OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
OPERATIONS I
NETWORKING
n times of increasing digitisation of industrial processes, the importance of robust and reliable data communications is becoming more evident. T e communications network is often critical to operations, and failure to get data from A to B can have serious impacts. Data networks supporting monitoring and control systems within mining applications require a special kind of robustness. Not only do the operating conditions include fl uctuating temperatures, dust and dirt, but there is also constant vibration, which is tough on devices and cables. T e sheer size of an open-pit mine makes it diffi cult to maintain a data network and the need to constantly move mining equipment puts a considerable stress on the network cables. At Vršany Lom, one of the largest mines in the Czech Republic, all of
these challenges have been overcome with the implementation of robust industrial networking technology from Westermo. Vršany Lom is a brown coal surface quarry located in the North Bohemian coal basin near the town of Most. T e site is mined by Vršanská uhelná, which is a part of the Sev.en group, a major European mining company responsible for the largest coal reserves in the Czech Republic. Over the course of an eight-
year period, Marek Hudský, chief technical engineer at Vršanská uhelná, has strived to create the perfect monitoring and control system and supporting data communications network. “T e communications network is my responsibility and something I have designed, built and improved over many years,” explains Hudský. “T e continuous
Robust and reliable data communications support eff ective mining operations at Vršany Lom in the Czech Republic
improvements have made a massive impact to overall production. T e average time to transport the coal from the mine to the collection site has been reduced from 25 minutes to less than four minutes. On an annual basis this adds up to an extra month’s worth of production. “T is improvement has been achieved
by reducing network downtime, which previously was very common and required many hours of maintenance. Today, interruptions to production due to network issues are rare.”
Conveyor belts stretching out over many kilometres transport coal to a central collection point. The data communication cables are installed along the conveyors, connecting monitoring and control equipment for the excavators and conveyors to the control room.
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