Measuring and improving operator performance on large mining equipment

Mining as an industry is in the middle of commodity price upheaval that is wiping out many mining firms. Only the companies that have adapted right technology and data driven decision making culture will survive after each commodity price cycle. Latest technological solutions made it possible to track materials and equipment in every step of mining; from the face to plant to facilitate decision making process. Mines are investing in equipment monitoring technology with the expectation of gaining large increases in equipment productivity and reliability. Simply buying the technology does not result in achieving the promised benefits. Only a holistic approach can achieve these benefits, considering the people (analytical skills and culture), the process (deliberate means of using the data), and the platform (analytical technology). One of the principle methods for achieving this advantage is through increasing productivity and equipment health of major production equipment. This paper presents a case study using equipment monitoring technology as part of an operator performance system for a major machine asset: a dragline.