REAL time asset management is vital on site when the downtime that comes with unplanned and unexpected maintenance can cost millions.

Accurate asset management and condition reporting can mean the difference between unplanned downtime impacting productivity and profitability – so why wouldn’t you want to simply the process?

PDS Asset Management Software can be used for web, android and iOS and eliminates the need for complicated spreadsheets and inefficient hand-written reports.

PDS connects multiple work groups, captures valuable inspection data and reports all the relevant information you need in a simple, easy to read format and can easily expand as your business needs evolve.

 

PDS Idler provides a powerful management tool for detailed planning, execution and failure analysis.

 

Idler

One of the most consistent causes of conveyor downtime and lost productivity in mine sites around the world is idler (roller) failure.

PDS Idler helps reduce conveyor downtime through accurate digital recording of inspections, Idler captures precise, real time failure data – reducing conveyor downtime and lost productivity.

PDS Training and Implementation Officer Ricki Southgate said the traditional, more inefficient and inaccurate method of tagging during routine manual inspections meant extensive time was spent tagging equipment but also the data would have to be hand delivered to the site office where another staff member would collate the information into a spreadsheet or SAP.

During an inspection you detect an idler failure by visual inspection or by the sound it makes, thermal scanning can also used to pick up heat differences. With Idler you then record that failure on the tablet (iOS or android) all the Idlers are mapped in the system so its easy to accurately identify unresolved failures. Photos and thermal scans can also be attached to the record.

“Once you’ve captured all of the failures in the field you generate the report from the data and send it directly to the maintenance crews who can go out and replace the idlers once a maintenance window is available.”

Maintenance managers are able to run reports from the PDS database to see trends on failures, failure types, and make decisions around potentially looking to different suppliers or manufacturers.

Mr Southgate said it’s the simplicity and ease-of-use that dramatically cuts down inspection and reporting time.

“Before you might have had three different crews walking around doing inspections on 40 conveyors on one mine site, and they would all walk back and hand a piece of paper to a planner who then has to sit there and add 40 lots of conveyor failures into a spreadsheet to create notifications,” he said.

“Whereas now anyone could walk onto the field with an iPad and once they synchronise their location it goes into the database so the person sitting back in the office can generate the report there and then.”

 

Once a site knows they have to replace two belts in 2020, they can get the supplier to quote the job well in advance of the belts wearing out.

 

Wear

PDS Wear gives users the critical information needed to dramatically reduce unpredicted failures due to wear, predict belt life, plan scheduled belt replacements and assist in better belt grade selection and accurate capital planning.

Mr Southgate said that PDS Wear means that maintenance managers can look at the budget, know when they’re going to have all the resources on site and whether or not that component will make it to the next shutdown or not.

“Someone sitting in a head office in a capital city with access to PDS could simply login and generate reports for every site – they will have all the information in one report across all sites which would show every possibility forecast for replacement,” he said.” This increases bargaining power through procurement when approaching suppliers on a group level.”

PDS Wear has also been adopted for the management of wear data on both fixed and mobile plant assets from pipe spools, apron feeder pans, screen panels, transfer chute liners and haul truck trays.

“We started off with conveyors but now we’ve moved on to pretty much anything that requires a forecast like pipe wear, apron feeders, chains and rollers, rail wheels, even the rail line that the train runs on,” Mr Southgate said.

“We’ll measure the wheels of the rail to see how much it’s worn, maybe it’s at 60mm and once it gets to 50mm you know you need to look at replacing it.”

Sites can also configure their own parameters to take lead time into consideration when ordering stock in advance – saving valuable downtime – and can even record wear based on tonnage.

“Historically you might have a cycle of six years and suddenly within three years you need a replacement component and that’s because of improvements on site over the last two years which have increased production by 50 per cent,” Mr Southgate said.

“So now rather than use a time based prediction, you would use a tonne-based prediction – so you have the option there to change as the business (and production) evolves.”

 

PDS Inspect is the practical digital solution to managing inspection records.

 

Inspect

PDS Inspect provides a robust digital platform for capturing fault history against assets over time, enabling detailed reporting on plant condition and outstanding maintenance requirements.

“Now we can actually configure inspection plans digitally so someone can go in-field with an iPad and open up to the inspection for that day, add the work order number in, and complete all the inspections in the software” Mr Southgate said.

“PDS Inspect provides a quick snapshot of critical problems requiring attention and you can add measurements or photographs for more description if needed.”

Interactive reporting and dashboard views enable users to quickly see the condition of their assets as well as the current inspection status according to priority.

“We’ve got an At Fault dashboard which highlights everything that has been inspected and requires some sort of corrective action,” Mr Southgate said.

“If something arises when a ship hasn’t turned up or a train is delayed then the manager will know exactly what the priorities are and where to allocate their resources, just by generating a report.”

 

PDS Complex provides a market leading visualisation tool for tracking and predicting wear in assets with multiple wear surfaces such as chute liners, screen panels, haul truck trays, feeders and crushers.

 

Complex

PDS Complex makes accurate monitoring and maintenance planning simple by allowing the client to visualise the wear profiles of various equipment.

Originally Complex was designed as an alternative documentation tool to 3D scan data and for trending wear data as 3D scanning alone provided no asset history or predictive analysis.

Due to the cost associated with 3D scanning, Complex has increased in popularity, becoming an invaluable management tool for recording historical replacements, associated part number information and visualising wear profiles.

Mr Southgate said that PDS was one of the first companies to create the 2D drawings of 3D objects such as chutes in a layout so that a field technician could view on a tablet during inspection and accurately mark off multiple liners and schedule them for replacement.

“They can also use it during shutdowns, for example you can select 15 liners across that chute mark them all for replacement and once those are replaced their data will be moved into the background history. Now you’ve got the new install date for those replacement liners as well,” he said.

 

More information:

Productivity Development Solutions

02 4905 0810

www.pdsglobal.com

 

 

 

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