Modern Quarrying spoke to Theo Hendricks – Product Manager Comminution at Weir Minerals Africa about Synertrex® intelligence platform that can be integrated into quarrying customers’ existing systems to optimise the performance of the Weir Minerals equipment in their processing plants. In addition to the improvement of safety, this platform pre-empts wear part replacement, and allow mines to remotely monitor and, by advanced data analytics, gain the right insights for further optimisation of the operating parameters.
“As a leading OEM Weir Minerals has a strong customer-focus, well aware that customers need continuous improvement and innovation,” says Hendricks. “That is why we are investing in intelligent equipment – The Synertrex technology informs customers when something is wrong while it also predicts a problem before it happens. In a way we are teaching our products to speak.”
Synertrex® technology involves sensors that are fitted onto customers’ equipment in critical positions which enable the capture of critical data on a continuous basis. The platform’s IIoT data is cloud-based and then used in reports in a format that customers can understand so that they can make informed decisions. “Weir Minerals has a state of the art network of monitoring centres that can review customer data wherever our equipment is digitally-enabled,” says Hendricks. It offers an advanced level of understanding and allows operators to monitor every aspect of the equipment’s operation.
Primary digital response
Hendricks says that Synertrex® technology is part of Weir Minerals’ primary digital response. “It is our primary goal to optimise the performance of our equipment, to give a timely, proactive and correct response to the right person and at the right time to improve the performance of the equipment,” Hendricks says.
The Intelligence platform achieves this with the real-time data it collects as well as being connected to other data sources, such as maintenance data and equipment design data . This is factual and actual and allows remote monitoring and predictive analytics. “This data is available to customers anywhere, at any time and on any device including PCs, smartphones and tablets,” Hendricks elaborates. “Information is displayed on a simple and easy to understand dashboard on these devices or integrated into the existing systems on customer operational systems,” he says.
Safety and Synertrex® technology
Safety is integral to Weir Minerals and of paramount importance in quarrying. “With the Synertrex platform we have developed algorithms that can predict plant problems before they happen to allow timely and appropriate response. Manual tasks can be automated, thus removing the risk of human intervention where people can be exposed to safety risks,” says Hendricks.
“In the days before remote monitoring, technicians had to visit the site to attend to problems. They relied on the operational staff present to explain the problem to them. This was not always very factual. Remote monitoring allows you to have critical data at your fingertips – all the time – and technicians do not need to travel to site as they now have factual data to advise or solve the problem,” Hendricks explains.
According to him the uptake of this IIoT-enabled product has been slower among quarrying customers than among mining customers. “Quarrying is a more robust and manual operation. Despite the slower uptake there have been early adopters such as CnC Crushers. Adoption allows us to do case studies which will in turn increase the uptake,” says Hendricks.
The benefits for quarrying operations
For quarrying, Weir Minerals’ intelligence platform can be used to monitor crusher liner wear so that wear patterns, cracks and other hotspots can be identified. This enables decisions regarding the equipment to be taken to allow scheduled downtime while a replacement part can be ordered upfront. “By monitoring process parameters, production targets can be met, while our monitoring technology allows process automation which leads to greater energy efficiency,” says Hendricks.
Weir Minerals uses Synertrex® technology to monitor Trio® cone crushers so that areas such as the health and performance of the crusher, its lubrication, hydraulic and control systems are measured and monitored so that component replacement is planned with minimal downtime.
The intelligence platform is also used in its Enduron® HPGR where it is deployed to monitor bearings hydraulics and drive train. Tyre wear monitoring and predictiveness will be included in the near future .
Hendricks explains that the technology can be fitted to certain other Weir Minerals equipment, and that it will be rolled out to most other Weir Minerals equipment. “The digital hardware kit is easy to retrofit, while new equipment is designed to be enabled with the platform,” he adds.
Ongoing support
Weir Minerals has a strong focus on customers and on-site support is offered from installation to commissioning to handing over to the customer. “Weir Minerals’ technicians travel to the customers’ site, installs the sensors, and connects it to the cloud. As part of our ongoing support and optimisation, Weir Minerals can advise on reporting and dependent on what is installed at a customer’s site, provide training so customers know how the platform works and what it can do. We can advise on reporting, create alerts, and offer response recommendations,” Hendricks says. “Weir Minerals’ support and training are ongoing as we want customers to have a positive response and experience.”
In conclusion Hendricks says that he believes that digital solutions as the Synertrex® platform are the future. “At Weir Minerals we constantly strive to improve customer satisfaction, production and performance on the plant. It is at the forefront of everything we do.”
