Technology & equipment
The process – which includes OEMs storing supplies at the site, making them accessible on demand rather than having to order and await delivery – has dramatically increased operational efficiency. Mines have essentially been able to outsource their ordering and supply management responsibility, Penmesta says, thanks to the arrival of order-enabling technologies. “So, when somebody is using a part, the supplier gets notified that a part was just used, [saying] ‘now you can invoice for it’,” saving huge amounts in both time and money for the mine. These are just a selection of the areas digitalisation and cloud-based systems are helping the world’s mining companies optimise their operations. Through it, data generation, collection and now analysis are presenting opportunities for change in productivity, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, health and safety, automation and much more.
the cloud and accessed anywhere in the world, almost instantaneously, Penmesta believes it’s not unrealistic to say original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) might know that a piece of machinery needs a new part even before the operator or maintenance team does.
“In the past, shift changeover times could take as long as an hour and a half because you had to wait for data. Now, you just line people out faster. So, productivity has obviously improved by leaps and bounds.”
$15bn
Expected value of the global mining software market by 2028. MarketsandMarkets
36
“For example, an OEM might receive a fault code – even before the maintenance guy knows that he needs to replace the brake pads, say, cloud technologies have already shipped that brake pad. That’s something that cloud technologies have been enabling,” he says. That – maintenance – is one element of how the cloud can enhance supply chains.
Another is what Penmesta calls the ‘operations supply chain’. This, he says, is witnessing a change to the entire paradigm. Historically, procurement – for the likes of bolts and other parts, for example – was the responsibility of the mine site itself; but thanks to advances in technology this function is being increasingly managed by suppliers.
Cloud and culture However, that change isn’t solely reserved for operations and processes. Since its launch around 12 years ago – first as rapidBizApps and not particularly focused on the mining industry – Penmesta says he and GroundHog have seen a huge cultural shift in the sector too, through its adoption of digitalisation. Miners have embraced new technologies, but their support has to be matched by support from their managers if they are to continue to provide benefits. The drive to be more efficient is ever-present, particularly now as the world faces cost pressures of a magnitude rarely seen. Penmesta says when mining executives approach him, cost reduction and profit optimisation are usually their goals. “At an executive level, they’re looking for transparency and data normalisation across all their sites,” he explains. All perfectly sound objectives; but new projects don’t end with their rollout. “There’s amazing support in those first three months, but it has to be sustained. That’s something that, over the years, has been the Achilles heel,” he warns. Thankfully, cloud-based technologies can help address that too, if used correctly. Penmesta notes that there are companies that have a good foundational culture, and are able to sustain initial improvements by looking at the data, reading the signals and acting on them. But he warns, “then there are other companies where it really depends on who’s at the desk”.
The cloud and its enabled technologies will drive change in the industry. But just being around when that change happens doesn’t not guarantee you or your business will change with it. “There has not been an industry that cloud hasn’t significantly changed,” Penmesta concludes. But a change in management doesn’t just depend on technical advances, it hinges far more on organisational culture – and that, only people can affect. ●
World Mining Frontiers /
www.nsenergybusiness.com
VectorShow/
Shutterstock.com
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