More than a mobile phone

One of the first things often associated with Motorola is mobile phones, especially looking back not quite so long ago, when flip phones like the Motorola Razr dominated the market.

With an 85-year history, the company has always focused on communication – particularly radio communication – and has serviced a whole range of sectors from emergency departments, retail, hospitality and mining.

“One of the beauties of our business is not a lot of people actually see us day to day,” Martin Chappell, general manager Australia and New Zealand commercial channels, minerals and energy at Motorola Solutions, told Australian Mining.

“You don’t see our products and services out there but it’s probably touched your life today already and you’re not even aware of it.”

The company employs around 20,000 people, with its head office in Chicago and regional head offices in Melbourne and Singapore. It has been operating in Australia for more than 40 years.

While Motorola specialises in radio communications, Chappell said it aimed to extend into applications on various devices; expanding from pure hand-held or mobile radio devices and digitising its products to run on different platforms that are both consumer and industrial grade.

Communications challenges on site

Chappell said the biggest communications challenge for mine sites was continuity of service; getting enough coverage so management can talk to or locate their employees.

“In the last several years, applications through digitisation of radio products has allowed us to be able to locate people,” he said.

“I can use a specific example of a mine just out of Emerald in Queensland where they do blasting nearly every day. Obviously they need to know where their staff are before they go and blast.

“In the old days it was via voice, now it’s via voice as well as GPS tracking.”

As miners constantly look for ways to reduce downtime on site, being able to easily locate workers and equipment falls within that category. Proper communications services are also a key part of improving worker safety, which remains a top priority as companies continue to ensure every worker goes home safely after every shift.

The remoteness of mines presents another challenge for communications technology, particularly as miners continue to go further and further in search of mineral resources.

Chappell spoke about the company’s radio network – which he referred to as a ‘campus device’ – that could be placed on a required mine site, providing extended coverage.

“What it’s doing now is it’s also linking back to head offices,” Chappell said.

“So if we look at the IROC (Integrated Remote Operations Centre) system in WA, which is through BHP (Billiton), what that does is have a multitude of mines which all talk back to a central command system based in Perth. So they might be talking from the Pilbara or wherever back to Perth.”

The IROC system controls all BHP’s Pilbara operations, including its rail, stockyards and port facilities. The system also facilitates the growing shift toward automation in the mining industry.

“From that centralised position in Perth, they’ve got autonomous trucks going now, so there’s a lot of automation that’s coming from these centralised command centres,” Chappell said.

To further overcome the communications difficulties at remote sites, Chappell added that the company had devices that could switch to public networks to provide better coverage.

“Now you can have devices that can roam off of those campus sites or your mine sites right and onto public networks where you haven’t got coverage from your dedicated network,” he said.

“When you leave or go into town and you’re a manager, you still need to be in touch with the mine, which could be 200km away. You can roam onto the public network and use it as a radio [and] log back securely into your private system.”

Although Apple and Samsung currently rule the commercial consumer market, Chappell reinforced the inability of their phones to handle conditions on site. He mentioned the Motorola Lex L10, a hybrid mobile phone radio device that is more suitable, as it is rugged and longer-lasting.

“That’s a device you pick up and think it’s a smartphone,” he said. “Sure it’s a little bit thicker and a little bit more rugged but to the untrained eye, that’s not a big big difference. What that is, is essentially a product that has two-way radio on site and when you get to town, it’s your smart phone.”

Chappell added that the device is LTE (4G) capable and can use two sim cards.

“When you’re on your mine site you can use it to be on your lock down radio network or LTE network. When you’re in town you roam on to Vodaphone, Optus, Telstra, whatever it is and use the application to get back into your dedicated system on site.”

“It works in water and is dust proof,” he said, “you can drop it from three levels and it won’t break.

“Those are the sort of devices that we’re pushing down into the market in terms of mining.”

Communications across Australia

Chappell believes Australia is at the forefront globally when it comes to implementing wireless communications on site.

“This goes back 30-40 years for analog radio systems that were rolled out through lots of mines across Australia,” he said.

“Most of them now have been upgraded to digital for various reasons, mainly to get greater coverage, better voice quality and to bring on a suite of applications, and those applications deliver a multitude of benefits to the mining companies.

“So I think Australia has been early adopters in terms of heading down that digital road on two-way radio and enjoying the benefits that you get from that.”

In terms of the future of mining communications, Chappell considered more progress would happen through applications.

“I think it’s probably more around the application side, so the benefits that they’re getting out of apps in terms of worker safety, in terms of journey management – being able to track the workers from point A to point B – doing that autonomously so it’s automatic,” he said.

He also spoke of blast tones on site to aid workers.

“They can send out blast tones over the network [so] that people are warned that there’s actually blasting that’s taking place in certain areas,” he added.

“That’s where it’s all heading, and I think it’s heading towards workers being focused on their particular job at that point in time as opposed to having to muck around with technology to make sure it’s working. So there’s a lot of applications around that, in terms of keeping the safety of workers at the forefront.”

Motorola’s communications platforms

Chappell explained that Motorola has three different communications platforms; the P25, which is predominantly in the public safety arena; the Tetra, which is a European standard; and digital mobile radio (DMR).

While Motorola has a mining focus, it also has offerings for the oil and gas industry, such as the Tetra ATEX MTP8000EX portable radio, which has a higher standard to stop any chance of it sparking or igniting a fire.

Although it invests in all three of its communications platforms, one of its main focuses is its DMRs.

“There’s a big emphasis on digital mobile radios, and then from an LTE perspective, Motorola’s doing a lot of work around LTE in terms of infrastructure, to deliver that higher bandwidth data across mine sites or indeed across public safety.”

In terms of delivering the right communications on site, Chappell emphasised selecting platforms that are standards based and companies that have been in the business for a long time.

“Another way that they can ensure it is by working with the vendor and the vendors’ partner community who have been in the business for a long long time,” he added.

“You would also be looking towards a company and a partner who can not only deliver the products and the system from the outset, but support it through its lifespan, whether that be 10, 15 or 20 years.”

A glimpse ahead

While the company looks ahead at further developing its DMR range, it also has big plans for its software capabilities, especially in analytics and predicting events to increase worker safety.

“Motorola talks a lot about that in terms of its public safety business and how we are now analysing and predicting for crimes going to take place in a particular area. That is also starting to play into the mining space where we can predict a potential accident happening or collisions of vehicles,” Chappell said.

“So lots and lots of emphasis over the next year to 24 months around what those pretty significant software suites can do in predicting as well as getting a return on investment, journey management, route management, all those type of stuff that mining businesses are acutely aware of these days as they continue to further drive costs down and improve their ROI.”

The company has already seen a lot of success in its public safety business over the past year in the mining sector, securing contracts with BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BHP BMA) in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, BHP’s rail business in WA’s Pilbara, Wesfarmers and a yet to be identified major international oil and gas producer.

With technology constantly evolving and upgrading, who knows what will be next for radio communications.

MODULAR WASH PLANT VARIANTS

Posted March 29, 2017 | By Talia Paz • Staff Journalist

McCloskey Washing Systems – one of the world’s largest independent manufacturers of screening, crushing, washing and classifying plant and equipment – unveiled its SandStorm modular wash plants last month at CONEXPO-CONAGG 2017.

The Sandstorm 516, 620 and 824 variants incorporate feeding, screening, aggregate and sand washing on a single, compact modular chassis.

Able to efficiently process feeds of up to 550 tonnes per hour, the modular chassis-mounted scalping unit offers quarry operators a cost-effective and durable machine in an all-electric format.

WATCH VIDEO

Mining sector accounts for 15 per cent of Australia’s economy: Deloitte

A new Deloitte report has found the mining and mining equipment, technology and services (METS) sector has accounted for 15 per cent of Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP), highlighting its significant contribution to Australia’s economy.

The report, which was commissioned by the Minerals Council of Australia, found the mining and METS sector contributed $236.8 billion in 2015-16.

Both sectors support 1.1 million jobs nationwide – around 10 per cent of overall employment.

Although the sector makes a major contribution nationwide, there are particular regions where this is more significant, particularly in Western Australia.

The mining and METS sector accounted for a $37.8 billion economic contribution to WA’s Pilbara region – 88 per cent of total regional economic activity. It also accounted for nearly 94,000 jobs both directly and indirectly in the area.

This is followed by Queensland’s Bowen and Surat region, where the sectors made a $18.6 billion economic contribution (63 per cent of the region’s economic activity) and supported 99,700 jobs.

The sector also made a significant contribution to New South Wales’ Hunter region, accounting for $15.2 billion (34 per cent of total regional economic activity) and supporting 93,600 jobs.

The report also highlighted that a key feature of the mining sector was in its high exports.

During 1969, agriculture dominated Australia’s exports, with minerals and fuel making up 17 per cent. However, this has increased significantly, with minerals and energy exports accounting for 64 per cent of Australia’s exports in 2015-16 due to growing demand in Asia.

The report also focused on METS innovations such as semi-autonomous equipment, drones, data analytics software that have helped increase productivity, safety and yields on mine sites.

It indicated that Australia’s advantage in the mining and METS sector relies not only on innovation, but also on policies that reinforce competition, support skills growth and capital, and for companies to adapt to changing market conditions.

In order to sustain the mining and METS sector in the future, the report highlighted the need for the government to implement a range of initiatives including flexible workplaces, being open to foreign investment, a fair and competitive taxation system and continued support for collaboration between the sector and research groups.

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Lithium electrifies the Pilbara

Lithium has undoubtedly been one of the hottest commodities in the world for some time now.

Demand from countries like China has grown significantly in the past two years as manufacturers look to increase output of lithium-related technology, such as li-ion batteries, in addition to its more traditional use for production of ceramics or glass.

Prices for lithium carbonate have skyrocketed as demand has risen, with its value around triple what was recorded in 2015.

The mineral has enjoyed a strong presence in Western Australia for more than 25 years. In the state’s south-west, the Greenbushes mine produces about a third of the world’s output.

Now, lithium is emerging as a hot prospect with potential of diversifying the mining industry in the Pilbara, with exploration continuing to show the region has the high-grade material to accommodate global demand.

Several prospects are being evaluated in the region with development in sight, including Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora project, which is on track to start producing in the fourth quarter of 2017.

While the Pilbara’s lithium sector is obviously not on the same scale as its iron ore industry, it’s hard to ignore the parallels between the two commodities and how they are emerging in the region.

Pilbara Minerals chief executive officer Ken Brinsden believes the region is well positioned to play an important role in the development of lithium as a key commodity in Australia, as it did with iron ore.

“Of course, the Pilbara is very famous for its iron ore mining. I am convinced that it is soon to be famous for its lithium ore material supply because there are some amazing resources up there,” Brinsden told Australian Mining.

“Pilgangoora sits right at the heart of it. You couldn’t ask for a better place to be constructing a mine. It is so close to key infrastructure – the port of Port Hedland, power supply and the road networks.”

Energising China

Another parallel between lithium and iron ore in the Pilbara is the role of China, which is currently demanding lithium raw materials in record quantities in the same way it pursued iron ore.

Brinsden said while some sceptics may still view this surge in demand as a ‘flash-in-the-pan’, he believes this opinion could not be further from reality.

“It’s really phenomenal what is going on, especially in China. The speed with which they are building out their lithium ion supply chain and at the higher quality end is phenomenal,” Brinsden said.

“The evidence is not just in the growth of battery-making capacity but it is also the price they are paying for the raw material. The reason they are paying the high prices is because there is a fundamental shortage.

Brinsden added: “The phenomenon about the resources industry is that when it is put under pressure to grow, the supply will introduce new tonnes which are at higher costs than what was developed historically. As a result, the cost base shifts which means the price must also shift.”

Project progress

In 2016, Pilbara Minerals focused on de-risking the Pilgangoora project by securing several key milestones, including the native title agreement and mining lease.

These milestones led to another important achievement in January when it awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Australian services company, RCR Tomlinson.

The contract, which is worth a maximum $148 million, involves the EPC of Pilgangoora’s two million tonnes per annum lithium-tantalum processing plant, including wet-and-dry circuit with concentrator, associated plant and commissioning of the mine.

RCR selected sub-contractors – Primero and Minnovo – to provide it with technical and engineering support during the contract. Both subcontractors have previous experience in the lithium sector.

“We were very lucky, we had a competitive tender process and some tough decisions to make in how we would do it. The consortiums that were put together were very capable and cost effective…it was an embarrassment of riches really,” Brinsden said.

“The RCR consortium (of companies) are very capable operators and have a proven track record, even to the point where they are already operating in the lithium industry, which is very rare in WA.”

Brinsden said the company was working towards awarding additional services contracts for the development of Pilgangoora and beyond.

“That is all happening in parallel. There will be lots of minor contracts that relate to the balance of the construction on site – things like installation, road construction, road upgrades and rail crossings,” Brinsden said.

“Then, in addition, the one we have to work through is for the actual mining enterprise, including the mining contract.”

Post-boom Pilbara

Pilbara Minerals is also finding cost-friendly opportunities in the aftermath of the mining investment boom in the region.

Brinsden said Pilgangoora’s development process was being aided by the remnants of the wide-spread construction of mines during the past decade.

“It translates into some good opportunities for Pilbara in terms of pricing, the availability of the resources and even out-of-the-box opportunities like buying things second hand,” Brinsden explained.

“There are lots of things that are now available or redundant to previous activities that we are able to pick up very cheaply. We have bought a 300-man camp from the Roy Hill project and we have done that very cost effectively in comparison with buying new.”

Brinsden described the past decade in the Pilbara as an ‘extreme scenario’, which had left many redundant camps, building shed and even processing plants behind.

“Some of those things are a big advantage to the likes of Pilbara (Minerals) who are constructing. Having said that I think it is true that the whole industry has turned the corner and things are getting busier again,” he said.

“You would have to expect then that things will get a little bit more competitive, but perhaps nothing like that hyperinflation environment that existed in the Pilbara as recently as four years ago.”

Balla Balla project a step closer with Chinese construction partnership

BBI Group (BBIG) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to partner with China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) for the construction of the Balla Balla Infrastructure (BBI) iron ore project in Western Australia.

The nearly $6 billion BBI project and a foundation customer mine is set to be developed in WA’s Pilbara region and will need 3300 workers during construction. It is also expected to provide 900 permanent jobs once operations begin.

CSCEC is one of China’s largest companies and one of the largest construction companies in the world.

The MoU was signed by both companies in Canberra, at a ceremony that was attended by prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and Chinese premier Li Kequiang.

Under the agreement, both companies will work together to ensure the project is contructed and operated by suitably qualified, Pilbara experienced contractors, confirming BBIG’s commitment to increasing work opportunities for local and regional businesses and employees.

It comes after the WA Government signed a state agreement for the project and a 162km railway linking it to iron ore deposits in the region, in January this year.

BBIG chair Jon Young said the partnership was another major milestone for the project and a step closer to company receiving a final investment decision and beginning construction in 2018.”

“To have signed such an important MoU for our project in the presence of the Australian prime minister and the Chinese premier confirms the strength and international significance of the BBI Project,” Young said.

“We are pleased to have secured the confidence and support of China State Construction Engineering Corporation, an internationally significant construction partner who possesses world class experience in the delivery of large scale infrastructure projects, including port and rail infrastructure.

“The MOU between BBIG and CSCEC recognises the critical importance of a Pilbara experienced workforce to the successful delivery of the project.”

Global logistics market worth $16 bn by 2022

The global logistics market is forecasted to reach US$12,256 billion ($16,063 billion) by 2022, according to a new report published by Allied Market Research.

‘Logistics – Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2014 – 2022’ projects a CAGR of 3.48% from 2016 to 2022, with Asia-Pacific dominating the global market in terms of revenue – accounting for more than a 34 per cent share of the global market. China accounts for about a 59 per cent share in the Asia-Pacific logistics market.

In 2014, the roadway segment dominated the global logistics market in terms of revenue, and it is projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.33 per cent during the forecast period. The manufacturing segment dominated the global logistics market, accounting for about 26 per cent share in 2014.

The major players profiled in the report include Deutsche Post DHL, Kuehne+Nagel, The Maersk Group, DB Schenker Logistics, C.H.Robinson, Dsv Global Transports and Logistics, Panalpina, United Parcel Service (UPS), Supply Chain Solutions and Geodis.

“Global logistics market holds a vital scope for growth globally,” said Sheetanshu Upadhyay, Research Analyst – Freight and Logistics at Allied Market Research. “Increasing applications of logistics market in the various modes and end-user industry is expected to fuel growth in the coming years.

“Roadways are one of the key components of modes of transportation and multimodal transport. It accounts for nearly 47.29 per cent of the overall mode of transportation used in the world logistics market. The segment contributed highest share in total logistics market owing to its speed transportations and flexibility.”

One-Belt One-Road initiative: episode one

China’s One-Belt One-Road initiative (OBOR¹) is the core element in the nation’s Eurasian foreign policy. This edition of Prospects will discuss OBOR from a high level perspective. A subsequent episode will build on this foundation to define what this ambitious initiative might mean for our portfolio of commodities in the longer run.

China’s four-decade long boom, coupled to its immense geographic and demographic scale, has returned it to its traditional position at the centre of the East Asian economy. Along the way it has built unprecedented reserves of foreign assets; become the largest trading partner of more than half the globe and risen to a leading position in multiple segments of the global manufacturing supply chain. China is the largest single market for everything from cars to mobile phones and e-commerce to international tourism. It is also the largest consumer of a wide range of commodities across the energy, minerals and agricultural fields. Despite this impressive catalogue, there is more to be done, as all of this effort has, at this stage, only raised the living standards of the average Chinese citizen to the middle income level.

To become a prosperous twenty-first century society, the Chinese economy must continue to ascend the value-added chain by building up its innovation capabilities. It must also improve the long run allocation of capital whilst accommodating the rise of consumerism – all while managing the legacies of the old growth model. OBOR helps on all counts.

The origins of the trillion dollar, continent-straddling version of OBOR we see today can be traced back to earlier, less ambitious policies. Some were aimed at developing China’s regional sphere of influence. Others sought to spread the benefits of what was then predominantly coastal economic development into China’s less developed interior provinces.

In the late 1990s, a “Go Outward” policy was instituted, encouraging Chinese firms to invest abroad. In the early 2000s, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was founded, which systematised high level Chinese engagement with a group of central Asian countries positioned along what is now the “Silk Road Economic Belt”. There was also a “Go West” strategy, aimed at developing China’s poor interior provinces, many of which shared land borders with central Asian nations. In 2009, President Hu tightened relations with central Asia with a range of state visits, high profile investments and economic partnerships. And then, in 2013, President Xi Jinping introduced the names “Silk Road Economic Belt” and “Maritime Silk Road” on official visits to central and south-east Asian nations respectively.

Under President Xi’s sponsorship, serious money began to be ear-marked for projects under the OBOR banner, highlighted by the US$40 billion “Silk Road Fund”. A “Leading Group”² reporting directly to the State Council was established. China is also the cornerstone investor in a new multilateral lending institution, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which has already funded a number of major projects in OBOR countries.³

From a purely economic standpoint, OBOR provides a signal and a framework for Chinese firms to export their growing expertise in infrastructure, manufacturing and construction. The financing of OBOR projects offers an avenue for diversifying China’s foreign assets away from low yielding sovereign bonds to higher yielding real assets. In the second wave, the increasing prosperity of recipient countries, where shortages of basic infrastructure⁴ are a major impediment to improving the livelihoods of their citizens, will provide expanding markets for Chinese goods. China’s heavy industries, many of which are experiencing excess capacity after a decade of very strong investment sentiment, will enjoy having an additional outlet for their wares in both waves of this journey. This could help soften the blow of the inevitable restructuring that domestic economic rebalancing will entail.

From an energy and trade security standpoint, OBOR protects and develops critical pipeline infrastructure and transport corridors on land; and it overlooks vital Eurasian shipping lanes on the maritime belt. Vast sums have been invested by Chinese firms to gain a foothold in multiple ports along the Indo-Pacific coast of Eurasia, with clusters of investment centred on major locations including the Straits of Malacca, Sunda, Hormuz, Gibraltar and Bab al-Mandab, as well as Suez. The links between the Belt and the Road (such as the “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor”, which hits the Indian Ocean at the Port of Gwadar) also provide China with alternative routes to reach the European, African, South Asian and Middle Eastern markets. There is also a possibility that northern Australia, a strategically located region with a complementary resource endowment to China’s, could become an important link in OBOR at some point.

Making condition-based monitoring a reality with the IoT

Condition-based monitoring is an essential component of predictive maintenance, recording changes in equipment that could lead to a fault. This is necessary across a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, mining, infrastructure, utilities and water.

With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), the measurable condition(s) of a machine can now be monitored continuously and in real time through a combination of connected devices and sensors, data networks, cloud storage and Big Data processing. All of these components work together to analyse data, which is easily communicated to the operator.

Without harnessing IoT solutions, data transportation can become a significant issue. According to Jas Singh, Systems and Solutions Manager at ifm efector, approximately 95 per cent of the data produced by sensors and other devices is unutilised or lost. For this reason, ifm has developed its Line Recorder series, which acts as a gateway to the IoT through a range of solutions for machine analytics, predictive maintenance and condition-based monitoring.

For condition-based monitoring in particular, ifm has developed SmartObserver, a software that provides an interface for users to undertake real-time maintenance (RTM). Within this RTM system, the customer can view both live and historical data, and perform data analytics. Potential applications for this software are endless; from conducting vibration monitoring on fans in a tunnel or centrifuge pumps on wind turbines, to monitoring truck driver fatigue, fuel levels and speeds.

One unique feature of SmartObserver is that it allows the user to remotely interact with their machines. This is made possible through an alarm management feature, where the user can receive an SMS, with the ability to acknowledge a particular alarm through text. What’s more, SmartObserver offers users the ability to interface to multiple devices, whether they be legacy devices or the latest device on the market.

Potential benefits for industry include:

Timely identification of possible damage or production stoppages, resulting in more efficient production and quality assurance
Energy savings and cost reduction by monitoring and customising machines’ energy usage
Access to more data than ever before, along with the ability to easily manipulate the data to discover important trends

These benefits are supported by a range of features such as:

Data acquisition and diagnosis
Visualisation and analysis
Alerting
Analysis and trending
Online access
Export data for testing and certification
Planning functions
Continuous condition monitoring
Intermittent condition monitoring
ERP connectivity

For more information about SmartObserver and how it could benefit your business, contact ifm efector.

Ifm efector
1300 365 088
www.ifm.com

BGC wins $720 million contract for Arrium’s SA iron ore projects

BGC Contracting has secured a five-year contract worth more than $720 million for Arrium’s Iron Knob and South Middleback Ranges iron ore projects near Whyalla in South Australia.

Arrium administrators KordaMentha confirmed that BGC’s current mining contract, which was to be completed this year, will instead be replaced by this new contract until 2022.

BGC will provide a range of mining services under the new contract including drilling, blasting, hauling, loading, dumping and train load-out.

BGC CEO Greg Heylen said the contract reflected the strong partnership the company has had with Arrium over the past four years.

He added that BGC’s strengths were in it being privately owned and vertically integrated, which allowed it to adapt to changes in the market.

“This has been a challenging time for the mining sector as it dealt with the decline in the commodities markets in the short term,” Heylen said.

“BGC Contracting’s breadth and vertical integration of services has enabled us to improve efficiencies on the project, which has resulted in lower cash costs for Arrium and the administrators.

“During this time we have continued to meet Arrium’s safety and production targets and we look forward to continuing our work with Arrium’s team in the future.”

Heylen also said he looked forward to providing more certain employment for workers and subcontractors in the Whyalla region.

Arrium Mining executive general manager Matt Reed said the collaboration provided benefits for both companies, with BGC playing a major role in helping Arrium lower its mining costs.

“We look forward to developing this partnership with BGC over the coming years and continuing to reduce our costs as we create a world-class business,” Reed said.

PAYLOAD DATA AIDS IN THE RAPID MOVEMENT OF AGGREGATE

Georgiou Group’s fleet was entrusted with moving 600,000m³ of sand, rock and limestone 1.5km between the cut and fill zones of the Alkimos project.

PAYLOAD DATA AIDS IN THE RAPID MOVEMENT OF AGGREGATE

Posted March 20, 2017 |

A major civil construction company charged with moving 600,000m³ of sand, rock and limestone on a land development project completed its assignment in advance and at a significant cost saving to its client – thanks to a combination of surveying, measurement and load and haul programs.

Georgiou Group is a national building construction, engineering and property development company that delivers major projects across Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.

It is a low cost, high performance company that wanted to improve productivity and cost control on a land development project. The six-month project in Alkimos, about 50km north of Perth, Western Australia, involved moving 600,000m³ of sand, rock and limestone 1.5km between the cut and fill zones. The site measured 2km long by about 600m wide. Georgiou turned to SITECH Western Australia and Trimble Loadrite for help in understanding payloads, the movement of material and the productivity of operators and mass haul routes.

Augmented site solution

In the past, Georgiou had manually collected payload data to map to cost centres. The company had no access to real time data on productivity and material movement, leading to potentially inaccurate and sometimes delayed information.

On this project the Georgiou team adopted a range of Trimble solutions, including the 3D GCS900 Grade Control System, 2D Project Monitoring on haul assets and Loadrite X2350 excavator scales.

Data from this hardware was used by InsightHQ and VisionLink software to improve productivity, increase data transparency and accuracy, and therefore reduce costs. Georgiou used Business Center – Heavy Construction Edition (HCE) software for mass haul analysis and design creation. Utilisation of the SCS900 site controller software and unmanned aerial vehicles augmented the site solution.

Georgiou project manager Jim Ryan and Georgiou machine control lead Ian Hitsert led the project and began by equipping two 125-tonne excavators and one 85-tonne excavator with the Loadrite X2350 excavator scales and 2D VisionLink monitoring devices. The Loadrite X2350 excavator scales reported live data to InsightHQ for analysis and goal-setting. Monitoring devices were also fitted to 16 dump trucks.

The primary goals focused on productivity, tracking material moved, reducing the carbon footprint and keeping staff a safe distance from machines on the jobsite. Trimble’s VisionLink – a fleet, asset and site productivity management software – was then used to capture data from dump trucks, to be analysed and displayed through dashboards available on iPad. The Loadrite system gave excavator operators precise weight information to optimally load dump trucks. Trimble GCS900 GPS systems were used to track project progress and monitor material movement and the locations where material was cut and filled.

Georgiou also used Business Center – HCE’s Corridor Mass Haul module to create a digital terrain model of the Alkimos project site, define haul zones and perform a comprehensive mass haul analysis of the project.

Accurate, real time data

“The technology solution provided by Trimble and the working partnership developed with SITECH WA has allowed Georgiou to discover the benefits this technology can deliver to the business for earthworks projects of this size and nature,” Hitsert said. “The positive outcomes from this project have enabled Georgiou to utilise this technology to manage productivity on future projects. With a better understanding of the Trimble hardware and software, we are now challenging Trimble to provide additional functionality, to further improve productivity.”

Ryan estimated the cost savings to the project were in the order of 20 per cent, explaining one of the biggest advantages of the system was being able to determine and track the cost of moving a cubic metre of dirt on a daily basis. Project management could see how quickly trucks were being loaded and show operators their individual productivity data compared with other operators.

“We had two guys running two PC-1250 excavators and noticed production on one machine was slower than the other,” Ryan said. “We swapped these guys around to see if it was the excavator, and it wasn’t. With accurate data about payloads, we could see this kind of information immediately and easily start the conversation, as we had actual data to point to. We found ways to improve their performance, with more accountability through daily, even hourly, production check-ins.”

Operators running excavators and dump trucks were able to work as normal, loading material from the first cut zone and dropping it at the fill zone. The Trimble SNM940 Connected Site Gateway relayed production data to VisionLink and InsightHQ to gather payload information.

One of two PC-1250 excavators (rear) equipped with the Loadrite X2350 scales.

Trimble’s VisionLink was used to capture live data for analysis and display through dashboards.

Ryan said data from the Loadrite scales centralised performance and productivity information across the range of machine sizes, brands and models.

Ryan and the equipment operators had real time information about load counts, idle times, time stamps when trucks are loaded, and travel time for material movement. From the office and using iPads in the field, supervisors could access information immediately and work with operators to improve productivity.

Ryan said on a daily basis supervisors could see project status, comparing a six-month project timeline to productivity to date. This replaced the old method of manually capturing data that could sometimes be inaccurate and days behind.

“Today, with Trimble Business Center – HCE and VisionLink, we have the real time cost and production status at the touch of a button,” said Ryan.

“We don’t have to go out and do any manual spreadsheets, collecting load counts for all machines and mapping them to cost centres. The technology doesn’t build the job for you, but we’ve taken full advantage of using the data to work more efficiently, and it has had a positive impact on the bottom line.”

To track the progress of material moved at the end of each month, the Georgiou team also ran Trimble’s UAV system to capture point cloud data and build a terrain model of the Alkimos site.

“Because earth was being hauled continuously, there was lag time from when we captured data from the UAV system to when we processed it and created reports,” Hitsert said. “In Business Center – HCE we would re-compute our corridor mass haul volumes to design and track progress in terms of overall volume. Essentially, we would re-compute mass haul, load it into VisionLink and back date it to the day of the UAV flight, which was a big plus for us because then we had a full picture in VisionLink of how much material was moved from that date forward.”

Cost, time savings

Within two weeks of using both Loadrite excavator scales and InsightHQ reports, Ryan and the team realised that although each truck was full by volume, they were under-loaded by weight due to lower density material, and could take a further eight tonnes each.

“We saw quickly from our haul routes and material production reports that loading each truck with 32 tonnes of material was inefficient,” Hitsert said. “To improve material moved per day, Georgiou’s internal plant department fitted steel plates around the tops of all dump trucks so we could carry 40 tonnes of rock, sand and limestone instead of 32. We never would have known this without the Trimble technology.

“As a result, and with the same haul fleet, we were actually able to finish moving 600,000m³ of material in four months, instead of six, providing significant cost and time savings to our client.”

Source: Trimble Loadrite