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CEO of mining technology leader MineWare Pty Ltd, Andrew Jessett, says it’s time to put dragline and shovel productivity back into the hands of the operators.
According to Jessett, variations in operator technique and performance remain a costly issue for the sector globally.
By providing better support and feedback to operators he believes that mine sites have the opportunity to dramatically improve machine productivity and reliability.
“If we can reduce common performance issues and variations, there are very real benefits to be gained in higher productivity, decreased machine wear and reduced costs,” he says.
“The direct link between operator performance and production output is undeniable. Even the smallest variations in shovel and dragline productivity can result in large variations in production and mine profitability.”
Founded by Jessett in 2005 following his development of the industry’s first fully integrated dragline monitor, MineWare continues to support machine operators with real time feedback, in-seat coaching and peer based performance benchmarking.
Supporting shovel/truck operations in mine sites across Australia, South Africa and the US, MineWare’s Argus shovel monitor is an industry leading example of a complete operator performance system.
Argus calculates key shovel performance metrics and uses these to provide relevant, real time feedback to operators in a clear, simple format. This supports operators in making fast, confident and correct decisions on a range of production, maintenance, mine planning and truck loading issues.
The technology is significantly reducing damage and downtime caused by the overloading of shovels and trucks, while improving mine plan compliance, machine reliability and safety and truck loading/shovel output.
Jessett says the system provides operators with invaluable data to measure their performance and improve their operating techniques.
“Most of the time, operators are in direct control of the productivity achieved by the shovel or dragline. To boost productivity, we need to give operators the information, tools and support they need to enhance their technique and overall performance.”
Argus measures and reports on key performance indicators critical to optimum electric shovel/truck operations including production output, reliability, mine plan compliance and truck loading.
“When it comes to truck loading, Argus ensures that the operator knows the payload of each and every bucket before it’s dumped in the truck. This is a critical factor to maximise shovel performance,” Jessett says.
“The live feedback and statistics Argus provides help tighten the spread and increase the average payload. This is particularly the case in fully matched operations, where shovels can fill trucks to capacity over a specific number of passes.”
Jessett says Argus’ in-field performance is generating positive results and feedback from operators.
“We’re seeing a reduction in cycle times and truck loading times, less deviations from the mine plan and less maintenance down time,” he says.
“Most importantly, Argus is significantly reducing truck overloads and underloads—a critical issue that causes frequent breakdowns and high maintenance costs.”
MineWare’s monitoring technologies such as Argus and Pegasys provide invaluable production and performance data to support multiple teams and personnel on and off-site, from mine planners and design engineers to maintenance teams, asset managers,
production superintendents and supervisors.
Pegasys and Argus support more than 70 shovel and dragline operations.
