Unternehmen

In 2006 our founder, Peter McCurdy, started Productivity Development Solutions, an Engineering Consultancy business, (now better known simply as ‘PDS’).

Sadly, on 25 February 2019, Peter passed away suddenly whilst holidaying in Canada.  Such an unexpected event, it was devastating not only for Peter’s family and our PDS team, but also to our customers whom he had built a strong, long lasting friendship with. 

Peter graduated from the University of Newcastle in the mid 1990’s, with a Degree in Mechanical Engineering, though his passion for technology, efficiency advancement and his amazing ability to work an excel spreadsheet, was always driving him towards software development.

It was his experience in the field, both before and after the establishment of PDS, that made him determined to find a more efficient method of capturing asset health data ‘out in the field’, rather than just by using a piece of paper on a clipboard, with a list of assets to report against.

The evolution of where he started, to where we are today, clearly did not happen overnight.  Peter’s mission, to build strong relationships with our customers, to ensure our technology aligns with their specific needs, is exactly why it is what it is today.  Collaborating with and listening to our customer’s changing needs, is forefront at everything we do, and is still what drives our product’s development today.

Peter was undoubtedly one of the forefathers when it came to mining digital transformation.

In January 2007 he commenced the development of CcMS (Component Condition Management Software), as an industry Condition Monitoring tool for Conveyors.  By mid-2007 CiRS (Conveyor Inspection Reporting Software) was available to provide the reporting tool for Planners, and the ability to easily identify those assets requiring attention, highlighted by coloured priority coding and associated belt maps.

By the start of 2008 we diversified the CcMS, to deliver a customised EcMS (Equipment Condition Monitoring System) for a local steel manufacturer.

In 2010 industry trials commenced on the use of CcMS.Mobile (Idler Management) in the field.  The development of a PDA application was complete, which allowed failures recorded in the field to synchronise back to the desktop application.  This simplified the management of idler and structure failures and was an integral step in the development of CcMS.

This was the start of the Mobile revolution for PDS.

By 2012 the interest in our CcMS by our customers turned the development to a new Inspections module.  Customers wanted the ability to define, digitally capture and complete both scheduled and unscheduled routine maintenance tasks.

By the end of 2013 the software had been rebuilt to be a secure PDS hosted web solution, and we were the only company in Australia to then be able to provide a PDA based idler management solution, that was configured to run on Underground Zone 1 (methane) approved IS rated devices.

As interest in our products grew, and with the continuing feedback from our customers, Wear Management was developed.  Having the ability to report on the thickness of a surface, removed the guesswork around predicting life for components that wear.  Its capabilities quickly grew so that it could be used to track wear on assets other than conveyor belting, such as shuttle wheels, HPGR rollers and chute liners.

Complex was next, allowing for simple point and click data entry on assets with multiple wear surfaces, such as transfer chutes, in operations where tracking wear in individual wear plates and tiles allowed for accurate stock procurement and handling.

Never standing still, always looking at new innovations and what can benefit our customers, a major new release of the PDS Software was launched at the end of 2018. 

By now Peter had implemented the PDS Software on a multitude of the big and small mining house sites across Australia.  The cost savings and benefits were clear for all to see, and our most successful marketing tool is still ‘word of mouth’.  With the increase in the use of our products, so too has our team grown.  We are very lucky to have a close knit supportive team.  Peter always involved all team members in the development of the software, input and collaboration was never just restricted to our customers, and this ethos has not changed.  In September/October 2019 Peter Thorpe (General Manager) and Lena Plambeck (Senior Reliability Engineer) joined our team.  Both Peter and Lena knew Peter Mc personally, having had a long friendship since working together at Gulf Conveyors in the early 2000’s. Both knew the PDS team already and were happy to join us to continue Peter’s vision.

That major upgrade in mid-2018, was the latest evolution to where our products are today.  Our four modules

• PDS Idler
• PDS Inspect
• PDS Wear
• PDS Complex

all work seamlessly from one to another, on Android and iOS devices in the field, only further improving efficiencies on the ground.  API’s now also deliver the ability of our software to work collaboratively with our customers’ other third party products and systems. 

Peter’s vision for the PDS Software to be a user friendly system, specifically designed for use in the field, is here!

PDS is a market leader in ‘simple real world solutions’.

Now that you know our history, and you want to know more, please visit our Product pages.  Please also feel free to Contact us and/or Request a Demo, so we can show you the benefits our products can deliver for you and your Company.