The only constant thing in life is change, goes the old adage. But when it comes to the performance demands of miners, it would be fair to say that process optimisation is virtually guaranteed to be a constant at the top of any list. And the key to unlocking process optimisation across the flowsheet? Often, that comes down to high-quality service, says Rebecca Siwale, Head of Digital Services at FLSmidth.
Over the last 10 years, service has undergone a transformation. Service support is now a 24/7 expectation, digital solutions are delivering better service, faster service and remote service, while physical access, local experience and the deep understanding of specific site requirements have become more important than ever.
“Digitally provided support is now a fundamental element when it comes to service in mining. In recent years, this trend has only accelerated and broadened the scope of what can be delivered effectively through digital,” says Siwale. “This can be online product training, remote inspection support, 24/7 troubleshooting by recognised experts, better planning for shutdown, amongst other things.”
As technology develops, so too do customer expectations of what service should be delivering. Gone is the era of service merely keeping mines up and running and minimising downtime.
Siwale explains: “The aftermarket service our customers expect is changing. Yes, we must still ensure the performance of the machines and solutions we provide and troubleshoot if there is a problem – but customers expect us to provide additional ideas and solutions to help them gain productivity improvements. This can be at a site level, a geographic area or as a key account across a variety of regions and flowsheets. As an example, our relationship with a large copper mine includes day-to-day support on site, critical or expert support when there are significant service events and a regular global review of all activities to share best practices across their operations.”
Even with new digital working methods and augmented expectations, some things remain the same as ever and as important as ever, comments Siwale: “Experience and knowhow are irreplaceable and remain the central characteristics of high-quality service, along with instant availability and access: A customer needs assurance that they will get complete, timely and knowledgeable support that resolves their specific problem or helps optimise their mineral recover process.
"We provide whatever level of service the customer deems necessary: from a fault-finding /inspection visit to a complete audit and optimisation service. We can even manage the entire maintenance planning and execution process. All of these levels can add value to them and their operations,” concludes Siwale.
This demand for local, 24/7 service backed by detailed site-specific knowhow has been reflected by FLSmidth’s service set up. “We have positioned ourselves close to the customer with a focus on strong relationships, from initial equipment purchase through the ultimate decommissioning or replacement. By using our service expertise, we can not only fault find our equipment but can advise on maintenance strategies, spare parts optimization, and ensure better reliability, and lower overall operational costs.
“Our regional structure is crucial as service has become much more focused on geographic access and local knowledge of customers’ requirements and assets - No one understands the equipment across the lifecycle like the OEM. The local access and immediacy of response has changed drastically over the past ten years. Now we have easier communications with mine sites coupled with remote support capabilities, which guarantees an immediate response from our team. We are also seeing more long-term service agreements as they can reduce administration time and simplify scheduling field engineering support. This, again, ultimately leads to reduce service cost.”
Digitalisation and sustainability are two of the major trends in mining and are likely to be central to the industry for the foreseeable future. When it comes to reducing a mine’s environmental footprint or meeting new, tighter regulations, a service provider can be an important ally. Siwale explains: “Through more effective planning, we feel our services can reduce waste, can assist with recycling of certain wear/spare parts or offer an extensive refurbishment program to existing assets to allow for longer service life. Equipment that is well maintained achieves higher availability allowing for more consistent utilisation. This means efficiency and a lower cost to operate.”
Increasingly these efficiencies are being delivered by digital optimisation, continues Siwale: “We understand digital services can help the customer in many ways. By using a comprehensive condition monitoring solution, for instance, we can help reduce unplanned downtime. We are always available and willing to conduct a review of a customers’ assets and then determine how best to get better insights via a more comprehensive digital connectivity and data analysis. It is one of the reasons we are rapidly expanding our digital portfolio and we will have more service solutions developed in this area.”
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