User Stories  - 24 Nov 2018

Why you can’t measure wear on a spreadsheet

When you get down to it, mining isn’t rocket science.

It’s all pretty straightforward – dig it up, move it to a port and ship it out.
Maybe that’s why, despite the use of cutting-edge technology in many areas of mining, some processes are still pretty old school.

A good example of this is the way many mining operations still gather data to monitor the condition of key assets vital to the production process, such as conveyor belts.

The most common method is to manually collect wear information during planned shutdowns. Measurements taken by hand in the field are then transferred onto a spreadsheet back at the office. At some point, this information is then collated to produce a report that makes its way up the communication chain to the planners who interpret the data and make decisions as to when things need to be repaired or replaced. That in turn determines what and how much stock needs to be purchased, delivered and stored on site.

Quite a few big (and costly) calls need to be made during this process and they all depend on the quality of the data delivered. Which brings us back to the humble spreadsheet.

What often happens in the real world is that the measurements taken manually on-site are not all that accurate. The data can be entered by a range of personnel, some of whom may not be as skilled as others in the use of Excel. The information might not be entered as diligently or consistently as required. Throw into the mix the risk of spreadsheets going astray and you’ve got a recipe for a pretty inefficient process.

Timely, accurate data is the key to effective decision making…even if you’re not building rockets.

How accurate is asset maintenance data collection on your site?

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