Recent events have thrust the mining world into the forefront reminding the world once again that mining is as an integral piece of our high tech world. The impact it has on our global economy is immense. Just from 2022 to 2023, the global mining market grew by nearly $125 billion and is expected to continue to skyrocket throughout the next decade. (Company, 2023) The mining market is ripe with will and opportunity for innovation and optimization to retool for a rapidly evolving energy economy.
The pressure on the mining industry to be cleaner, safer, and more efficient is not new, but it has certainly ramped up in recent years. For example, over the course of the last decade, electrification in mining has become the new normal in operations in a shift from diesel powered equipment. Electric vehicles provide safer conditions for workers and greatly reduce costs as there is no longer a need to install ventilation systems underground that cost tens of millions of dollars. (Beauchemin, 2023)
Electrification is not the only revolution coming to the mining industry. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has spurred serious conversations among industry leaders. Seasoned experts have found the market flooded with flashy solutions, but not every offering fills the gap consistently across the board: insight into key metrics that are actionable, impact the bottom-line, and improve safety.
Specifically, tension members in mining and other industries are considered a blind spot in terms of solutions available to deliver innovation and valuable data and analytics to some of the most mission-critical assets. Yet, these products are ubiquitous in mining from stays in heavy equipment to lifting slings. The solution is to gather, track, and analyze meaningful data via IoT devices that monitor and manage these previously untraceable assets to improve efficiency, reduce expensive periods of service interruption due to maintenance and apparatus failures, and ensure safer operations throughout the mining industry.
IIoT’s data-driven approach to managing cable, rope, and other tension member assets, also powers meaningful efficiencies and cost reductions via predictive maintenance, proactive repairs, and reducing costly downtime. Importantly, IIoT also enables remote monitoring and control, allowing mining operations to be conducted from centralized locations, saving time and resources.
IIoT, with its ability to connect devices, collect real-time data, and enable intelligent decision-making, is improving multiple areas in today’s modern mining endeavors. By digitally enabling key assets like cables, slings and ropes, operators can enhance safety by keeping track of the age, use, and inspection records to ensure maximum performance in the field. Additionally, by leveraging data enabled by IIoT, operators can create digital twins – virtual replicas of critical equipment – allowing simulations and test scenarios which look for improvements without the need to use equipment dedicated to production.
Integration of solutions like Knowix, a leader in tension member digitization and IIoT, provide a variety of comprehensive benefits to mining organizations. Real-time data from Knowix can bridge the gap to realize cost savings and increased efficiencies immediately all while leveraging the latest innovations in the fiber and synthetic ropes market. With IoT and artificial intelligence solutions like sensors and terminations for rope and cable assets, your team will be armed with data upon integration shifting functions like maintenance from preventive to predictive all with unprecedented insights to optimize productivity, performance, improve decision making, and ensure equipment and employee safety.
To learn more about how Knowix is transforming the passive tension member components into intelligent IIoT systems capable of providing vital, real-time insights on your most important assets, visit Knowix.digital or contact our team at info@knowix.digital.