With the mining industry focused more closely than ever on cost reductions and profitability, MineWare CEO Andrew Jessett thinks 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 industry globally. By providing better support and feedback to operators, he believes that mine sites have the opportunity to dramatically improve machine productivity and reliability.
MineWare’s Argus shovel monitor, for example, calculates key shovel performance metrics and uses these to provide real-time feedback to operators in a clear format. This supports operators in making fast, confident and correct decisions on a range of production, maintenance, mine planning and truck loading issues, he said.
The technology is claimed to have significantly reduced 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 said 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.
