Delivering extremely engineered options for over 150 years, Weir is unlocking much more potential with three targeted worth packages in its NEXT Clever Options.
“We preserve a detailed reference to our prospects to make sure our options evolve with their altering wants and ship actual worth to their operations,” says Marina Eskola, Director of Digital Options Administration at Weir. “This customer-centric strategy additionally guides how we digitally improve our tools and programs – clearly mirrored within the value-driven packages inside our NEXT Clever Options.”
The NEXT packages – Perception, Uptime and Manufacturing – align with the journey that prospects can absorb partnership with Weir to leverage real-time information in making knowledgeable choices, making use of cutting-edge sensing applied sciences and boosting operational effectivity.
“The three packages spotlight the main focus at every key step of this journey, permitting the client to steadily acquire extra worth from this clever expertise as they progress via the phases of implementation,” she says. “On the basis is our Perception package deal, which provides the client entry to important details about the efficiency and situation of their tools in actual time – via an online interface primarily based dashboard.”
With Weir’s in-depth technical understanding of all its tools, supported by intensive information on historic traits and parameters, it additionally contains key efficiency indicators and algorithms as a part of this software to help within the decision-making course of.
“An vital differentiator between NEXT and different situation monitoring programs is that we transcend simply alerting the consumer to any potential situation,” she provides. “We’re additionally capable of suggest a plan of action for the client to comply with, to deal with the difficulty being flagged.”
This leads her to the following package deal within the buyer journey: Uptime. Whereas the aim of the Perception package deal is to offer visibility throughout the operation, she explains, the purpose of the Uptime package deal is to increase the operational lifetime of the tools itself.
“That is the place we add predictive capabilities in order that we will forecast the remaining helpful lifetime of the important elements,” she says. “This in flip permits the client to run the elements for longer – till their precise situation calls for alternative.”
It is a vital enchancment on utilizing a time-based alternative schedule, which is usually the norm when there is no such thing as a visibility of the elements’ put on. By reaching an extended life for elements, prospects may scale back the tools’s whole value of possession whereas nonetheless mitigating the chance of downtime.
“One other answer within the Uptime package deal is automated adjustment, permitting sure parameters on our tools to be adjusted rapidly and with out the guide intervention of any operators,” she says. “On a slurry pump, for instance, the hole between the throatbush and the impeller will be adjusted mechanically, lowering put on on important elements whereas enhancing hydraulic effectivity.”
This extends the lifetime of this part, with the additional advantage of enhancing on-site security by eradicating personnel from the proximity of the pump.
The third factor in NEXT Clever Options is the Manufacturing package deal, based on Mauricio Vega, Head of Course of Optimisation Expertise at Weir. This enables prospects to maximise their course of effectivity with AI-powered optimisation.
“The NEXT Manufacturing package deal contains an clever assistant that we’re rolling out this yr,” says Vega. “This takes all the information gathered via the Perception and Uptime packages, and offers suggestions to metallurgists, course of engineers and operators primarily based on their operational priorities.”
Each mine has its specific targets and imperatives, he notes, so this package deal helps to information choices to realize these targets, similar to a manufacturing goal or a desired product measurement for the classification circuit. The clever assistant does this by combining Weir’s depth of historic information from tools working globally, with the location information from the client’s management room.
“We additionally recognise the client’s constraints – similar to power utilization limits – which the clever system can take note of,” he says. “This helps pave the way in which to good and environment friendly mining, which could be very a lot the main focus of the mining business in the present day.”
