Sandvik and IBM to develop productivity and maintenance system
9 March 2017Sweden - A data-driven productivity and predictive maintenance system will be brought to the tunnelling industry by machinery manufacturer Sandvik and computing company IBM. Sandvik described the move as a collaboration that will bring advanced analytics to the mining and rock excavation Industry.
A Sandvik spokesperson added: “The growth in onboard instrumentation and data gathering capabilities in heavy equipment are presenting industries with opportunities to employ advanced analytics and models to identify and resolve productivity issues and improve process optimisation and performance.
“This combination of information services, remote data collection and data analysis will enable increased effectiveness by increasing productivity, saving cost and reducing time wastage. It helps mining and rock excavation companies make well-informed decisions regarding production plans and maintenance schedules and provides the opportunity to monitor and improve upon the general utilisation levels of their equipment.”
“Sandvik has been working with mining customers on mine automation and remote monitoring of machines for more than 20 years. Our OptiMine and AutoMine solutions are also important systems for data collection and consolidation that provide us with a great platform to get a flying start with IBM analytics solutions. So it is a natural step for us to collaborate with a company like IBM – experts in advanced analytics cognitive computing and modeling – to create even more value to our customers,” said Lars Engström, president of Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology. “This collaboration fits well with our service portfolio, which is based on traditional life-cycle, enhanced technical, and business services, all of which are aligned to improve safety, secure competences for mine operations and increase our customers’ productivity.”
Anders Fredholm, vice president for IBM Europe’s industrial products industry said, “We look forward to taking our expertise in internet of things, advanced analytics and asset management and combining that with Sandvik’s years of experience in developing mining processes and machine technology to build a collaboration around innovation and delivery of smarter digital services offerings for natural resource companies around the globe.”
