Improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness using GroundHog Mine Digitization Solution

GroundHog Maintenance Management to Improve Equipment Availability (A):

Availability is the foundation for calculating overall equipment effectiveness because it is a measure of downtime. GroundHog Maintenance Management System (OpsCenter and Maintenance App) provides solutions for both planned and unplanned maintenance activities.

Time-based periodic maintenance schedules can be prepared in the system to reduce events of unplanned breakdowns in the future. In addition, preventive maintenance solutions make it easy to create a list of maintenance tasks that can be applied to multiple assets. By standardizing and optimizing preventive maintenance schedules, maintenance teams can reduce unplanned breakdown events and increase equipment availability and reliability.

Operator reports breakdown events based on pre-shift inspection or running failure of equipment. The maintenance team receives the down reason code with location of equipment and other necessary information on maintenance apps.

The maintenance team can create work order, complete the maintenance task, and update the equipment status. Response time to maintenance and MTTR reduced significantly leading to an improvement in availability of equipment.

GroundHog Telemetry System for Equipment Health Monitoring

GroundHog Telemetry is the answer to mine owner’s equipmen management needs. Asset Health and Payload Monitoring can be done with GroundHog Telemetry Data. Our hardware unit seamlessly connects to equipment through the com’s port, accessing valuable data from onboard computers, CAN 2.0 or telemetry (VIMS and VHMS). This groundbreaking technology interprets and relays this data to the cloud, where it is presented on the user-friendly GroundHog OpsCenter.

Available Data Points (varies by OEM and machine applications) are as below:

• SMU Hours

• ECM Data

• Payload

• Fault Codes

• Fuel Consumption

• Payload Cycles

GroundHog OpsCenter and FMS to Improve Equipment Utilization (U)

GroundHog OpsCenter and Fleet Management System provides real-time monitoring of the equipment fleet from a centralized location (mine control center). Open Pit FMS system uses GPS based Fleet Management System for real-time tracking of mining equipment. Underground FMS system can track the equipment location using Wi-Fi connection, RTLS and 3D Mine Map. With real-time location tracking visibility of mining operations improves. One of the major reasons for poor utilization is truck queuing at loading and unloading point as mentioned below.

Queuing of Trucks at Loading Point and Unloading Point (An example of Utilization Loss)

GroundHog Fleet Management System (FMS) can identify average queue time, hang time and other operation delay time of equipment. Reallocation of equipment can be done based on this information to optimize queue time.

GroundHog operation management solution enables haul optimization and operation efficiency improvement. By analyzing haul cycle time on a regular basis queue time can be identified and trucks can be reallocated based on the need and availability of excavators, with the objective to nullifying queue time as shown in the image below.

Ideal Haul Cycle without Queueing of Trucks at Loading Point and Unloading Point:

GroundHog specializes in mixed fleet solutions. Our system can capture and utilize data for heavy mining equipment, such as excavators, trucks, loaders, ancillary and support equipment. It can manage the entire mixed fleet from the dynamic dashboard in our powerful fleet management software. Mine Controllers can create equipment utilization reports for individual machines and vehicles, as well as overall fleet reports on different metrics. Analysis of these reports generate insights of reasons for poor utilization and operation team can take judicious decision to improve utilization.

GroundHog Mine Digitization Solution to Improve Equipment Productivity (P)

GroundHog OpsCenter is a framework of structured processes to better manage shift tasks by regularly reviewing performance within a shift and evaluating where production stands relative to plan. Short Interval Control (SIC) allows to better understand equipment data and leverage it to coordinate between planning and operation to minimize deviation. GroundHog SIC fulfilled client data requirements by ensuring that the application interface presents data in a simple, understandable manner while allowing mining management in data driven decision making. This paired with an easy data export process ensures that GroundHog SIC truly ensures mines can harness their data and reduce production error and bottlenecks along with enhancing their overall productivity.GroundHog Fleet Management System improves production efficiency through equipment tracking, controlling non-productive time, and optimizing operation.

Comparison of TKPH for improper load and speed (an example of production efficiency loss):

One of the major reasons for poor productivity is equipment running at reduced capacity and reduced speed, as mentioned in the image above. GroundHog Payload Monitoring System and Speed Monitoring System can identify losses due to underload and reduced speed. Operator skills, behavior, haul road conditions, and traffic play a key role for these losses. Productivity can be improved by identifying these losses and applying corrective measures (operator’s training, counselling, improved haul road conditions).