vale after more cost savings with development of artificial intelligence centre

Automation, Base metals, Bulk handling, Coal technology, Communications in mining, Environmental, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , , ,

Vale’s is today inaugurating its Artificial Intelligence Center in Vitória (Espírito Santo state, Brazil), a centre aimed at improving maintenance, processes, and environmental, health and safety compliance controls.

The facility, which will develop and monitor AI initiatives from the company’s units across several countries, has already saved the company more than $20 million/y, and another $37 million is expected to come from initiatives already underway.

“The benefits derive from improving maintenance of assets (from off-highway trucks to railroad tracks), improving management of processes in pelletising and ore processing plants, as well as enhancing environmental, health and safety and compliance controls,” Vale said.

Hélio Mosquim, the IT Innovation executive manager, said the new centre will “intensify the integration and collaboration” among those people responsible for different projects.

“Also, this initiative will promote the exchange of experiences and knowledge, increasing synergy among teams and generating results on a global scale. Most features developed for one project can be applied to others,” he said.

The centre is located at the Tubarão unit, in Vitória, which comprises eight pelletising plants, the operational centre of Vitória Minas railroad, and four port terminals distributed across 14 km². Some 50 professionals – including data scientists and engineers as well as business experts – are exclusively dedicated to Vale’s AI projects. Vale has 15 of them working at the new centre to support thousands of assets (such as trucks, excavators, trains, conveyor belts, etc), among other tasks.

“Broadly speaking, AI is the ability of machines to simulate the human decision-making process and perform complex tasks normally requiring human intelligence,” Vale said. “It is part of a variety of systems – from those used for recommendations on shopping sites to stand-alone cars. Vale uses AI systems to collect and analyse millions of data from its projects, generating insights that will help predict problems and influence decision making.”

Vale’s teams are currently working on 13 lines of projects carried out alongside some of the company’s corporate and business areas covering ferrous metals, base metals, and coal.

Vale’s Digital Transformation Director, Afzal Jessa, said: “artificial intelligence has the potential to generate value for all business areas of the company. We’re taking another important step towards digital transformation to increase productivity and operational efficiency, achieve the highest levels of health and safety, improve our financial performance and drive innovation.”

Vale’s digital transformation programme is expected to generate gains in all business areas. In iron ore, in particular, it shall reduce the cost of production by $0.50/t until 2023.

The programme is based on improving asset performance, optimising maintenance, increasing workforce efficiency, and integrating the value chain. Technological innovations developed by the company include the Internet of Things, AI, mobile applications, robotisation and autonomous equipment (such as trucks and drills).

Vale outlined six examples of projects being developed in the new centre:

  1. Rail fracture prevention – One of the high-impact projects being developed at Carajás railroad (Estrada de Ferro de Carajás) is focused on predicting rail fracture, which is one of the most common occurrences and most serious for the operation. Data generated by the railroads uncovered a solution that identifies the occurrence of one or more fractures in a specific rail branch. In addition to increased operating security, the solution decreases railroad shutdowns to repair fractured rails.
  2. Train wheel-set maintenance – A set of sensors installed by the railroad called waysides monitor the wear as well as impact of wheel-sets, temperature and noise of bearings, as well as displacements of the bogie (an important part of the railroad car). By cross-checking the data generated by these sensors with information from other systems, mathematical models were created to allow the maintenance team to predict the behaviour of wheel-sets in the following 30 days. Based on this information, the team can plan the purchase and maintenance of assets, thus extending their useful life. In the first year, the programme generated savings of BRL2.3 million ($624,019) – about 10 times the amount invested in its implementation.
  3. Maintenance of mine assets – Collection of data generated by mine equipment, such as off-highway trucks, excavators and loaders, as well as use of AI techniques. A project implemented at Salobo mine, in Pará, increased the useful life of off-highway truck tires by approximately 30% in one year. These projects have produced $8 million in savings.
    Another project addresses the increase of useful life and prevention of premature failure of powertrains on off-highway trucks and other mobile assets of the mine, such as loaders and excavators. This is one of Vale’s major projects, involving 15 operations in Brazil, Canada and Mozambique. Sixty per cent of the company’s off-highway trucks already use this system. The approved potential of savings amounts to more than BRL2 million.
  4. Reduction of fuel consumption – A partnership between Vale’s operational areas and researchers of the University of Queensland, Australia, helped the company’s data scientists develop a system to reduce the fuel used by off-highway trucks. Tests conducted in the state of Minas Gerais showed the project can potentially reduce the diesel consumption.
  5. Pelletising process optimization – Data generated during production of pellets were analysed using AI techniques and generated several insights as well as recommendations on ideal operational conditions for the pelletising plants. These process improvements generated $3 million in savings per year in one of the plants, in Vitória. The gains came from a 7% reduction in variable costs by improving the balance between the coal and natural gas used in the process and reducing the use of electric power, among other factors.
  6. Data analysis to avoid safety incidents – Started in 2017 in partnership with the health and safety area, the project analyses the demographic profile of employees to evaluate which ones are more exposed to accidents. The data generated is combined with historical accidents, near misses, and unsafe conditions of the localities. The system uses this information to calculate the probability of incidents occurring in each area in a specific period of time – in a week, for example – as well as its current risk, enabling to evaluate whether the employees’ risk exposure in the work environment has increased or decreased. Then, it is possible to prioritise the activities of health and safety professionals.