invensys protocol magazine – "metals and mining – one tough industry"

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012

EVENTS | TECH TIPS | TRAINING | SUPPORT

Metals & MiningMetals & MiningOne tough industry

SA mining industry in perspective

Challenges and solutions

Mining for operational excellence

Wonderware solutions at work

IT in industry? It’s about time!

Remote Operations Centres in mining

And what about workforce contribution to real-time pro� tability?

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November/December 2012 | 1

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www.protocolmag.co.za

Protocol MagazineOwner and Publisher: Invensys Operations Management Southern Africa

Marketing Manager: Jaco Markwat [email protected]

Editor: Denis du Buisson, GMT [email protected]

Advertising Sales: Heather Simpkins, The Marketing [email protected]

Distribution:Nikita Wagner [email protected]

ContributorsMany thanks to the following for their contributions to this issue of the magazine:

Contents2 Editor’s notes

3 The South African mining

industry in perspective

8Wonderware solutions in the

Metals and Mining industry

11Some of the challenges facing

the Metals and Mining industry in

South Africa

15Applying best-practice IT and

other principles to industry

19Remote Operations Centres in

mining

22Driving real-time profi tability

across mining enterprises

24Real-time operations

management in the metals,

minerals and mining industry

26Mining for operational

excellence

34Dynamic Performance

Measurement (DPM)

36Performance excellence for the

mining and minerals industry with

ArchestrA Workfl ow Software

40Wonderware solutions at work in

the SA Metals and Mining industry

41 Information is a diamond mine’s

best friend at Debswana

45“Proof of the pudding” in action

at SA’s newest iron ore mine

50Invensys Wonderware’s ArchestrA

helps SIs encapsulate and market IP

5358 thin clients replace stand-

alone PCs at RBCT with help

from Wonderware

56Keeping the networks in check

at Lonmin

59The cost of operating outside

baseline in mining

61Metals, Minerals and Mining

dictionary

63 Events: X-CHANGE 2013

68 Invensys Sentinel Services

70 Customer FIRST

712013 Training Schedule

(Johannesburg)

72Use Protocol Magazine to

generate business opportunities

74 On the lighter side

76 Protocol crossword #56

• Lorraine Kearney of SouthAfrica.info for the article on the South African mining industry

• Mike le Plastrier of Invensys Operations Management Southern Africa for the article on applying best-practice IT and other principles to industry

• Bob Cook, Serena Lang and Peter G. Martin of Invensys Operations Management for the article on driving real-time profi tability across mining enterprises

• Russell Barr and Robert E Cook of Invensys Systems Inc. for the article on mining for operational excellence

• Dr. Kobus van der Merwe of Industrial Management Enhancement for the article on operating outside baseline in mining

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012

Contents

2 | www.protocolmag.co.za

Editor’s Notes

Metals and Mining – one tough industry

When we talk about the “supply chain”,

we normally talk about manufacturers, their

suppliers and their customers. But metals

and mining, like farming or oil production, is

at the very start of a large number of supply

chains. This can be a good or bad thing. It’s

a good thing because if one manufacturing

industry slows down (e.g. automotive),

others may continue unaffected by market

conditions. It’s a bad thing because

conversely, slow-down in any industry that

uses metals as raw material for its wealth-

creating processes (of which there are many

– e.g. construction) will affect the metals and

mining industry.

In addition, mining is a capital and labour

intensive activity fraught with hazards

and dangers while metal refi ning relies

on complex processes which, if not done

exactly right, can make the difference

between profi t and loss. And then there’s

the pegging of metal and mineral prices by

world markets which means that any increase

in profi tability has to come from improved

effi ciency.

So why on Earth would anyone choose to

start a business in this industry? Figure 1 may

provide a clue.

Mineral sales keep on rocketing in spite

(or perhaps because?) of a reduction in

production (fi gure 2). The reason for this

is probably because, irrespective of what

happens and market conditions, the world

needs metals and minerals and always will.

Substitutes may be found for petroleum but

there’s no viable substitute for iron, gold,

platinum or any of the other fundamental

minerals this industry produces.

The total world dependence on this industry

and huge potential revenues are some of

the very good reasons for getting into this

business

So, if South African production can be

improved, it’s staggering to think what

our metals, minerals and mining industry

could achieve.

We’re not just sitting on a gold mine. We’re

sitting on a golden opportunity.

Until next time,

Denis du Buisson

[email protected]

Figure 1

Figure 2


ASSMANG’s Khumani iron ore mine

The South African mining industry in perspective

By Lorraine Kearney, SouthAfrica.info reporter - August 2012

Mining and minerals in South Africa

South Africa is a world leader in mining.

The country is famous for its abundance

of mineral resources, accounting for a

significant proportion of world production

and reserves, and South African mining

companies are key players in the global

industry.

Mineral wealth

South Africa’s total reserves remain some of

the world’s most valuable, with an estimated

worth of R20.3-trillion ($2.5-trillion). Overall,

the country is estimated to have the world’s

fifth-largest mining sector in terms of GDP

value.

It has the world’s largest reserves of

manganese and platinum group metals

(PGMs), according to the US Geological

Survey and among the largest reserves of

gold, diamonds, chromite ore and vanadium.

With South Africa’s economy built on gold

and diamond mining, the sector is an

important foreign exchange earner, with

gold accounting for more than one-third

of exports. In 2009, the country’s diamond

industry was the fourth largest in the world.

South Africa is also a major producer of coal,

manganese and chrome.

There is considerable potential for the

discovery of other world-class deposits in

areas yet to be exhaustively explored. South

Africa’s prolific mineral reserves include

precious metals and minerals, energy

minerals, non-ferrous metals and minerals,

ferrous minerals, and industrial minerals.

Given its history and mineral wealth, it

is no surprise that the country’s mining

companies are key players in the global

industry. Its strengths include a high level

of technical and production expertise, and

comprehensive research and development

activities.

World-class primary processing facilities

work with carbon steel, stainless steel,

aluminium, gold and platinum. South Africa

is also a world leader of new technologies,

such as a ground-breaking process that

converts low-grade superfine iron ore into

high- quality iron units.

Contribution to the economy

With the growth of South Africa’s secondary

and tertiary industries, the relative

contribution of mining to South Africa’s

gross domestic product (GDP) has declined

over the past 10 to 20 years.



Nonetheless, the industry is continually

adapting to changing local and international

world conditions, and remains a cornerstone

of the economy, making a significant

contribution to economic activity, job creation

and foreign exchange earnings. Mining and

its related industries are critical to South

Africa’s socio-economic development.

The sector accounts for roughly one-third

of the market capitalisation of the JSE, and

continues to act as a magnet for foreign

investment in the country.

Mining, according to the Chamber of Mines:

• Creates one million jobs (500 000 direct

and 500 000 indirect).

• Accounts for about 18% of GDP (8.6%

direct, 10% indirect and induced).

• Is a critical earner of foreign exchange at

more than 50%.

• Accounts for 20% of investment (12%

direct).

• Attracts significant foreign savings (R1.9-

trillion or 43% of value of JSE).

• Accounts for 13.2% of corporate tax

receipts (R17-billion in 2010) and R6-billion

in royalties.

• Accounts for R441-billion in expenditures,

R407-billion spent locally.

• Accounts for R78-billion spent in wages

and salaries.

• Accounts for 50% of volume of Transnet’s

rail and ports.

• Accounts for 94% of electricity generation

via coal power plants.

• Takes 15% of electricity demand.

• Supplies coal for about 37% of the

country’s liquid fuels.

The chamber says total mining expenditure

in 2010 was R441-billion, of which:

• R228.4-billion was spent on purchases and

operating costs (timber, steel, explosives,

electricity, transport, uniforms, etc.

• R78.4-billion went on salaries and wages

for mine employees.

• R49-billion on Capex (the lifeblood of

mining).

• R17.1-billion in tax.

• R16.2-billion in dividends (only 3.7% of

total).

• R38-billion on depreciation and

impairments.

• R13-billion on interest to the banks.

Of this, R409-billion (92%) was spent locally,

and the spending multipliers created as

much economic value and jobs as the direct

mining sector contributed. In addition, the

listed mining companies represent more

than 30% of the market capitalisation of the

Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

There are other contributions to the

economy: extraction-related industries are

a key driver of the Johannesburg Stock

Exchange, representing 42%, or R1.9-trillion,

of its value. Mining also provides the

feedstock for about 94% of the country’s

electricity generating capacity.

The value of total sales increased by 24.8%

to R302.2-billion ($37-billion) in 2010, and the

three top-selling minerals – PGMs, coal and

gold – accounted for 66.3% of total mineral

sales.

South Africa’s mineral reserves are well-

mapped, but despite having the world’s

largest in-situ value of mineral resources,

the country only accounts for 3% of total

greenfield mining projects planned for the

next decade.

Beneficiation and other policies

In the 2011/12 Fraser Institute Survey, South

Africa was ranked 54th out of 93 countries

and provinces (from 67th out of 79 the year

before). The Fraser Institute, a leading

Canadian think tank, measures the policy

attractiveness of mining destinations by

polling mining company executives.

Lucrative opportunities exist for downstream

processing and adding value locally to iron,

carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminium,

PGMs and gold. A wide range of materials

is available for jewellery, other than gold,

platinum and diamonds; there is also tiger’s

eye and many other semiprecious stones.

For this purpose, the government has

developed a minerals beneficiation strategy

as a key area for potential growth. It is

planned to transform the industry from

being largely resource-based to knowledge-

based. Downstream activities are already

well-developed, and downstream products

from the industry used locally include

cement, steel, liquid fuels, electricity,

polymers and plastics, with an estimated

total sales value of R200 billion ($24.6 billion).

South Africa’s beneficiation strategy

compliments other government

programmes, and the mining industry value

chain has been prioritised as an economic

growth node in the New Growth Path, which

highlights a path for the industry out of its

depression until 2020.

The Mining Industry Growth Development

and Employment Task Team (Migdett) was

established at the height of the global

financial crisis in 2008, with stakeholders from

the government, industry and labour. They

committed to achieve two critical outcomes:

• To help the industry manage the negative

effects of the global economic crisis and

to save jobs; and

• To position the industry for growth

and transformation in the medium to

long term.

An arc furnace in action


Black economic empowerment

By the end of 2011, South Africa’s mining

industry was the largest contributor of

economic transformation, with broad-based

black economic empowerment (BBBEE)

deals worth R150-billion completed. Black

economic empowerment targets apply to all

companies in the country, meaning a certain

percentage of local assets must be sold to

black South Africans.

But with black ownership of the mining

sector at 8.9% in 2009 – well below the

target of 15% by 2007 – the government

is putting significant pressure on mines to

reach the next target of 26% by 2014.

Nationalisation

The nationalisation debate holds sway over

the industry and investment in it, despite

the government and the ruling African

National Congress repeatedly stating that

nationalisation of mines is not policy. The

party’s Youth League and other groups have

called for mines to be nationalised, and

there are ongoing debates about licences,

royalties and ownership.

In August 2012, President Jacob Zuma

told a meeting of diplomats that South

Africa had rejected the proposal of a

blanket nationalisation of mine, and would

instead focus on proposals that sought to

ensure the country benefitted more from

mining without disrupting the sector. State

involvement could take the form of part

ownership or full ownership of mines for

selected minerals to help drive development

programmes.

There is also a proposal for a tax on windfall

profits on mining. Zuma said this would help

facilitate economic growth and employment

creation. A final policy is expected to be

adopted for implementation in December.

Junior sector and small-scale mining

The junior mining sector in South Africa

was born of new legislation in the form

of the Mining and Petroleum Resources

Development Act of 2006. The law enforced

a “use it or lose it” principle, stipulating that

Overview of ASSMANG’s Black Rock manganese beneficiation plant.

mining rights not used by mining companies

to exploit minerals in the ground would

revert back to the state.

Unused mining rights held by mining

groups, but not used for years, were

awarded to newly established junior

companies that showed themselves to be

true mining entrepreneurs.

The Nedbank South African Junior Mining

and Exploration Index, established in

September 2006, provides a measure of

performance of all the South African-

listed junior mining and exploration

stocks, excluding oil and gas. To meet

investor demand for a tradeable entry

into these shares, a derivative version of

this index was launched a few months

later. The Nedbank South African

Junior Mining & Exploration Index

Excluding Dual Listed Shares (NSJMEX)

was constructed mainly to satisfy forex

regulations of the Reserve Bank regarding

constraints on inward dual listed shares

and derivative products.

Listings from all the JSE’s boards qualify, but



Top40 Index constituents (or similar-sized

stocks) and companies controlled by other JSE-

listed companies, are excluded. The index was

designed as a performance benchmark and,

because of low liquidity, it is not recommended

for use as an investable product.

The Department of Mineral Resources believes

small-scale mining has an important role to

play in community upliftment, job creation

and poverty alleviation. It is developing a

new approach to maximise the impact of

small-scale mining, with particular focus on

poverty nodal points with mining potential,

intended to contribute meaningfully towards

the livelihood of these communities.

There are many challenges, however,

such as a lack of access to finance

and markets, shortage of skills and

Richard’s Bay Coal Terminal

inadequate or non-compliance with

regulatory requirements.

Historically, small-scale mining has

comprised mainly alluvial diamond and

in-land salt mining, but more recently the

bulk of the demand for small-scale mining

ventures has been associated with industrial

commodities, such as slate, sand, clay,

sandstone, dolerite and granites for the

production of infrastructural development

products such as tiles, clay and cement

bricks as well as aggregates.

These activities should not be confused

with illegal mining, which is mining in the

absence of land rights, mining licence,

exploration or mineral transportation permit

or of any document that could legitimise the

on-going operations. Illegal mining by single

individuals or groups in abandoned mines is

an ongoing hazard.

Environmentally responsible

Through the implementation of more

stringent regulations, South Africa’s mining

industry has become safer as well as more

socially and environmentally conscious.

Companies are required to allow for

environmental trust funds and rehabilitation

of disturbed land. There is also a R70-million

project in place to solve the legacy problem

of acid mine drainage.

Sources:

• Chamber of Mines

• Statistics South Africa

• South African Yearbook

• Department of Mineral Resources

• Department of Trade and Industry

• South African Investors Handbook

• BuaNews

• Oxford Business Group

Read more at: http://www.southafrica.

info/business/economy/sectors/mining.

htm#ixzz25mGhTYax


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Wonderware solutions in the Metals and Mining industry


Introduction

The mining and refi ning industry spans

a wide variety of applications and

environments. As such, its process control

and production information delivery systems

need to have special attributes that include

coping with geographically distributed

situations and rugged environments

while integrating diverse and disparate

technologies that have been adopted over

possibly decades.

Mining companies that are contemplating

adopting today’s industrial automation and

information technologies are concerned

about preserving these past investments

while operating in a challenging present and

being wary of uncertain future global market

trends.

As if this weren’t enough, these companies

also depend on a large labour force as well

as extremely costly and capital-intensive

plants. So when it comes to industrial

automation and information solutions, these

had better be true solutions rather than

another layer of challenges

The benefi t of Wonderware solutions from Invensys Operations Management

Innovative solutions and global reach

With over 1,900 sites and 24,000 licences

installed across the global metals and

mining industry, many of the world’s leading

companies depend on Wonderware

solutions for their industrial and

manufacturing needs. This is especially true

in Southern Africa where the great majority

of mining companies use Wonderware

products ranging from SCADA / HMI and

MES to EMI and Enterprise Integration.

As the fi rst major HMI software offering to

begin running on Microsoft Windows more

than 20 years ago, Invensys’ Wonderware

brand has been synonymous with continuous

innovation and ease of use. Over this long

history, the ARC Advisory Group’s HMI

software and services study has consistently

listed the Wonderware brand as one of the

top market share leaders. In the 2011 ARC

report, which covers the 2010 calendar year,

Invensys Operations Management outpaced

Wonderware solutions in the Metals and Mining industry


market growth to gain the #1 position in

market share, increasing its percentage lead

over its nearest competitor.

Wonderware has always pioneered solutions

most wanted and needed by industrial

automation engineers. From InTouch 1.0

in 1990 to ArchestrA technology in 2003

and today’s virtualisation-ready solutions,

Wonderware has always stayed ahead of the

pack. Today, Wonderware’s extensive range

of integrated industrial IT solutions conform

to and facilitate the use of international

standards so that you never get stuck

with proprietary solutions that can’t be

maintained beyond the longevity of their

creators.

This is an important point because mining

companies distinguish themselves through

their ability to remain profitable in a

highly competitive global industry. They

thrive because they are all unique in their

approaches to wealth creation. It stands to

reason, therefore, that “one size of industrial

IT solution doesn’t fit all” – especially at the

production level. So how does one develop

enterprise information and control solutions

that are unique to each company without the

stigma of “bespoke solutions” that smack

of dead-end, proprietary software that is

a nightmare to support and expensive to

maintain?

A solid foundation

It can be done with an infrastructure that must

encourage and actually enforce the use of

company, industry and international standards.

This means that bespoke development and

customisation becomes an open exercise

where anyone with the required intellectual

property can contribute application

knowledge and where disparate solutions

from a variety of suppliers (even hardware) can

coexist in harmony and have a future.

This is the domain of Wonderware’s System

Platform based on ArchestrA technology as

are all of Wonderware’s products. We don’t

pretend to have all the solutions needed

for your mining company but we most

definitely have the key functionality you

require underpinned by the most advanced

object-oriented industrial Service Oriented

Architecture (SOA) technology that will allow

you or your system integrator to optimise

processes and to customise systems to meet

your exact and evolving real-time decision

support needs.

Expert support

Wonderware’s innovative and proven

technology is backed by a training and

support organisation that ensures customers

get the most from their investments. In

2012, Wonderware Southern Africa won

the prestigious Distinguished Distributor

Award for the Europe Russia and Africa

(EURA) region for achieving some notable

milestones including:

• Highest percentage of customers in the

EURA region registered on Invensys’

Customer First programme - a multi-

level software maintenance and support

initiative to help customers get maximum

value from their Invensys Wonderware

software solutions.

• Highest Customer First renewal rate (88%).

• Highest customer satisfaction index.

• High degree of self-sufficiency and local

expertise with less than 5% of support

cases escalated to Invensys Level 2

support.

• Highest proportion of certified support

engineers that have passed an average

of 5 Certified Solution Provider

examinations.

The addition of Invensys Sentinel

Services has ensured the constant (24/7)

remote monitoring of the performance

of Wonderware software assets and the

hardware on which they run. This proactive

approach helps to detect threatening

trends and to fix issues before they affect

production.

Large and knowledgeable system integrator network

Wonderware Southern Africa’s customers are

system integrators or end-users who have the

technical expertise to implement their own

solutions. We are fortunate to be associated

with a large group of system integrators who

are true experts in the metals and mining

industry and who are responsible for some

world-leading implementations in Southern

and sub-Saharan Africa. If you don’t want

to implement your own systems or software

solutions, we’ll make sure you’re in good

hands.


Some of the challenges facing the Metals and Mining industry in South Africa

Health and safety

Intelligent information

One of the major contributors to health and

safety is accurate real-time information on

tap anywhere throughout the mine. This

information needs to be available 100% of

the time irrespective of power failures, server

malfunctions or network failures. Whether

it’s alarm, machinery or process status

information, it needs to be available instantly

by a wide variety of users. Intelligent

alarming coupled to telecommunications

facilities or widely-distributed low-cost

compact panel computers are alternative

ways of ensuring that the right people get

the right message at the right time. Portable

computers and smart phones also allow for

the monitoring of real-time activities and

the entry of observations while on the move.

Other contributors to health and safety are

the centralisation of operations irrespective

of the diversity of disparate systems in use

at the mine.

Event resolution

Whether it’s a safety emergency or a

production stoppage, the right personnel

must know what to do without hesitation

because this is not the time for trial

and error. This makes human workflow

mapping and management mandatory,

especially in cases of staff changes.

Workflow management provides the

degree of escalation and the definition

of responsibility and actions necessary

for the rapid resolution of abnormal

events.

Minimising production costs

With resource prices fi xed on the open

market, the only way to increase turnover

is to increase mining volumes and the only

way to increase profi tability is to reduce

costs in the face of increasing raw material

and energy costs. In other words, the way to

create shareholder value is to mine effi ciently

and improve product quality – the important

factors for customers looking to differentiate

suppliers from one another (the ability

to supply speciality steels is yet another

differentiator and highlights the supplier’s

fl exibility in meeting market demands).

Mining is an extremely expensive business

that relies on the optimisation of all

production processes for a healthy bottom

line. Minimising production costs includes:

Process optimisation

Heavy plant such as ROM Mills need to be

optimised since their output largely defi nes

the effi ciency of downstream processes.

These plants are also large consumers

of electricity. Getting it right is often a

tricky business that requires the use of

Advanced Process Control and Statistical

Process Control (SPC) algorithms that can

be adjusted on-line for optimum results.

Continuous and incremental process

improvement is one of the keys for sustained

competitiveness.



A dilemma facing production engineers is

that more tonnage may mean lower quality

(or poor grind), which increases mining

recovery costs. On the other hand, lower

tonnage and a good quality grind means

lost processing time and lower revenue

for the mine. Another issue that must be

accounted for is that quantity and quality

are usually inversely related. Attempting to

increase or improve on one is often at the

expense of the other.

Obviously, it is desirable to operate a

process as close as possible to the point of

maximum profit for as long as possible but

this is not always easy to achieve, especially

when the “optimum” point is variable or

changes occur in parameters outside the

plant operation leading to a shift in the

“optimum” operating point.

These mission-critical juggling tricks can’t

be performed without human knowledge

and expert systems as well as effective

and dynamic real-time information tools

designed to cope with change.

Improved capital plant ROI

Mining machinery such as refrigeration

plants, conveyors, diggers, trucks, etc. is

costly and its life needs to be extended

as long as possible. This can be achieved

through the rigorous, real-time monitoring

of downtime and Overall Equipment

Effectiveness (OEE) as well as effective

maintenance based on reality rather than the

calendar.

Reduced downtime

It goes without saying that downtime on

high-value production lines is an expensive

business. Reducing downtime involves the

optimum use and maintenance of plant,

which is difficult to achieve without the

real-time determination of OEE, historical

trending and precisely matching production

with demand.

Proactive process control

Fixing problems after the fact is often

unavoidable but costly. It’s far better to

monitor trends and to detect potential

problem areas before they become

threatening. This can be achieved through

access to real-time data that is collated and

presented in the form most relevant to the

decision makers who have to use it.

Reduced engineering costs

The mining industry has to perform under

increasingly tight budgetary constraints but

with fewer and fewer engineers. One way of

doing this is to define, deploy and maintain

standards with regard to plant items. Most

mining groups have a large geographic

spread between shafts and above ground

beneficiation plants. Only Wonderware’s

System Platform can create a single robust

“galaxy” of all these remote systems (with

full redundancy) so that all plants can be

looked at in a single virtual environment.

Such a system means that changes can

be made to the master template and

propagated instantly to all instances of that

item throughout the whole geographic

spread of the mine. This can greatly reduce

engineering costs on expansion projects

especially since all the engineering can be

done centrally irrespective of the size of the

mine or even how many mines are involved

or their geographical locations. Standards

also result in a lower cost of ownership for

the automation system as a whole.

Reduced maintenance costs

The capital-intensive equipment used in

mining operations and refineries needs

to be monitored on a 24/7 basis and its

operational life needs to be extended

as long as possible. In order to do this,

it’s important that maintenance be done

through intelligent diagnosis rather than by

schedules. In that way, there is a proactive

approach to maintenance rather than fixing

things that only need repairing because

a calendar said so. One way of reducing

maintenance and production costs is

through the real-time measurement of

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).

A key aspect of reducing maintenance costs

is to ensure that the Planned Maintenance

System (may be stand alone or as part of

the ERP) is kept up to date with detailed

production data (motor running hours,

compressor start/stops, tons throughput,

etc.). If such updates between shop floor

and maintenance systems are handled

automatically, this encourages maintenance

based on usage rather than on elapsed time.

Preserving past investments

Most mines have a collection of disparate

PLCs and automation systems as they

evolved over time. Although these are

valuable assets, what’s far more valuable is

the engineering time and effort that was

invested in their proper operation. Yet, the

information from these diverse systems

must all contribute to a seamless real-time

database from which all the necessary

decision-support information can be

collated. What’s needed in these instances

is a system that is designed with this very


scenario in mind and that can make all these

systems work in concert.

Streamlining beneficiation / refining processes

Predictable product quality

The competitive edge allowing a supplier

to increase revenue is product quality.

In product beneficiation and refining,

consistent product quality is an indication of

a successful process that has less wastage

and rework. In order to consistently and

predictably deliver quality products,

processes need to be standardised and

strictly controlled. This means that software

solutions must enforce the development,

deployment and maintenance of company

standards as well as the implementation

of international standards with respect to

the interchange of information between

disciplines such as SCADA, MOM

(Manufacturing Operations Management)

and ERP. A refinery process, for example,

can’t happen in the absence of the

company’s business processes and the ease

of interaction between them is a definite

contributor to lowering costs through the

improved exchange of decision-support

information.

Metal accounting

Based on the premise that “what goes

in must come out” and due to the very

high value of processed metals, real-time

inventory is mandatory for precious metal

accounting purposes. It’s important to keep

a tight rein on the crucial parameters of

“input” and “output” mass and components

because a discrepancy could be an

indication of a process or security problem.

Maintaining proper metal accounting

procedures won’t reduce production

costs but will explain their “inexplicable”

rise. Today, metal accounting is being

continuously refined through tighter security

measurements and sophisticated advanced

process control applications for the detailed

diagnosis of even the most complex process

problems in real-time.

Metal accounting is a statistically rigorous

process with an extensive audit trail, which

should not be confused with production

information/accounting systems, which

typically provide best available information

on a real time basis. both are absolute

requirements in the precious metal industry

while production accounting is often all that

is required in base metal and other mining

environments.

Security

With high value metals such as gold and the

Platinum Group Metals or PGM (platinum,

palladium, gold, rhodium, ruthenium

and iridium), the lack of security can lead

to significant erosion of profits because

criminals are only interested in the final

(and therefore most valuable) version of the

product. So, at the system level, security

functions should include the facility to define

groups of users, material flows and operator

functions per activity and per location. User

access to the system should be limited

to their areas of responsibility. Regarding

transaction security, any information system

should check that the material is received at

the requested destination, that the received

mass is within the specified tolerance for

that particular material and that the correct

group of users receives the material. This

includes more business rules that have

to do with the dispatcher of the material

in question. A failed transaction should

then automatically warn the appropriate

responsible person by cell phone (because

there’s no time to lose) and also by e-mail for

confirmation.

Audit trail

This is yet another aspect of security

because, due to the high value of the

processes in question, it is vital to know

where responsibilities lie and who was

responsible for which actions and/or

decisions as well as who was responsible

for authorising them. Maintaining an

audit trail is one way of keeping track of

responsibilities. Those mining environments

that are under the Sarbanes Oxley whip will

find that audit trails are an essential part of

doing business.

Increasing first-pass efficiency

In the platinum refining industry for example,

increasing the first pass (concentrate

dissolving) efficiency plays an important part

in reducing the production costs of the final

product. This will require the integration

of real-time data with intellectual property

blended into an advanced process control

system with purpose-built diagnostic and

recovery algorithms.

Optimising energy usage

Throughout the metal refining process,

energy is an important consideration and the

real-time determination of the efficiency with

which that energy is used is key to reducing

production costs.

Identifying bottlenecks

Metal refining and processing is the tip of a

large production pyramid and bottlenecks

here tend to be far more visible than

elsewhere. But identifying bottlenecks isn’t

as simple as it sounds. Just because process

B seems to have a lot of material piling

up doesn’t automatically mean that it is to

blame. It could have to contend with poor

quality output from process A that, in turn,

could be accepting sub-grade material from

the mine. Identifying bottlenecks requires

the recording and real-time analysis of

production events as well as the ability to

“play these back” where discrepancies

in process performance can be readily

identified.

Flexibility

With the increasing need for speciality steel,

comes the need for enterprise flexibility that

can specify, implement and monitor new

processes at a moment’s notice.

Dealing with complexity

Steel products must be made to comply

with complex and changing customer

requirements, which, in turn, must lead

to strict and repeatable process control

procedures in a difficult environment of

changing variables. Today’s MES (and ERP)

solutions are designed to handle problems

of such complexity.

Dealing with the “not-so-obvious”

Since quantity and quality are often inversely

proportional, “maximum output” doesn’t

necessarily dovetail with “maximum profit.”

Determining that optimum point can only

be done with careful measurements in real

time coupled with knowledgeable decision-



making. Also more input tonnage may seem

like a good think but may actually “clog

up the works” with low-grade ore that will

simply erode profits since the processing for

low and high grade ore is the same.

Maintaining information integrity

System availability

From underground conveyors to stacker/

reclaimers, mining machinery and operations

are spread over a wide area, hostile to

standard computing platforms and networks.

Yet, all these areas are sources of data that

contribute to knowledge about the status of

the mine and they can’t afford to be off-line.

This is the domain of ruggedised box, panel,

tablet and “thin client” computers as well

as wireless connectivity where it makes

sense. Another aspect may be the necessity

for nothing less than “five nines” (99.999%)

availability of servers which, in turn, must

offer 100% redundancy facilities with respect

to data storage and integrity.

Distributed data sources

From the mine to the refinery to the

laboratory is still one enterprise. This

requires an approach called GeoSCADA

(geographically distributed SCADA systems)

with a centralised data collection and

collation facility that ensures the information

integrity of the supply chain. This becomes

even more important when having to

integrate with the enterprise’s ERP system

and true MES functionality is impossible

without it. Since laboratory analyses are the

control for refinery operations, they need to

be validated and tight LIMS integration is

important.

Implementing enterprise integration (production, MOM/MES and ERP)

A mine is the mining company’s “shop

floor”. Its need for SCADA and MOM/

MES functionality can’t be divorced from

the needs of the enterprise as a whole.

Head office management needs to be

able to check on production status and

problem areas at will and this requires

that they have drill-down access to the

mine’s real-time information base. Financial

planners need to tie production to their

business plans while monitoring plant

ROI and efficiency. Business managers

may have to satisfy customer demands by

combining the production of a number of

mines and this may mean that they have

to treat the enterprise’s mines as a single

production facility rather than individual

units. All this can’t happen without ties

between the enterprise’s ERP, MOM/MES

and production control systems. It also can’t

happen without a mine model that reflects

the company’s business model.

While the Wonderware System Platform

allows for Enterprise Integration, those

mining houses using SAP would make use

of Wonderware’s tight integration to SAP

xMII (Cross Application for Manufacturing

Integration and Intelligence). This has

already been used extensively in Southern

Africa.


Applying best-practice IT and other principles to industry

Mike le Plastrier, MD, Invensys Operations Management Southern Africa

Introduction

The traditional arsenal that plant managers

and automation engineers have had at

their disposal to get the job done has

included everything from sensors, data

loggers and PLCs to CNC machines, robotic

welders and bottling lines to name a few.

In addition, this arsenal includes everything

to do with automation including DCS,

SCADA and historians as well as a multitude

of sophisticated software solutions and

complex computer networks. Interestingly

almost all of these “items” now belong to

the connected world – very few of them

reside in a disconnected state. This results in

the opportunity to ensure that we are able

to apply globally-recognised best practice

tools to manage these assets. While some

industrial environments are doing this,

our fi nding is that many are still managing

their connected assets largely in isolation

of traditional “business” IT infl uence and

well-proven approaches.

Traditional IT has a very formalised structure

with well-defi ned governance which

mediates an orderly approach to information

management and associated systems.

This is also the case in some of the better

organised industrial environments but

many don’t have fully-managed networks

or a well-defi ned infrastructure. And very

often this infrastructure is not visible to the

CIO. According to Gartner, architectural

decisions should embrace the plant fl oor. An

architecture that does not reach the sensor

level is incomplete. The bottom line is that

manufacturing CIOs can and should exercise

governance over technology from an

architectural perspective, as well as a tactical

operational one.

The result is that industrial IT (often referred

to as OT – Operations Technology) may

be missing out on numerous benefi ts

which can be realised from adopting

business IT principles, approaches and

best practices. In these diffi cult economic

times, it’s probably a good idea to examine

how industrial IT could benefi t by using

the well-invented wheel of its business

counterpart. It’s important to note that what

follows isn’t new technology by any means

and it’s certainly not new to business IT,

yet it will make a signifi cant and fi nancially

benefi cial difference to industrial operations

management.

IT best practices applicable to industry

Thin client computing

Thin clients have, in the past, been seen by

many as “dumb”, “green screen” terminals

of doubtful value. But all that has changed

dramatically. Today’s thin clients provide all

the rich functionality of PCs and sometimes

even more. And they do it at greatly reduced

cost, increased reliability and with minimal

maintenance needs and support costs.

Thin clients have no moving parts (fan,

disc) and so are ideally suited to the

hostile environments often encountered

on mining and manufacturing sites

(heat, dust, vibration, shock). Thin client

computers are excellent for SCADA/HMI

applications requiring remote, secure and

locked-down operations, protecting against

potential system tampering.

Insofar as maintenance is concerned, in

the rare event that a unit should fail, it can

simply be replaced by a working model

– instantly – no software to be loaded or

reconfi guration necessary because thin



clients get everything they need from their

server(s).

Then there’s the issue of support. Imagine

a large mining site with say, 40 widely-

dispersed workstations. Comes the day

for a software upgrade and somebody has

to travel to each and every PC, install the

software, reboot the system and make sure

everything is as it should be – possibly an

hour’s work per machine. If this was a site

based on thin client architecture, the new

software would simply be installed on the

terminal server and all the clients would all

have immediate and simultaneous access

to it.

A thin client environment starts with

the installation of a terminal server and

associated operating system, HMI software,

HMI development tools, e-mail client

software and any other necessary software

such as PLC communications (note that it’s

important to verify that any HMI or other

software to be used in this environment is

certified as thin client-ready).

Thereafter, personalised desktops are not

associated with the PC but with the user. So,

an engineer, for example, can move from his

own workstation to the server room or the

control room and he will always get the same

desktop that he needs which means that

dedicated engineering stations are no longer

needed. The same is true for operators. This

job or function-based concept of desktops

means that users can’t do anything they’re

not entitled to do. And because there’s

no USB port or disc slot, playing games or

introducing malware is impossible.

A single thin client computer can have a

mouse and keyboard as well as up to five

monitors. It can also be connected to a

video camera for views of the production

process or for safety or security reasons.

Since all thin clients are dependent on

central servers, a failure here can’t be

tolerated so multiple servers can be installed

allowing for automatic redundancy and load

sharing (figure 1).Note that while standard

Microsoft Terminal Services provides many

of these features, our experience has

indicated that specialist add-ons such as

ThinManager from ACP handles redundancy

and load sharing better and usually provides

an enhanced thin client environment.

Banks have been using the concept of

thin clients for years and probably the only

reason it is not being used more extensively

in industry may be because industrial IT

personnel are not fully aware of its huge

financial and operational benefits that

should make the decision to adopt this

technology a no-brainer.

Virtualisation

The availability of increasingly more powerful

computers, especially servers, has meant

Figure 1: Terminal servers can provide redundancy and load sharing while working in collaboration with existing servers


that their full potential is rarely used with

CPU utilisation typically in the 5-15% region.

This has prompted the field of virtualisation

where several virtual servers can run on a

single physical server, saving space, power

and optimising the use of existing assets.

While this sounds like putting all the eggs

in one computing basket with the danger of

losing everything if something goes wrong,

the reality is quite different. That’s because

redundancy is so much easier to manage

and implement in the virtual environment

with a second physical server that can take

over automatically in the event of failure.

Also, this same technology provides for load

balancing so that applications can be run on

the server with more spare capacity when

needed. Maintenance is also much easier.

For example, it’s possible to make a copy

of a virtual server, update all its software

off-line while the original does the work and

then replace the original with the updated

copy without interruption of service. This

is especially applicable to the testing of

software before final deployment.

Yet another feature is that each virtual server

runs its own operating system which means

that even the oldest of DOS or Windows

NT4 applications, for example, can be

hosted whereas this wouldn’t be possible on

a modern-day server.

Using virtualisation, the server room

depicted in figure 1 could probably be

reduced to two or three physical servers as

shown in figure 2.

The enabling technologies for virtualisation

are Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and

VMware. As with thin client servers, software

must be certified to run in the virtual

environment.

Monitoring of industrial IT assets

Throughout the IT world, the monitoring of

technology assets is standard practice to

the degree that it would be difficult to find

an IT department that would contemplate

operating without this. Yet the hardware and

software assets that monitor and control

a mining or manufacturing company’s

very reason for existence are left largely

to their own devices. Industrial IT isn’t

infallible and who gets called when it fails?

The maintenance technician, who might

be a genius insofar as repairing electrical

circuits, instrumentation and even some

computer aspects, but hasn’t been trained

in establishing the reason for an abnormal

level of polling retries by a SCADA system,

for example.

Monitoring asset performance from SCADA

to MES and beyond requires specialist and

specific knowledge, not only in detecting

anomalies but in suggesting a cure

before they become mission-affecting. In

production, a problem manifests itself in a

plant shutdown by which time it’s already

much too late. Failures rarely just happen.

Potentially threatening trends need to be

detected on a 24/7 basis by experts in the

field.

Invensys Operations Management in South

Africa offers such a service by installing

special agent software on each Wonderware

server located at customer sites. These

agents monitor the system continuously

to ensure that critical resources are

performing within best practice norms. If an

unacceptable threshold is reached, an alarm

is raised and Invensys engineers are alerted

before an issue develops. This triggers an

event management process which remains

active until resolution of the problem. Pre-

empting faults before they escalate into real

downtime, results in increased uptime for

the production plant.

While a number of companies use their IT

systems to monitor shop floor computer

status (e.g. RAM, hard drive, CPU, etc.)

as well as network traffic density and

performance, they can’t monitor the

performance of applications. While such an

arrangement will detect a rise in network

congestion, for example, it won’t be able to

track down the reason to, say, polling retries

or scan overruns.

Change management and disaster recovery

Another given in the world of traditional

business IT is the concept of backups. Once

again, no IT department would ever consider

this as anything else but a mandatory and

well-regulated practice but this doesn’t

seem to be the case in industry. High quality

change management software products can

do it all at the industrial level automatically

by monitoring software changes to PLCs,

robots, drive systems, human-machine

interfaces, computer-based real-time control

and data acquisition systems as well as

documents that are related to those systems.

Benefits include real-time version control,

reduced process downtime, fast and

accurate recovery, pinpointing the location

of unknown changes, complete source

warehousing, historical records, source code

protection and insurance against mishaps.

It usually only takes one 2-hour, R2 million

shutdown while everyone scrambles around

for the last known working version of PLC

code to attract people’s attention to the

importance of such an initiative.

So much for the most important IT best

practices that should be adopted in industry.

Figure 2: Virtual servers configured within redundant and load sharing physical servers



What follows are other best practices which

are becoming increasingly important in any

production environment.

Other best practices

Central Information Room

For many large distributed companies that

operate nationally or across a continent like

Africa, putting skilled engineering personnel

at every plant can be costly and impractical

– this is especially true of mining companies

which, by definition, are geographically-

dispersed according to the distribution of

mineral resources.

To be effective, each mine should have an

expert metallurgist on hand to determine

if, for example, the crushing is being done

effectively or if the correct chemical mixture

is being used when extracting minerals. It’s

difficult to have this level of skills available

everywhere and the answer is to centralise

these skills at one location for the benefit of

all remote sites. These specialists wouldn’t

control the plants as this would still happen

locally, but they would be available in a

consulting and advisory capacity to guide and

optimise processes and for troubleshooting.

Such a centralised information facility

must be able to access systems from every

solution vendor and, while data at the

local sites needs to be of high resolution

for control purposes, the information sent

to the central information room needs to

be validated (which will require human

intervention), aggregated for bandwidth

reasons and contextualised (collated with

linked and supportive information) if it is

to make sense to the experts and analysts.

They must, in turn, be able to drill down to

the local detail level if necessary.

The implementation of an effective

information room will include the following:

• Establishing a physical central monitoring

facility – bringing the people together

• Development of standardised operational

procedures based on a common

information platform

• Formalising the procedures - this may

include a workflow capability (see next)

• Development of a dynamic simulation

models to assist in process/production

optimisation

A central information room based on this

will ensure that the company focuses its best

human assets into a centre of excellence at

the point of maximum leverage for improved

enterprise-wide results.

Human-level workflow management

Process malfunctions, for example, need to

be handled immediately and consistently

and this is a job for humans whose workflow

and collaboration to handle these situations

needs to be mapped as carefully as for any

process control system. Procedures to rectify

process or human errors are normally on

paper and prone to different interpretations.

The effectiveness of any action taken is

difficult to measure and rarely documented.

Did the procedure work or was it a waste of

time? Lots of paperwork isn’t the answer and

what happens if the person with the skills to

fix the problem leaves the company? Was

the problem escalated by the right person at

the right time? Who dropped the ball?

A workflow management solution is needed

which will ensure that the right people are

involved, that will monitor follow-ups and

manage escalation while also providing an

auditable trail of actions.

Conclusion

There is no doubt as to the financial and

operational benefits of adopting best

practices – that’s why they’re called best

practices. They are proven effective and no

experimentation is necessary. The industrial

world would benefit tremendously by

readily accepting sound, tested and proven

traditional IT principles and it would also

benefit the company by having a uniform

standard by which information and its

supportive technology is deployed and

employed throughout the enterprise.

Figure 3: Workflow management is a useful tool for the tracking and enforcing of event resolution


Remote Operations Centres in miningDenis du Buisson, editor, Protocol magazine

Any nationally or internationally-distributed

company has two main problems regarding

their geographical distribution: Knowing

what’s actually going on in their various

remote sites and servicing these sites with

the knowledge and expertise necessary to

keep them profi table.

In South Africa, Eskom, Transnet as well as

all distributed companies are examples of

enterprises faced with the daily reality of

optimising their geographically-dispersed

operations with limited technical resources

and expertise. This is especially true of large

mining companies

Running complex operations in

remote mining locations is becoming

more challenging due to the

increased diffi culty of attracting

experienced staff to work in these

locations. The increased focus on both

safety and production growth is also

leading to an increased interest in remotely

operated equipment. The escalating costs

of providing a 24x7 manned operation is

another driver for optimising the staffi ng

levels both on site and in the back-offi ce.

Remote Operations Centres (ROCs) are

collaborative environments that are used

for more than just managing the day to

day operations of equipment. Increasingly

they are used to monitor and control every

aspect of the operation, including providing

the data and information necessary at

different levels of the business for a variety

of purposes. The ROC is the nerve centre

of the operation which has been evolving in

capability to handle an increasing number of

tasks through its application in a number of

different industries.

A common theme from these industries

is that for ROCs to be successful, it is

necessary to incorporate and

integrate a number of emerging

technologies. These technologies

include new intelligent sensors, real-

time data collection and management,

advanced data and application integration,

expert systems for alarm management and

escalation, robust communications networks

within and between sites, linked geospatial

and document management systems and

collaboration rooms with both video and

data feeds.

The mining industry can learn from these

industries to achieve: fewer personnel

exposed to hazardous situations, better

reaction to tactical production issues and

emergency situations, more effi cient and

reliable operations, better production

throughput as well as better and more

collaborative strategic decisions.

The mining industry does not need to

break new ground to implement signifi cant

improvements in the remote management

of operations. The lessons already exist for

designing, developing, implementing and

running Remote Operations Centres.

For example, in 2010, mining giant Rio

Tinto launched its remote operations

centre as part of its “Mine of the Future”

concept. The centre features more than

200 controllers and schedulers and 230

planning and support staff to control mining

operations in the Pilbara region of Western

Australia - 1500km away from the centre’s

home in Perth. In a statement, Rio Tinto said

that the “high-technology, purpose-built”

operations centre is now the primary control

centre for the company’s network of mines,

rail systems, infrastructure facilities and port

operations in the Pilbara region.

ROCs are not new but a tried-and-proven

concept where “mission-critical” means

just that – and at the highest level. In

defence, there has been a revolution in

battlefi eld management, with the increased

use of remote sensor and communications

technologies providing real-time information

back to remote control and command

centres. While safety is a clear driver, the

increased fl ow of information also leads

to better tactical and strategic decisions.

The “fog of war” is gradually being lifted

by the use of smart technologies, which all

come together in the ROC.

Optimising the contribution of valuable human assets

Mining operations are complex and need

on-site management by skilled people such

as metallurgists and engineers – but such

experts are not readily available and so it

makes sense to optimise their contributions

from a central location so that all remote

sites can benefi t from their knowledge.

This, in turn, leads to a more uniform and

standardised approach to the resolution of

Remote Operations Centres in mining


issues and decision-making not to mention

the benefits that can be gained from experts

collaborating and communicating with one

another in a single locale and without delay

to address particularly thorny problems.

There’s also an indirect but highly-desirable

benefit to this centralised approach. For

anyone to make an informed decision

remotely, the data alone are not sufficient.

What’s also needed is the context in which

the data were obtained. For example, data

about a seemingly unproductive night shift

might have nothing to do with the personnel

involved but with delayed laboratory results,

ore quality, machinery failures or countless

other contributing factors. The necessity

for context forces the gathering of linked

ancillary information which, in turn, leads

to a better understanding of operating

conditions and ultimately, ideas for their

improvement.

Today, we have Enterprise Manufacturing

Intelligence solutions that are designed to

do just that.

Some of the benefits of ROCs

• Greater visibility of entire operations

to a wider audience, including off-

site specialists, leading to faster

and better reaction to tactical

production issues and emergency

situations

• Increased depth and breadth of

information, analysed in an integrated

and timely manner, leading to more

efficient operations, such as through the

detection of equipment degradation

before it impacts production

• Optimised production through more

timely and accurate operational

information delivered to all levels of

planning and operations, regardless

of location

• More informed strategic decisions

based on improved business processes

that deliver the right information to

the right people in the right time,

who collaborate more widely

• All this leading to higher production at

lower cost and lower operational risk.

Acknowledgement: Portions of this

article are extracts from the synopsis of a

Paper by Colin Farrelly and Rus Records,

presented at the CRCMining 2007

Australian Mining Technology Conference,

Perth, October 4-6, 2007

Rio Tinto’s ROC


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© Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Invensys, the Invensys logo, Avantis, Eurotherm, Foxboro, IMServ, InFusion, Skelta, SimSci-Esscor, Triconex and Wonderware are trademarks of Invensys plc, its subsidiaries or af�liates. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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Authors: Bob Cook, Director - Mining and Metal Processing, Invensys Operations Management Serena Lang, Business Value Consultant, Invensys Operations Management Peter G. Martin PhD, Vice President and Invensys Fellow, Invensys Operations Management

Mining industry dilemma

The metals market downturn of the past

decade is certainly behind us, but the

mining industry faces huge challenges as

global economic volatility is combined with

rising energy costs, constrained supply

and an ever-changing set of parameters

for which miners have to make decisions.

Meanwhile metal prices remain high and

future demand forecasts are positive. On

top of the market volatility, many mining

complexes are characterised by aging

assets, challenging locations, constrained

talent pools, traditional organisational

silos and unpredictable profitability. These

challenges have exacerbated the transition

from limited production to almost unlimited

demand.

Meeting these daunting challenges

requires a leap from the traditional

production approach to measurable,

real-time profitability control. Measurable

real-time profitability control not only

creates higher levels of profits, it also

provides a collaborative environment

through enterprise-wide visibility. This leads

to improved morale, better employee

retention, increased levels of safety,

improved environmental stewardship and

more exciting working environments to

better attract and retain the best talent.

The need for real- time profitability control

has been driven by a transition of mining

business variables from high stability

over extended time frames, to real-time

volatility that has negatively impacted the

industry over just the last decade. Mining

executives have recognised that although

their operational efficiency may be well

controlled, their profitability often appears

to be out of control. Invensys has developed

real-time profitability control for mining

enterprises to meet this need. Implementing

real- time profitability control involves

measuring the key business variables across

the mining enterprise, empowering all

personnel to make business decisions that

drive profitability, safety and environmental

integrity, and driving specific initiatives that

measurably improve the business.

Measuring the business in real time

Mining and mineral processing operations

have invested for decades in the effective

measurement of efficiency throughout their

operations. Process sensors that measure

Driving real-time profitability across mining enterprises

such variables as flow, level, pressure,

temperature and speed are commonplace.

But with the increased volatility in business

variables, measuring efficiency – although

absolutely necessary – is no longer

sufficient. In order to bring profitability

under control, the key business variables of

production value, energy costs and material

costs also need to be part of the real-time

measurement system. Since these variables

all impact the safety and environmental

integrity of mining enterprises, it is also

critical to bring safety and environmental

risk measures into the real-time domain.

Invensys has developed a patented

approach to measuring these key business

variables in real time right down to the

nodes of the value chain, that capitalise on

the installed sensor base and the available

business information to build a new real-

time business measurement database easily

accessible across the enterprise.

Empowering people to make better decisions for the business

Once the real-time business

measurements are in place, they can be

effectively utilised to empower people

throughout the enterprise with the exact

information they need to make good

business decisions in the time frame

they need. This contextualised real-time

decision support significantly helps

bring new talent up to performance

levels in half the traditional time and


achieve performance levels never

previously attainable. Real-time decision

support information also enables every

person in the operation to be real-time

performance managers; perform their

job functions more effectively, agilely,

collaboratively, safely and profitably.

Job attractiveness and satisfaction have

been shown to significantly increase as

employees feel they are a more integral

part of the business and to business

performance improvement. Invensys has

developed great expertise on how to

most effectively empower all personnel

who impact profitability with the precise,

real-time information contextualised to

their exact responsibilities, experience

and education levels to make them as

effective and profitable as possible.

Measurable real-time profitability improvement

Once the real-time performance

measurements and empowerment portals

are installed and operating across the

enterprise, the incremental cash flow from

any new performance improvement initiative

becomes clearly visible. Mining executives

quickly discern the return on any investment

and can direct capital to those activities

that drive the most value. Invensys has

developed a “theory of constraints” process

for determination of the most valuable

performance improvements that can be

made in mineral processing enterprises and

measures success on the results.

Profitable safety and environmental integrity

The primary constraint functions impacting

the profitability of most mining enterprises

are tied to the safety of the operations, the

people and the environmental integrity of

the operation. Managing profitability within

reasonable safety and environmental risk

domains is essential. Invensys has developed

a patented approach to measuring safety and

environmental risk in real time which provides

operational personnel the information they

need to both effectively and safely increase

the profitability of mining enterprises.

Enterprise Control System

One of the key technical challenges

imposed on the drive to effective

measurable real-time profitability

improvement is the installed automation

and information architectures in mining

enterprises. Unfortunately, most mining

enterprises operate with a variety of

systems provided by a variety of vendors

and installed over a long time frame. Most

of these systems cannot work together

without the expenditure of significant

capital to support their integration, and

even integrating these systems together

does not ensure effective interoperation.

Often the only solution appears to be

ripping out the existing technology and

replacing it with systems from a single

vendor. This huge capital hurdle prevents

many mining companies from moving

forward. Invensys has developed a new

open system concept that allows all of

the systems across a mining enterprise

to be effectively unified into a single real

time domain for less than one tenth of

the traditional cost. These new Enterprise

Control Systems finally make moving

forward to real time profitability viable

and cost effective. They also enable either

local or remote Collaboration Centres

that meet the professional and personal

requirements of today’s workforce, and

further improve employee morale and

satisfaction leading to higher levels of

personnel retention.

Summary

The volatile dynamics of the minerals

marketplace and the demands placed

on mining enterprises have presented

huge challenges to mining executives.

It is clear that business as usual will not

meet these challenges. Recognising

the real driving forces and moving to

a measurable real-time profitability

improvement business model is the key

to meeting the challenges. Invensys has

decades of experience in working with

mining executives to drive performance

improvement and has pioneered real-

time profitability for mining enterprises.

The challenges are great. The solution is

measurable real-time profitability --- from

Invensys.


Real-time operations management in the metals, minerals & mining industryIn a nutshell ...

Invensys employs Real-Time Operations

Management to significantly drive

business value improvements in Metals,

Minerals and Mining operations.

Real-Time Operations Management is

designed distinctively to complement

the rapidly evolving Metals, Minerals

and Mining industry by managing

throughput, energy, and yield in real

time. Users can easily measure and

be more proactive about business

intelligence, transition control, and

optimise competing objectives in real

time — all key requirements to keep

pace with the speed and demand of

today’s changing business environment.

Introduction

Extracting minerals from ore is an extremely

energy-intensive operation. With the soaring

costs and growing demand of construction,

along with globalised competition, mineral

processing complexes are required to

achieve very high throughput rates — all

while continually looking for ways to

maintain or increase production and reduce

energy consumption.

Energy has become one of the highest

variable costs for Metals, Minerals and Mining

operations. In most facilities, the cost of energy

changes significantly in real time. Throughput

has emerged as one of the top challenges —

specifically, how to maximise production while

balancing utilisation and availability.

Many initiatives and offerings that are

available, focus directly on production,

energy, and yield management, with most

involving large expenditures that may not

drive results for a year or more. Industrial

executives are continually searching for new

approaches to operations management

that are more aligned with the demands of

today’s business environment.

Real-Time Operations Management is based

on a simple four-component model (see left

image) designed to match the demanding

requirements of industrial operations.

Part of an enterprise approach

Real-Time Operations Management

addresses specific operations management

issues that drive immediate bottom-line

value within Metals, Minerals and Mining

operations. Various operations management

programmes are currently available in the

market today, and Invensys’ Real-Time

Operations Management complements

these programmes to increase their overall

effectiveness within the industry.

By using an effective operations

management programme from Invensys,

Metals, Minerals and Mining operations can

keep pace with the speed and demand of

today’s changing business environment.

Real-time operations measurement

• Real-time measurement of throughput,

energy, and metallurgical accounting

• Key performance indicators at each

consumption, production, transfer, import,

or export point in the mill

• Plant-wide, real-time production reports,

efficiency, and maintenance cost

accounting with contexts from the ERP

and Supply Chain Management systems

Real-time operations empowerment

• Multi-level, role-specific intelligence views

that empower personnel

• Robust, real-time forecasting and

prediction of impending events

• Role- and condition-based alerts and

adaptive collaboration guided by

supervisors and specialists

• Real-Time Operations Intelligence that

delivers 3-5% average reduction in energy

consumption, improvements in critical

production measures, and increases in

utilisation by up to 0.25%


Real-time operations control

• Reduction of unplanned outages to less

than 1 per year — increases utilisation

by more than 2% and reduces energy by

more than 5% per year

• Invensys Consultants specialise

in maintenance, energy, remote

collaboration, and safety improvements.

They analyse current safety and control

strategies and recommend specific

actions to drive improvements with a

projected value for each action.

• Invensys Delivery specialists team

with client engineering to implement

improvements

Real-time operations optimisation

• Proactive guidance allows users to make

informed decisions for conflicts, such as

short-term and long-term throughput,

energy, and yield

• Invensys Consultants analyse current

operational strategies, business plans,

and operations culture, and recommend

decisions and actions to drive and

measure the value of each improvement

• Improvements from Real-Time Operations

Control and Optimisation deliver

additional reductions in energy cost from

3-6%

Invensys proactively drives solutions

value and sustainability by continuously

improving technologies for Metals, Minerals

and Mining operations with Real-Time

Operations Management. By applying

safer techniques, such as alerting operators

and engineers before issues arise, Metals,

Minerals and Mining facilities will promote

safer elements for evolving performance

cultures.

Real-time operations management in the metals, minerals & mining industry


Mining for operational excellenceAuthors: Russell Barr, director, Performance Measurement Group, Invensys Systems Inc. Robert E. Cook, member SME, vice president of mining, Invensys Systems Inc.


Operational excellence is generally known

as a management system integrated across

critical functions that are geared towards

continually improving operational

performance. Functional areas such as

health, environment and safety, quality

and human resources are the focus of many

corporate-wide operational excellence

programmes. Operational excellence also

focuses on improving areas such as customer

orientation, employee empowerment as

well as process, and systems optimisation. It

is widely viewed as critical to sustaining

business performance improvement.

Although it is difficult to find a universally

accepted definition, or even common

foundation in many respects, operational

excellence remains a popular term in the

business world. Many organisations have

developed their own version of organisation

excellence, influenced by such individual

factors, other similar institutions or

even third-party service providers.

A mining organisation is no different

from other organisations in that adopting

and implementing effective operational

excellence programmes can

dramatically improve business execution

and performance across regional or global

interests. This paper brings together

various perspectives of operational

excellence and reconciles them for a useful

composite for the mining industry.

While most agree that operational

excellence should include normal functions

in a manufacturing operation such as

production, maintenance and engineering

and processes such as quality, environmental

and continuous improvement, many other

factors for operational excellence seem to

vary from perspective to perspective. Thus,

programmes that manufacturers engage

in may seem the same, but may, in

fact, be different in key areas. This may

affect organisational performance

in tangible ways. Management

must buy into the company’s definition

of operational excellence and be

dedicated to achieving it. A review

of many of the existing definitions

of operational excellence, explicit or

embedded as part of a programme, should

yield the following common factors:

• Help organisations better execute their

processes and services.

• Be geared towards improving quality.

• Align the various operations with the

overall enterprise strategy.

• Be geared towards continuous

improvement.

A composite of operational excellence

definitions suggests that it is:

• Geared towards helping the organisation

achieve sustained profitability;

• Tied to strategic alignment and business

objectives;

• Tied to solid investment strategies;

• Integrated as part of the culture, process,

time plan and performance;

• A relevant performance measurement

system;

• Extended to include all aspects of the

supply chain (including external suppliers);

• Integrated with health, safety and

environmental (HSE) aspects.

And, while the pursuit of operational

excellence intuitively suggests that

businesses should improve, it is very

difficult to achieve given the difficult

challenges facing companies today. Mining

businesses face numerous pressures to

perform in a global marketplace such as

demand, energy cost, variable cost and

pricing fluctuations as well as infrastructure

challenges to further confound the

environment. Companies generally

must look to the following:

• Improving profitability.

• Maximising existing and acquired assets.

• Optimising value chain.

• Driving more efficiency from labour,

transportation and other parts of the

infrastructure.

• Becoming more agile to take advantage

of opportunities.

• Expanding operations globally, extending

best practices to new operations.

• Controlling costs and profitability with

different pressures and price fluctuations.

• Managing environmental factors for

different mine properties in different parts

of the world.

Increasing regulatory requirements can

further burden systems and processes.

However, a company must be responsive in

order to stay in business, requiring that its

functions make further adjustments and

drive more inefficiency out of the systems

and processes in order to continue the drive

towards operational excellence (Taylor,

2006). Safety and environmental

responsiveness are not just seen as required

responses to the regulatory environment but

rather as a part of the fabric of the company

and being responsible to societal and

business stakeholders.

With all of these challenges, it is critical that

mining operations improve across the entire

enterprise in a way that drives business

value. Therefore, mining companies must

strive to be excellent beyond just financial

dimensions. These companies must

be excellent along other dimensions

such as innovation, social responsibility

and employee responsiveness as well being

able to respond effectively to a changing

environment as a business operation

(Chakravarthy, 1986). As mining

companies continue to expand and change

through organic growth or through mergers

and acquisitions in places that they have

never done so before, it is more critical than

ever that mining organisations strive for

operational excellence to be able to develop

sustainable operations with reasonable

standardisation.

A model for operational excellence

The model presented in figure 1 is a

composite of many existing definitions of

operational excellence currently available.

While this is a general model, it can be

applied to the mining industry.

Operational excellence programmes should

include many interrelated and interacting

components such as quality (Q), continuous



improvement (CI), knowledge management

(KM), human resource development (People),

HSE compliance and management,

and performance measurement within an

aligned business. Processes, procedures,

knowledge and other aspects of mining

operations as part of a larger operational

excellence programme should be shared

as best practices across the enterprise (i.e.

across mines, mineral processing, freight,

etc.) on a vertical or horizontal basis.

Continuous improvement

Continuous improvement can be generally

described a set of activities designed to

bring gradual, but continual improvement

to a mining process through constant

review. These activities typically consist of

waste elimination, cost reductions and other

efficiencies (Blanchard, 2009). Continuous

improvement enables mining companies to

embed the principles of sustainability into

their business. As mining companies look

to improve their operations in the face of

increasing global pressure and competition,

continuous improvement programmes

have been undertaken by companies in an

effort to remain competitive and improve

their position.

To ensure that continuous improvement

projects and initiatives are adding value

to the company, a real-time performance

measurement system must be coupled

with continuous improvement programmes.

Real-time business intelligence can

also be applied to greenfield projects

to provide all layers of the business

with an unprecedented view in to the

business performance in the mineral

processing operation. With this business

intelligence, people can make better

decisions to improve performance by at

least 3 to 5 percent. This enables operations

to earn project payback in a shorter

timeframe. A proper real-time performance

measurement system that provides business

intelligence is critical to showing the value

of projects to the company, recovering

investment as soon as possible and ensuring

the strategic nature of initiatives and

projects in a timeframe, resolution

and reach that makes sense. It brings

together the proper elements of finance,

strategy and operations to effectively

measure performance, to provide timely

feedback to the right people and to enable

performance improvement.

The mining industry is continually facing

tough economic pressure (low market

prices and high costs). To compete

successfully, a mining company must use its

assets in the best possible way. It must

also have the best people and processes.

Frequently, companies have turned to

continuous improvement programmes,

formal or informal, that drive activities

to solve problems that were not aligned

with the original direction and were not

clearly measurable in terms of benefit

to the business performance. Through

the careful use of real-time performance

measurements to support continuous

improvement processes, additional

productivity will be realised and sustained.

As global competition increases,

manufacturing has become more strategic.

Assets are becoming tools in broad global

corporate strategies that need faster

and better information to maximise profits

beyond the previous standard of cost

reduction. Competition has come from

developing areas of the world that had

been off the radar of many companies. To

remain competitive, companies must get the

maximum out of their existing asset base.

Continuous economic optimisation and

improvement remains critical.

In the past, the results of continuous process

improvement efforts were measured in

productivity terms, such as tons per day, and

not in financial terms, such as revenue per

ton or other pertinent metrics. Even if these

were measured in financial terms, they were

based on budgeted amounts that gave

misleading direction when used in real-

time. It is easy to see that these continuous

improvement processes helped, but they

can be improved. For example, in the mining

industry, as assets are stretched to keep

up with demand while minimising capital

expenditures, measurements that provide

information on incremental revenues per

ton become more important because nearly

each dollar in sales less the variable cost of

production falls to the bottom line.

At the operator level, real-time performance

measurement information presented in a

meaningful and actionable way is critical to

driving business performance as the front-

line decisions typically have high value,

especially in variable cost containment.

At the plant management and executive

management levels, performance

measurements that have a financial

Figure1: A model for operational excellence


component become more important,

especially if they are in real-time or so-called

right-time. They provide management with

the opportunity to respond to financial

issues before being blindsided by a problem

that only reveals itself after the financial

reports are out.

Opportunities for continuous improvement

in mining and mineral processing are vast

and well-documented and involve the

balancing of the value produced by control

of availability and use of the plant assets.

These include but are not limited to:

• Fleet management.

• Ore quality management.

• Crusher control.

• Mill load control.

• Labour management.

• Mineral processing.

• Energy management.

• Operator training.

Health, safety and the environment

Many mining companies have global

interests that vary in terms of environmental

regulation and challenges. Opportunities

for improvement in health, safety

and environment as part of operational

excellence in mining and mineral processing

are vast and well-documented. They include:

• Air emissions management.

• Tailings management.

• Mine air management.

• Water management.

• Mine safety review.

• Supplier management.

These, and many other factors, are critical

to a mining company’s ability to thrive in

terms of short-term profitability and longer

term sustainability of a viable and reputable

business with society’s well-being in focus.

HSE factors vary from region to region in

terms of regulation, impact on society and

on firm profitability. Air emissions from

smelting and roasting processes can have a

significant impact on the environment and

yet their regulation is very strict in developed

nations and can be nonexistent or not

enforced in less developed countries. There

is, however, evidence that responsible

manufacturers are getting ahead of the

environmental regulation curve and are

improving their emissions control ahead of

regulatory changes.

Many mining operations are improving

smelting control to lessen mineral content

in the tailings. This has a dual impact on the

business. First, less of the mineral product

is wasted, in effect making better use of raw

material inputs. Secondly, fewer minerals

are deposited in the soil, which lessens the

impact on the local environment.

Areas in lesser-developed parts of the world

are undergoing substantial exploration and

development with many new operations

getting their start from junior and major

mining companies. Standardisation of best

practices and processes is a critical part

of the operational excellence foundation.

Many companies have differing regulatory

policies, depending on constraints of

local government policies. When possible,

operations strive towards uniform framework

or systems of HSE across the operations,

adopting or converging on the more

aggressive approach.

Proactive mining operations are involved

with local regulatory and academic

constituencies to help monitor, form

and train societal interests in HSE affairs.

Some research even suggests that

those companies proactively involved

in improving their respective position

in environmental affairs experience “superior

economic returns,” (Thomas, 2001). Some

mining companies have invested in local

educational institutes and have invested in

housing interests to benefit the local

environment. Such activities by mining

outfits are helping to improve society

and their impact on the environment.

Incorporating these and other practice

across the operations helps miners strive

towards operational excellence and

sustainability efforts for long-term societal

benefit.

Quality

Another important part of our definition of

operational excellence involves the impact

of quality throughout the operations. The

impact of quality on the business operation

is widespread and can have a major impact

on performance along many business

related dimensions. Quality has impact

throughout the operation including raw

material, utility, final product and ore quality.



Opportunities for quality improvement in

mining and mineral processing are vast and

well-documented, including ore quality

management, concentration water content,

mine air-quality and final product quality.

Quality management is integral to

operational excellence and must be tied to

company profitability. Quality is connected

to people, continuous improvement,

performance measurement, human resource

development and knowledge management.

Mining operations are cognisant

of this, integrating quality into ore

management, intermediate product and final

product analysis as well as various products.

Requirements for quality systems differ

depending on the application. For

example, quality requirements for grade-

control programmes will be different than

greenfield exploration projects. Typically,

laboratory information management systems

(LIMS) play critical roles in measuring,

analysing and managing quality

information and is often integrated with

other systems such as mine modelling and

production planning systems.

People

Clearly, employee involvement

and empowerment in operational

excellence programmes are critical to

success measured on many dimensions

including organisational performance.

Mining companies look to improve

such functions as waste management and

energy management through continuous

programmes with measurable economic

goals and benefits. Success in these types

of programmes and activities requires a high

level of employee participation.

The mining industry is battling a significant

problem in the “greying effect” and on

the decline of professionals and students

in mining industry education programmes.

This has stressed the workforce in terms of

mining experience and knowledge needed

for efficient operations across multiple

dimensions. Given the current economic

climate, fewer people are generally

engaging in mining-related educational

programmes. As a result, fewer new

people are being introduced to the industry

while senior mining employees are starting

to retire. With the scarcity of mining

talent and remoteness of many mining

operations, organisations must now look for

other ways to rally experienced people to

deal with a multitude of issues.

With a strategic operational excellence

programme in place, a highly collaborative

environment can be enabled by application

integration (dissimilar operating systems)

and incorporating visual content from

multiple sources. This will allow people to

work in a physically separated environment

and allow plant interaction and optimisation

on a virtual basis. Figure 2 presents a

conceptual schematic of a technology

solution needed to bring together different

mineral processing operations together.

In this conception, grinding operations

across the enterprise can be analysed and

improved in a central location by experts.

Managing change

Making changes in the way an operation

is run in any of the operational excellence

dimensions will likely have a resulting impact

on people within the organisation. Human

resource management is one of the

most important strategic areas in

mining operations today. The human

resource function is on the front line

of helping employees deal with changes

in the organisation and is integral to

communicating and maintaining the culture.

Organisational excellence changes can

occur along any of previously discussed

dimensions and the effects of the changes

to the people in the organisation can

vary widely. Generally, the following should

be undertaken in change management

activities:

• Define what needs to change and the role

of change agents.

• Evaluate climate for change and develop

a plan.

• Find and cultivate a sponsor.

Figure 2: Grinding resource management – Collaborating with content from multiple sources presented in a secure and highly-interactive form


• Communicate change and prepare the

path for change.

• Integrate the change in to the culture and

solidify change leadership.

• Attain small wins and continually

communicate.

• Measure change progress and integrate

lessons learned (Mento).

Change management is critical to the

successful improvements in mining

operations as it relates to key dimensions

of the organisational environment:

people, process and technology. Change

can manifest itself in larger reorientations

to smaller incremental changes, requiring

adaptive change management techniques

and effort to effectively manage change with

different magnitudes. Irrespective of change

magnitude, communication is a critical

success factor that must be supported

and facilitated by management (Woodward,

2007).

Empowering employees

Employee empowerment is critical to

making improvements in any dimension of

operational excellence. In fact, empowered

employees are critical to success of any

business and changes in a business,

especially in mining operations where

operations are in diverse and remote

locations.

Human resource analysis within the above

context should also take place. As a

company strives to improve its competitive

position, the employee is being looked

at as an asset that can be used to provide

and drive more value through the plant. A

company that is looking to improve and

optimise performance should provide

its workers with better information and more

authority. Employees who know what their

metrics are will be more apt to perform to

them and will work as an integral part of the

operational team.

As mining operations look to get more

from their people resources, they must

also institute performance management

programmes to improve the context

and control of goal setting and

improvement activities in the operation

to improve performance against goals.

Communication of goals and improvement

mechanisms to attain goals is continuous

and considered a requirement for these

types of programmes.

Knowledge management

Effective knowledge management is critical

to the sharing and creation of innovation

and knowledge within mining companies

and is critical in developing new products,

approaches, process improvements and

other factors for attaining and maintaining

a firm’s competitive advantage (Halit,

2005). Two main themes come to light in

understanding knowledge management:

dispersion or circulation of existing

knowledge with a technology focus and

management and creation of knowledge

in terms of processes, social aspects,

environment and its requirement for

innovation.

The current manifestation of knowledge

management in industry is really

associated with knowledge sharing where

existing systems are used to make old or

existing learning/knowledge available and

reusable for current workers to improve

performance (McElroy, 2008).

While the creation of knowledge is essential

to long-term performance improvement,

it must be validated and tested within

innovation, marketing, engineering or other

appropriate functions in order for it to

be useful to the company and focused

on the business (Smith, 2005). However,

this validation, or approval process,

can sometimes function to limit creativity

and, thus, must be properly guided

and monitored. Firms must realise this

and be open to different approaches to

knowledge creation and management.

Knowledge creation, organisational

learning and innovation rely heavily on

social processes within the organisation.

Acknowledgment and support of this

reliance is critical to knowledge creation

(McElroy, 2003). However, because of its

nature as a social process, it is very difficult

to really manage knowledge creation

and sharing of knowledge.

Knowledge management is critical

to successfully implementing

improvements to be more efficient

as well as to be more innovative in

mining organisations. Knowledge

management efforts typically focus on

organisational objectives such as improved

performance, competitive advantage,

innovation, the sharing of lessons learned

and continuous improvement of the



organisation. Mining companies tend to

rely on their technical staff to bring in new

ideas and innovation. The main system

for managing the knowledge management

function tends to be through management

meetings and is usually driven by its

formalised business planning methodology.

Knowledge management efforts can help

individuals and groups to share valuable

organisational insights, to reduce redundant

work, to avoid reinventing the wheel, to

reduce training time for new employees and

to retain intellectual capital as employee’s

turnover in an organisation. Some new

technologies immersive virtual reality (IVR)

help companies meet the knowledge

management, training and retention

challenges they encounter in the face of an

aging and dwindling industry workforce

A lack of knowledge within an organisation

in a certain area tends to drive outsourcing

programmes and many times focus on legal,

accounting and financial services (largely

compliance), capital raising and IT/

networking. In some instances, business

planning is outsourced.

Performance measurement

Effectively measuring performance across

a business is decisive to its success and its

ability to execute its strategy across the

operation. Operations of a given business

can range from small, custom shops to

multinational corporations spanning several

product and business lines. In mining terms,

junior operators can run smaller exploration

and development businesses where larger

multi-nationals can operate exploration,

research, mine and mineral processing

operations in multiple base mineral or

precious domains on multiple continents.

Performance measurement crosses multiple

domains and functions in mining companies

and is essential to understanding, analysing,

improving and sustaining performance while

striving towards operational

excellence. Many mining companies use

scorecard systems to assess strategic and

operational dimensions of performance in

addition to standard financial reporting

systems and operational reports.

Corporate performance measurement

has more recently been associated with

measuring performance across an enterprise

along multiple dimensions in addition to

financial reporting systems using various

systems, processes and tools.

Balanced scorecards aid in balancing

short- and long-term objectives, using a

measurement framework beyond traditional

financial and accounting to also

include shareholders, customers, internal

processes, and innovation and learning. This

provides a perspective that many companies

use to measure the performance of

strategic execution through many layers in

the organisation if analysed and implemented

properly. Scorecarding systems take many

forms including those developed by

Kaplan and Norton as well as other third-

party and home-grown measurement and

scorecard systems.

Figure 3: Operational Excellence model


Scorecarding systems are usually historical

in perspective (i.e. daily, weekly and other

time frames) and are not easily actionable

for users and usually are not well circulated

among the different layers in the

organisation to aid in decision-making.

Managers and supervisors typically use

operational reports that provide critical

data such as production rates and

amounts of various products and lines,

raw material and energy consumption

rates. Operational reporting systems

are also used to measure the efficacy

of the operation in terms of production

related activities such as truckloads

of ore moved, shovels processed,

tons of ore crushed, concentrator

throughput, electrical consumption per

unit processed and other measurements

providing insight in to operational and

maintenance performance, including:

• Overall production.

• Production per product.

• Shovels.

• Ladles.

• kWh per ton.

• BTU per ton.

• Concentrate produced.

• Availability.

• Ore quality.

• ... and other measurements.

These reports are typically evaluated daily,

weekly and/or monthly and should be

integrated from plant asset-based metrics

to plant- and mine-level metrics and be

available and used by all relevant layers

within the organisation.

This does not necessarily provide actionable

measurements of performance for strategic

execution or even financial accounting

performance in the mine or mineral

processing areas of the operation. A

significant problem in most mine/mineral

processing operations is the lack of real-time

performance measurement along financial

and strategic dimensions in conjunction

with operational KPIs and process variable

data. Newer process technologies have

been developed to effectively develop and

implement real-time strategic, financial

and operational performance metrics for

manufacturing operations domains. These

technologies enable mining operations

to measure performance along multiple

dimensions in real-time and provide the

critical decision-making information to

all relevant domains in the form of easy-to-

use dashboards and reports.

Figure 3 presents a conceptual model

of strategic decomposition, dynamic

performance measurements of

plant performance and business intelligence

of the most important performance

measurements on a role-basis for

each relevant layer in the operation.

Conclusion

Operational excellence encompasses many

functions and areas in a mining operation

and requires the involvement of many

people in order to be successfully supported

in the operation. Clearly, attaining

proficiency and excellence in the six critical

dimensions of operational excellence —

performance measurement, continuous

improvement, health, safety and

environment compliance and management,

quality, knowledge management, and

human resource development — presents a

big challenge for mining operations to

ensure a thriving well-aligned business.

Operational excellence is about striving to

be the best and showing this excellence

in a way that the financial community

looks at, admires and rewards. In order

for initiatives and programmes associated

with operational excellence to be

effective and thrive, complete buy-in and

participation from the people who it affects

is critical (Zorabedian, 2008).

References

• Taylor, Patick, “Driving Financial Process

Improvement,” Strategic Finance, January

2006; 87, 7. pg 52-55.

• Chakravarthy, Balaji S., “Measuring

Strategic Performance,” Strategic

Management Journal, Sep/Oct 1986; 7/5.

• Blanchard, David, “Achieving Competitive

Excellence,” Industry Week. Cleveland:

Jan 2009. Vol. 258, Iss. 1; pg. 44.

• Thomas, Alison, “Corporate

Environmental Stock and Abnormal Stock

Price Returns: An Empirical Investigation,”

Business Strategy and the Environment,

May/June, 10/3, 125-134, (2001).

• Mento, Anthony J., “A change

management process: Grounded in both

theory and practice,” Journal of Change

Management, 3/1, pgs. 45-59.

• Woodward, Nancy Harch, HR Magazine,

May 2007, Vol. 52, 5, pg. 64-65.

• Keskin, Halit, 2005, “The Relationships

Between Explicit and Tacit Oriented KM

Strategy, and Firm Performance,” Journal

of American Academy of Business;7, 1,

pg. 169

• McElroy, Mark W. (2003), “The New

Knowledge Management: Complexity,

Learning, and Sustainable Innovation,”

Butterworth-Heinmann, Boston.

• Smith, Ken G., Christopher J. Collins,

and Kevin D. Clark (2005), “Existing

Knowledge, Knowledge Creation

Capability, And The Rate Of New Product

Introduction In High-Technology Firms,”

Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 48,

No. 2, 346-357.

• McElroy, Mark W. (2003), “The New

Knowledge Management: Complexity,

Learning, and Sustainable Innovation,”

Butterworth-Heinmann, Boston.

• Zorabedian, John, http://www.

americanexecutive.com/content/

view/6637/31/ , Energy Executive

Magazine, April 1, 2008.



Dynamic Performance Measurement (DPM)So, technology can do it all – then what?

DPM is a system of measurement rather

than a system of nuts and bolts or another

expensive acronym. By measuring what

matters and letting everybody know what’s

happening – and that means everyone from

operators to CEOs – DPM lets people see

how their actions contribute to or detract

from the company’s strategy to achieve its

objective.

DPM is a concept that extends business

performance measurement beyond

traditional accounting to the realities of

real-time production. It was developed

after more than 300 CEOs underlined the

inability of their office systems to provide the

information required to address problems in

a timely manner.

Capitalising on the fact that access to

enterprise–wide information is no longer

a problem, DPM focuses on supplying

individuals the exact information they need

to monitor and adjust their activities and

performance in terms of the company’s

profit-making strategy and that means

stepping across the artificial boundaries of

ERP, MES and automation. Why? Because

CFOs need some production and financial

information as well as a good reason if they

are to authorise or veto the installation of

new plant. Because production managers

need scheduling, customer and production

information if they are to optimise

throughput. Because production personnel

need maintenance information and some

financial feedback if they are to remain

profitable and competitive.

DPM precisely defines the critical

performance measurement information

that IT must provide to support decisions

at all levels of the organisation. There’s

no more guesswork as to what people

may want to know or swamping them with

information ‘just in case’. DPM can also

reduce measurements to the common

denominator of money – including real-time

profit and loss. This provides personnel

with a measurement of their performance

in terms of a measurement unit that’s real

to everyone and encourages them to better

“own” their processes – just like professional

knowledge workers are supposed to do.

Top management are attracted to the

concept of DPM because of four main

reasons:

• They no longer want to work with isolated

solutions and want a holistic approach to

their information needs

• They need access to up-to-date financial

and operational information all the time –

not just after month-end

• They need to monitor cause-and-effect

scenarios at the operational level while

measuring their effect at the financial

level.

• They want to share their responsibilities

with the rest of their staff who need

right-time information to be effective at

all levels.

Implementing DPM need not entail

purchasing more hardware or software.

Many mines already have the necessary

infrastructure and the technology required

isn’t at all new. We can measure and monitor

anything we want so it makes sense that we

The synchronised enterprise. By extending performance measurement beyond monthly financial

reports to the world of real-time production, management can be supplied with information

dashboards on the status of their various processes. This allows a far greater level of control and

optimisation at the time when it matters rather than after the fact.


measure business processes just like we can

measure production processes.

Extending business performance

measurement beyond finance into the real-

time world of MES and production will mean

that IT of the top floor and IT of the coal

face will have to work in concert if they are

to deliver the information goods at all levels

of the organisation in time frames that will

allow for corrective action to be taken. If this

sounds complex, it is, in fact, less complex

than what has to happen in the real-time

environment of mining operations every day.

DPM is not a package that one can simply

install and run. It has to be crafted for

each company depending on the systems

they have, the information they need

at all levels and, most importantly, the

attitude of management and staff towards

an environment where transparency and

performance accountability are key. While

the bottoms-up approach has driven

manufacturing companies to new heights

over the last decade, DPM is a top-down

approach that needs to be driven by CEOs,

CFOs and COOs who realise the immense

benefits to be had from measuring their

business processes with the same efficacy as

their production processes and empowering

the very people who can make all the

difference to their bottom line.

Conclusion

Today, with the shortage of skilled

technicians and engineers, companies and

educational institutions need to foster the

concept of the knowledge worker. We have

all the technology necessary to derive the

correct information to support any decision.

But somebody has to make that decision

and it can’t always be the same person.

DPM takes information to the next level and

will predictably become the tool of choice

for knowledge workers at all levels of the

organisation.

People should want to become professional

knowledge workers because knowledge

workers are more valuable to any company

and companies should want knowledge

workers for the same reason.

“Executives of industrial firms can help

catapult this faster way forward by

converting all their workers into knowledge

workers,” says Peter G. Martin PhD, Vice

President and Invensys Fellow, Invensys

Operations Management. “This will drive

improved bottom line results. We can best

understand what the knowledge worker has

to offer by empowering each of them with

the information they require to perform

A real-time information dashboard using Dynamic Performance Management that allows

for drilling down to more details for analysis and troubleshooting purposes. Note the panel

displaying real-time operating profit.

DPM at work in a large South African petrochemical enterprise where each dot represents an

hourly average. The black dots show normal operation. Midway through DPM Month 1 the DPM’s

Business Intelligence Dashboards were turned on resulting in significant cost reductions (orange).

The clincher came in the second month of DPM deployment where the drastic improvements are

obvious and unarguable (red). The ability of DPM to unlock people’s creativity and to enlist their

cooperation offers virtually limitless possibilities. And it can all be done without new systems.

their tasks in the most beneficial manner

for the operation and observing the results.

Experience has shown that the results can be

very dramatic.”

Dynamic Performance Measurement (DPM)


Performance excellence for the mining and minerals industry with ArchestrA Workflow SoftwareIn a nutshell ...

Metals, Mining and Minerals Industries

challenges include responding to

changing market demands, stiff

competition and dwindling margins.

ArchestrA Workflow Software from

Invensys enables them to establish

repeatable, reliable procedures to

capture and standardise best practices

and operating standards to meet these

challenges.

Business Value

• Increase process agility

• Optimise resource utilisation

• Facilitate innovation

• Maximise productivity

• Reduce operational costs

• Enable knowledge management

Increasing costs, competition and the need

to optimise production units are some of the

key challenges faced by the Metals, Mining

and Minerals industry today. The industry

also faces a number of issues such as:

• High energy and raw material costs with

dwindling profit margins

• Skilled manpower shortage and loss of

process knowledge, due to an aging

workforce

• Stringent regulatory and environmental

compliance requirements

• Lack of “off the shelf” communication and

collaboration tools

• Disparate systems, leading to a longer

process cycle

• Lack of operational indicators and

dashboards

• Requirements for making changes on

the fly to continuously optimise grinding

processes (i.e., alert operators to change

charge cycles, based on modelling output

changes due to ore hardness variations)

• Lack of automated decision support

systems

• Need to enhance capacity to increase

output on demand

Adding to these challenges, companies

in the industry are also tasked with

responding to changing market demands,

delivering high levels of quality, while

ensuring lower operating costs. These

demands force companies to evaluate and

improve their business processes across the

organisation.

ArchestrA Workflow Software can help,

enabling companies to digitise manual and

automated processes that include people

and/or systems. Using ArchestrA Workflow,

companies can Model, Execute, Analyse

and improve their processes both inside

and outside of their organisation to drive

higher levels of collaboration, productivity

and innovation, allowing them to excel

in a highly competitive environment.

With ArchestrA Workflow, companies can

institutionalise work processes and efficiently

manage normal, unscheduled or disruptive

events within their operations environment-

-providing the right people with the right

information at the right time.

ArchestrA workflow software enables the metals, mining and minerals industry to:

• Standardise, visualise and track

processes across all domains within your

organisation

• Digitise Standard Operating Procedures,

Good Manufacturing Practices and work

instructions

• Coordinate human-centric and system-

centric tasks

• Support comprehensive compliance

management and audit trails


• Synchronise with supply chain and other

automation/enterprise applications

ArchestrA workflow addresses key operational issues of the metals, mining and minerals industry, such as:

• Effective vendor management for

better cost control: with connectors to

the ERP, specifications can be matched

and orders generated, minimising manual

interference.

• Comprehensive knowledge

management to help with workforce

integration: GMPs, repair and

maintenance procedures, SOP’s can be

linked to workflows, so that information is

available on demand.

• Effective change management: enable

your organisation to handle sudden

changes like capacity, personnel,

management; establish corporate

procedures, facilitating mergers and

acquisitions activities.

• Efficient process automation: achieve

operational efficiency and better energy

utilisation.

• Comprehensive order-to-pay cycles:

reduced processing time and increased

visibility enables better margins.

• Better issue management and

resolution: expedite troubleshooting and

problem resolutions with multi-channel

notifications.

• Management of inventory control:

track assets for optimal use, and feed

preventive maintenance plans, to

maximise asset health and reduce

accidents and downtime.

ArchestrA workflow software works with your current automation applications

SCADA/HMI applications:

• Operator alarm response

• Electronic work instructions

• Model-driven HMI logic

MES applications:

• Specification change management

• Positive QA release

• QA hold resolution

• Synchronising with EAM and LIMS

applications

• Model-driven business rule management

ERP applications:

• Material receiving and inspection

• Master data approval

• Production order download

synchronisation

• Production order reconciliation

Performance excellence for the mining and minerals industry with ArchestrA Workflow Software


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Wonderware solutions at work in the SA Metals and Mining industry


Information is a diamond mine’s best friend at Debswana

About Debswana

Debswana Diamond Mining Company Ltd, or

simply Debswana, is a mining company located

in Botswana and is the world’s leading producer

of diamonds by value. Debswana is a joint

venture between the government of Botswana

and the South African diamond company De

Beers.

The company is the largest private

sector employer in Botswana, employing

approximately 4 545 people, of whom over 93

percent are citizens of Botswana.

Contributions to the economy of Botswana

include:

• 70% - 80% of foreign exchange earnings

• 60% - 70% of government revenue

• 40% of GDP

Debswana operates some of the richest

diamond mines in the world. Its flagship

Jwaneng Mine is the world’s leading producer

of diamonds by value and Orapa Mine is the

world’s largest running mine by volume.

In 2010, Debswana production increased to

about 22.2 million carats, up from 17.7 million

in 2009. Carats sold were 23.9 million, with

total sales of P18.2bn($2.68bn). The revenue

improvement was a result of the increase in

prices after the 2009 downturn.

For 2011, Debswana had recovered 7.4 million

carats and sold 7.3 million carats as at the end

of April. The revenues for the period stood at

P7.3bn ($1.1bn), also influenced by favourable

prices. The production target for the year is 25

million carats.

Debswana Diamond Mining Company

saw the need to log and collate data

from its valuable Orapa, Letlhakane

and Damtshaa Mines (OLDM) in order

to implement an automated production

reporting solution at Orapa’s Plant No.

1, its oldest facility. These data would

need to be modelled, transformed

into meaningful information and made

available within the OLDM consolidated

Historian.

Goals

There existed a stand-alone DAS Server

at OLDM’s Plant No.1, which came about

during a successful proof of concept

implementation. However, without a

structured method of capturing data it was

difficult to implement a dynamic intelligence

solution. The main goal of the project was

to implement a data mining and reporting

system which would provide real-time



production and performance information for

OLDM’s Plant No.1.

“Previously, Plant No.1’s data had to be

e-mailed to end-users on a daily basis,”

says Debswana IT Analyst Zwikamu Dubani.

“Only a few people on the list had access

to the information and the report was only

sent once a day in the morning. Now the

data are available to more users at anytime

with live data continuously updating the

reports.”

The new system would transform the plant’s

data into useful information and make it

openly accessible in a standardised format

(using ISA-95 guidelines) to all areas of the

business. This would facilitate the more

effective use of plant information that

would ultimately result in more refined

performance indicators, better optimisation

of plant operations and improved allocation

of resources at the plant.

Implementation

Debswana was already using Invensys

Wonderware solutions and it made sense to

continue with a company that Debswana saw

as being able to provide the best fit solution

for the given problem and that had provided

a detailed user information and system

specification for this implementation.

Bytes Systems Integration was selected

as the system integrator for the project

because of their local representation, good

past relationship with Debswana and the

company’s skilled and ArchestrA-certified

in-house team.

To achieve Plant No1’s project goals, the

following would have to occur:

• Upgrading of the System Platform hardware.

• Implementing a redundant Application

Object Server (AOS) configuration

• Having independent AOS servers in order

to reduce system downtime and improve

performance

• Configuring the Wonderware Information

Server (WIS) to generate reports detailing

the plant performance and production

statistics.

• Providing capability to import manually-

entered details such as production target

information

• Designing a system that is scalable in

order to accommodate more equipment

as required.

“The Plant No.1 project was a complex

undertaking ,” says Dubani “and for

Figure 1: Planned System topology at OLDM. The envisaged architecture at Jwaneng is similar.


it to succeed, we identified some

critical success factors that included

the continued availability of financial,

human and material resources backed by

strong leadership and support of senior

and executive management. Apart from

“In my view, one of the most compelling aspects of the Plant no.1 project has been moving from manual capturing to automated data retrieval. This not only greatly reduces errors but also speeds up the delivery of accurate information. Now I no longer have to worry about ‘death by spreadsheet’.”

Zwikamu Dubani, IT Analyst, Debswana

effective management and streamlining of

on-going projects, we also needed effective

planning, communication and stakeholder

engagement to enhance buy-in on the

incoming new technology and systems.”

Bytes’ solution required the use of a

Wonderware System Platform for the plant

which included a Galaxy repository, an AOS

Server, a Wonderware Information Server

and a Wonderware Historian at OLDM.

“Plant No. 1 was to be completed in

6 months and gathering the required

information within the project timelines and

budget proved to be quite a challenge,”

says Esenthren Govender, systems engineer

at Bytes Systems Integration. “Other

issues that had to be addressed included

modifying the IT infrastructure since new

servers were required for the plant and

redesigning complex Excel reports for use

with the Information Server. Excel is seen

as the standard for data capturing until one

looks into other possibilities. Once there, the

road is endless.”

Reports

The data are sourced from the equipment

located at the plant and transformed into

information which is then published to

Wonderware Information Server reports for

analysis. There is a daily dashboard which

outlines key information on a single screen

for all WIS users on the company’s intranet.

The key performance indicator is the amount

of carats mined and to what degree this

compares with the daily and yearly forecast.

Another important statistic is the tonnage

of ore mined, from which it is possible

to estimate the carat yield that can be

expected.

All the information is used for production

reporting as well as for a new maintenance

system Debswana is implementing. 9 WIS

Figure 2: System architecture for Plant No. 1



reports track key production data relating

to different sites and different mining

operations at Plant No.1. All reports are

available all the time and updated in real

time.

The road ahead

Currently, there is a project which is near

completion which aims to increase the

Wonderware structure to an AOS Server

for each of the remaining 12 areas as well

as a Wonderware Information Server and

a Wonderware Historian at the Jwaneng

Mining Operations. The OLDM and

Jwaneng Historians would then send plant-

critical data to an enterprise historian at the

Debswana Corporate Centre in Gaborone.

The Wonderware System Platform roadmap

will also look into further enhancing the

reporting by retrieving data that will be

sourced from the plant, the mine and

engineering services equipment located at

12 areas at the Jwaneng and OLDM mining

operations.

‘’The magnitude of the overall Wonderware

System Platform implementation will span

across a gigantic landscape which will

include 12 sites within the company. Such an

implementation requires pinpoint planning

and good operational synergy between all

operations in order to successfully integrate

thousands of pieces of data into a single

enterprise data store,” says Kago Rendoh,

Ivara – Wonderware System Platform

Project Manager at Debswana (Ivara is

the name given to the asset maintenance

management system).

Benefits realised at Plant No.1

• Data are now available that conform to

the ISA-95 standardised structure

• Using the Wonderware Information Server,

real-time reports are available to key

stakeholders continuously without them

having to rely on daily e-mails

• Reduced manual capture of information

Plant No.1

“Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend but data is a mine’s best friend.”

Hennie Serfontein Jr., Systems Engineer, Bytes Systems Integration

• Reports now include real-time and

accurate daily production figures

• Historical data going back more than a

year are now available for analysis

• Central location for all plant-related

information

• Moving from manual capturing to

automated data retrieval


“Proof of the pudding” in action at SA’s newest iron ore mine

About ASSMANG

ASSMANG Limited is a South African company

that supplies raw material to the world’s steel

mills and alloy plants. Most of the group’s

production is exported to the Far East, Europe

and the USA.

Originally named The Associated Manganese

Mines of South Africa Limited, the company

changed its name to ASSMANG Limited in

2001. ASSMANG, which is owned equally by

African Rainbow Minerals and Assore, currently

has three operating divisions structured to

handle its three commodities of chrome,

manganese and iron ore.

ASSMANG’s Khumani iron ore mine is an

ambitious undertaking by any definition.

Completed in just two years from a

foundation of Kalahari sand, Khumani is well

on the way of becoming a principal player

on the global and competitive world of

primary metal production.

Background

ASSMANG’s new Khumani iron ore mine

is situated in the Northern Cape Province

of South Africa and close to Sishen. The

Khumani deposits are among the best

iron ore resources in the country in terms

of quality and quantity. Based on current

reserves, a new mine producing 8,4 million

tons annually would have a life in excess of

40 years and at double that capacity, a life in

excess of about 25 years.

By any standards, the Khumani mine is a

gigantic project. Starting in June 2006 with

a budget of R4 billion, 60 000 cubic metres

of structural concrete, 10 000 tons of steel,

3250 tons of plate work and 650 kms of

instrumentation and electrical cabling were

forged together to form this mega iron ore

mine in just two years.

The Khumani mine project was to be

implemented in two phases:

• Phase 1 was to be completed in

September 2008 and would have a

capacity of 8.4 million tons of iron ore

per year. Phase 1a, to be completed in

December 2008, would have a capacity of

10 million tons per year.

• Phase 2 would have an annual production

level of 16 million tons and was scheduled

for completion in late 2010 / early 2011.

• A possible further expansion to 22

million tons per annum is presently at the

feasibility study stage.

The iron ore is mined from a series of open

pits by conventional drilling and blasting

before being loaded onto trucks for hauling

to the primary and secondary crushers. From

there, the ore is transferred by conveyor

to stockpiles ahead of the beneficiation

plant. The run-of-mine ore is stockpiled on

blending beds in two categories, ‘on-grade’

and ‘off-grade’.

The on-grade ore is crushed, washed and

graded according to four size categories.

The off-grade ore goes through an identical

crushing, washing and screening process,

followed by a jig beneficiation plant to match its

chemical composition with client specifications.

There are 8 Geoscan on-line analysers

installed at critical locations in the plant to

monitor the chemical composition of the

ore in real-time, so that immediate remedial

action can be taken if the ore deviates from

the chemical grade requirements.



Products are stockpiled ahead of a rapid

load-out station, which has the capability to

load 342 x 100-ton wagons in 8 hours – that’s

one 100-ton wagon every 90 seconds. From

there, the product is railed 860 kms to the

port of Saldanha Bay for export.

Solution selection

DRA Mineral Projects were appointed as

the Managing contractor for this project

and EPCM contractor for the plant and

infrastructure. DRA Mineral Projects is an

engineering company that specialises in

project management, engineering design

and implementation and has implemented

successful projects on five continents. DRA

appointed system integrator Iritron for the

Wonderware ArchestrA System Platform

3.0 implementation portion of the project.

Iritron was actively involved in the systems

engineering, instrumentation design and

PLC control systems aspects of the scheme.

This was a natural choice since African

Rainbow Minerals and ASSMANG have

standardised on Wonderware industrial

automation solutions for all their SCADA,

historian and plant web portal requirements

and Iritron is an ArchestrA-certified system

integrator that has provided Wonderware

solutions and support to ASSMANG since

1999.

“To effectively monitor this huge complex,

we implemented Wonderware”s System

Platform which is based on ArchestrA

technology and includes Wonderware’s real-

time Historian, the Information Server web

portal, ActiveFactory real-time production

performance analysis and reporting

software and InTouch for the SCADA/HMI

applications serving some 44 000 I/O tags,”

says Iritron director Johann Pienaar. “In

addition, we used the Topserver I/O Servers

from Software Toolbox to communicate

between the PLCs and the System Platform

as well as MDT Software’s AutoSave for the

change control management of all 63 Allen-

Bradley ControlLogix PLCs.”

“These solutions were chosen to give us

comprehensive data analysis facilities so

that we could check production status

and identify potential problems at any

time, “ says Marius Malan, control systems

supervisor, ASSMANG. “We also need

continuous operation without loss of control

or data as well as web access facilities and

links to our planning and ERP systems. Most

importantly, it all has to work through a user-

friendly and intuitive operator interface.

“But these are all things we need to do now.

This is a brand-new mine with a long future

and we will need to adapt production to

meet with market demands. That means

we’ll have to expand the system as and

when required and we’ll also have to do it

quickly and at minimal cost.”

System implementation

Allowing for the expansion of systems at

minimal cost is a cornerstone of ArchestrA

technology and one of the ways this

happens is through the development of

standards.

Standards allow companies to define, apply

and enforce their engineering criteria so

that everyone works from the same page.

Standards also mean that plant objects are

built from templates and that changes to a

single master template can be propagated

to every instance of that object throughout

the plant.

“The standards enforced by ArchestrA are

allowing us to describe plant objects and

their behaviour to reflect our experience

and needs,” says Malan. “Being ASSMANG

standards, they reflect our best practices

and can be used by other companies in

the group. The enforcement of standards

ensures that all future development

conforms to the norms already developed

and this will save engineering time in

the future, especially with the planned

extensions to the plant.”

Standards don’t only apply to plant

objects but also to the whole plant and

to integration with other disciplines in

the company. One of the key standards

that helps businesses build a coherent

organisation is ISA-95.

“Khumani’s plant model is based on the

ISA-95 standard which was facilitated by

Wonderware’s System Platform Application

Server and its best practices guide supplied

by Wonderware Southern Africa,” adds

Pienaar. “This standard was implemented

and adhered to throughout the project and

will greatly facilitate integrating the system’s

information with ASSMANG’s planning and

ERP systems.”

Another important ArchestrA attribute that

safeguards expansion at minimal cost is that

of scalability. At Khumani, they know they

will have to double their capacity in two

years and, in ordinary conditions, this could

mean some expensive system rework.

“When the time comes to expand the

system, the initial work done on standards

means that defining new capability will

be a matter of hours rather than weeks

or months,” says Pienaar. “In addition,

ArchestrA has been proved to handle more

than a million I/O tags and we’re currently

looking at (only) about 44 000. This, together

with a self-configuring historian, makes

system expansion painless.”

ASSMANG’s Khumani mine, a major

contributor to the company’s financial well-

being, can’t afford unplanned production

delays during its lengthy and productive

life. The mine has to produce quality

products that will be accepted worldwide

in an extremely competitive market and to

do that, it needs industrial information and

automation equipment equal to the task.

“ArchestrA’s management of dual

redundancy procedures not only guarantees

delivery of data to the Historian but has

saved us a significant amount of complex

software engineering to resolve this critical

issue, says Malan. “In fact, we no longer

Pienaar – “When the time comes to expand

the system, the initial work done on

standards means that defining new capability

will be a matter of hours rather than weeks

or months.”


think “redundancy” but rather of decisions

that have to be made given the wealth of

available information – in other words, forget

the technology and focus on the business.”

Apart from standards, scalability and system

availability, ASSMANG needs a few more key

attributes from a system in charge of one

of its primary wealth-creating facilities and

these are security and architectural freedom

Figure 1: Part of the system topology at the Khumani Mine

Figure 2: Load-out stacking and Load-out mimic (dual screen)

– which don’t mean much if said quickly but

are key to versatility and freedom of choice.

“In a situation such as ours, it’s important

that only authorised personnel has access to

various levels of the system to make changes

to set points and other parameters,” says

Malan. With the System Platform, security

and alarming are uniform across the

entire system and we don’t have to make

provision for discrete sub-systems. Of

equal importance is our ability to change

our mind with respect to the structure of

our system and its interaction with others.

ArchestrA technology gives us that choice.

For example, we had to integrate with a

number of third party stand-alone InTouch

applications incorporated into the Metso

crushers, the Bateman load-out station, a

QMastor stockpile management system



and a CCLAS LIMS system. Well, it all just

‘happened’”.

Conclusion

“For us, the most significant aspect of this

project was that ArchestrA technology gave

us a multi-user development environment

that allowed us to design, develop,

implement and maintain a large project

in one year,” says Pienaar. “ArchestrA’s

integrated development environment gave

us the tools to develop complex applications

without bothering unnecessarily about the

details of interfacing with PLCs at one end of

the spectrum and ERP systems at the other

while providing the functionality to do both.”

From the start, ASSMANG’s Khumani mine is

a winner, not only in terms of its rich deposits

but also in terms of how it will process them.

Today, no enterprise can survive without

efficiency and a major contributor is how well

processes can be measured and controlled.

Wonderware’s System Platform will be

providing Khumani mine’s managers and

operators the plant intelligence they need

for efficient operation far into the future.

Khumani Mine expansion project

For the mine’s expansion project in 2010,

ASSMANG again appointed DRA Mineral

Projects as the Managing Contractor for

the project and Iritron was again contracted

by DRA to implement the extensions to

the already-installed Wonderware System

Platform.

Iritron is a certified Wonderware

System Platform integrator and has a

long track record with ASSMANG and

extensive knowledge of their standards

and requirements. To date, Iritron has

successfully implemented five large

Wonderware ArchestrA projects ranging

from the Northern Cape to the United States

and the company is currently busy with

another four projects. Iritron is also actively

involved in the Beta and systems testing of

current and future releases of Wonderware

System Platform.

“One of the main advantages of the

Wonderware System Platform is its

scalability, flexibility and ease of expansion

once standards and templates have been

developed for a specific implementation,”

says Iritron director Johann Pienaar. “In

this case, the standards and templates that

were developed during the initial phase of

the project could be re-used for all the new

plant sections.”

In terms of hardware, the existing System

Platform was expanded by adding an

additional pair of redundant Application

Object Servers and six additional InTouch

View Nodes in the new plant sections – King

Primary Crushing, 2nd Load-Out Station

and the Jig Plant Extension. No other

hardware additions were required – the

existing servers and networks had more

than sufficient spare capacity in terms of

processing power and licensing.

In terms of software development, the

effort put in during the definition and

development of the standards and

templates during the initial project finally

Figure 1: Control Room of the ASSMANG

Khumani iron ore mine

Figure 2: Part of the Wonderware System platform Topology at the ASSMANG Khumani Mine


paid off. “All that was required was to create

new instances of the existing templates

(motors, valves, conveyors, crushers, screens,

etc.) for each piece of equipment that had

to be added,” says Pienaar. “No testing and

integration was required, seeing as these

templates had already been thoroughly

tested. The same applied to the PLC

programmes.”

Once the object instances had been created

(exports from the FDES instrumentation

design software and CSV imports were

used to automate this process in both

System Platform and in RSLogix5000), the

new mimics were created by dragging and

dropping the associated object graphics on

to the mimic pages and adding the static

detail. The graphics and animation form part

of the object templates, so no additional

configuration or testing was required.

The sise of the Khumani Expansion Project

is about 50% of the original project, but the

SCADA development took less than 10%

of the original development thanks to the

standards enforcement of the underlying

ArchestrA technology. The savings in time

will be even more pronounced during

commissioning.

“We are thankful for Wonderware’s

ArchestrA technology because its

developers obviously understood our very

real needs and built an environment that

allows us to grow painlessly, quickly and

to the benefit of our clients,” concludes

Pienaar.

Benefits

• Using standards developed during the

initial phase of the project greatly reduced

engineering time

• Thoroughly tested existing templates

could be redeployed with confidence

• The System Platform provided all the

necessary scalability, flexibility and ease of

expansion the project required

Conclusion

Proof positive that the bottom line is

impacted positively when industrial

production solutions “understand” the

long-term view rather than cater for the

immediate fix. Based on soaring world

demand, it’s predictable that Khumani will

continue to expand and continue to hone its

production processes to maximise profits.

Through design, the solutions now in place

“understand” that this is the norm of today’s

industrial marketplace and will continue

to deliver results that keep pace with the

inventiveness and ingenuity of their owners.

After all is said and done, it’s results that

count – not promises.



Invensys Wonderware’s ArchestrA helps SIs encapsulate and market IP

About AngloGold Ashanti’s Geita Gold Mine

Geita first came into prominence as the site of

a German colonial gold mine. A German gold

prospector discovered the mineral in the early

1900s in the hills surrounding modern-day Geita

town.

This and other discoveries triggered a gold

rush in the surrounding area, attracting German

and native prospectors alike. The colonial

government established a mine to exploit

‘Bismarck Reef’.

Mining activities significantly declined, however,

when Germany ceded control of its colonies to

the British after their defeat in World War I.

Geita regained its prominence in the mid to late

1990s when the Tanzanian government opened

the mineral sector to foreign investment. A

number of medium to large-scale mining

houses, including Ashanti and Anglo American,

conducted extensive exploration activities in

the surrounding areas.

The most significant outcome of these

developments was the construction of the

open-pit Geita Gold Mine, now owned by

AngloGold Ashanti, a leading global gold

producer.

Source Wikipedia

Traditionally, system integrators have

developed custom solutions that were

specific to a particular configuration

of hardware and software. This made

them unmarketable to a broader

audience while often limiting their

scope for modification with the original

client through non-conformance with

standards. This has all changed with the

introduction of the ArchestrA Object

Toolkit.

Background

In 2006, decreasing production at the Geita

Gold Mine in Tansania prompted AngloGold

Ashanti to investigate and to make some

hard business decisions. The loss of

skills at all levels throughout the process

plant necessitated the implementation

of automated control as far as possible

to reduce variability and increase control

expertise.


AngloGold Ashanti called in South Africa-

based system integrator Systems Anywhere,

who had previously successfully addressed

such problems for the company. Over a

twelve month period, Systems Anywhere

installed a completely revamped control

system based on Invensys Wonderware

solutions that would:

• Apply the corporate standard

• Standardise the control philosophy

• Improve the alarming and alarm logging

for analysis

• Maintain a history of production data

• Provide for real-time and scheduled

reporting

• Incorporate an Expert System based

on fussy rules to reduce milling process

variation and improve production.

Other client requirements included a

maintenance plan and 24/7 support of

the control system software in spite of the

remoteness of the site.

The end result was a great success for both

client and system integrator: “This solution

allows us to fine-tune rules instantly,” says

Phillip Stevens, senior instrumentation

technician at the Geita mine. “The Expert

Operator releases the operator for other

duties. Where previously the operator had

to change mill parameters every six minutes,

the metallurgist now changes the rules every

few days. Average throughput is up by as

much as 30%.”

About the Expert Operator

The Expert Operator is a rule-based

(Fussy logic) system which allows an

“expert” to configure a controller to

respond to predefined scenarios in a

desired manner. The Expert Operator

takes over the functionality of changing

the set points from the human operator to

bring the mill to peak performance in the

shortest time.

To do this, three elements are involved:

• Filtering of the process variables

individually through a moving average

and checking them against their set

parameters

• Comparing the result of each variable

against the rules that are stored in the

database. The result is analysed to

determine whether the set point needs to

be increased or decreased

• This is then applied to a time interval (i.e.

how quickly the system needs to react to

the rule to ensure that production is kept

consistent)

The Expert Operator is programmed to

check the average of the variables and to

adjust the set point every “x” minutes in

order to maintain peak performance, in spite

of an ever-changing environment

“This solution allows us to fine-tune rules instantly. The Expert Operator releases the operator for other duties. Where previously the operator had to change mill parameters every six minutes, the metallurgist now changes the rules every few days. Average throughput is up by as much as 30%.”

Phillip Stevens, Senior Instrumentation Technician, Geita Gold Mine

Figure 1: InTouch screen for the Expert Operator Controller showing mill status

Figure 2: ArchestrA graphics “skin”

Invensys Wonderware’s ArchestrA helps SIs encapsulate and market IP


“This is a very complex system,” says Barry

Searle, software development manager

at Systems Anywhere. “However, with the

help of ArchestrA, the Expert Operator was

able to be implemented faster than with

traditional means which means a lower-cost

solution for the client. Also, the operator

is now free to multi-task rather than focus

only on monitoring the mill performance.

The operator is also free to fine-tune that

performance without recourse to us or

anyone else. What’s more, the operator

no longer has to tweak the mill every few

minutes because the metallurgist can

directly control the Expert Operator to cope

with new rock conditions or other issues

through the selection of pre-configured

profiles.”

The next step – packaging the solution

Now that Geita mine had a proven Expert

Operator productivity solution, the next

step was to “wrap up” all the rules and

technology that made up the Expert

Operator into a single package.

To do this, Systems Anywhere used the

DotNet3.5 engine, C#, SQL Server database

and the ArchestrA Object Toolkit. “The

toolkit allowed us to take technology that

would have taken a system integrator

weeks to implement on site, into a single

convenient package that not only caters for

previous work but that can be deployed in a

matter of minutes,” says Searle. “This then

becomes a licensed object that prevents it

from being copied indiscriminately.”

Expert Operator packages are imported

at the click of a button. The database

comes pre-configured with proven

defaults and complex functionality

can now be implemented in minutes.

Provision is also made for multiple

profiles so that users can set up profiles

for common scenarios. This means that a

simple configuration change allows users

to change the mill from an aggressive

profile to a more conservative one.

System Anywhere’s Expert Suite of

solutions can run through ArchestrA or

stand-alone and has a SQL Server database.

“It allows us to incorporate innovative

solutions into ArchestrA without having to

maintain a separate codebase,” says Searle.

“By wrapping the object in an ArchestrA

layer, the plug-in is scalable, versatile, fast

to implement and brings our knowhow to

customers in a convenient format.”

Benefits

• Throughput up by 30% (e.g. 300 ounces

at nearly $2000/ounce = $600 000 DAILY

or more than $13 million of additional

monthly revenue)

• Operator freed for other tasks

• A complex control solution is

implemented in a fraction of the time it

normally takes

• Economy of scale brings the cost down

• The Expert Operator gives Geita

predictable, peak performance at all times

• Change the profile, not the rules. One of

the chief reasons for metallurgists having

to change the rules is changing rock

conditions. Adding the Expert Supervisor

level of control allows the metallurgist

to add multiple profiles. This means

that, instead of changing the rules, the

metallurgist just selects the profile that

best matches current rock conditions

• The upgrade requires installation of a

new object, but this is instantaneous and

doesn’t require intervention by the system

integrator.

What’s next for Geita?

• Equipment utilisation – Systems

Anywhere has developed an ArchestrA

plug-in that writes aggregated equipment

utilisation data to the system’s database.

All that’s required to use this is to drag it

under the equipment to be monitored in

ArchestrA and it starts logging.

• Expert maintenance – This includes

runtime and service interval tracking with

the automatic generation of work orders

etc. for maintenance systems such as SAP.

• MMRS Integration – Integration with

the AngloGold Ashanti global business

management system. “We’re now able

to link into any of the company’s business

management system for reporting

purposes,” says Searle.

Conclusion

Systems Anywhere is using the ArchestrA

Object Toolkit to take system integration

to the next level while Geita Gold Mine

is pushing the envelope to extract the

maximum from their plant as well as from

their investment in Wonderware solutions.

“From a system integrator’s point of view,

the ease of implementation of complex

solutions can’t be overstated. If you can

dream it, ArchestrA can do it,” says Searle.

“But more than this, solutions often aren’t

a perfect fit and, as in this case, we were

able to fill the gap with the Object Toolkit

which has allowed us to integrate 12 years of

custom solutions and the expertise that went

into their development into a de facto world

standard – ArchestrA.”

“What we can now do is develop small, manageable increments of technology and integrate them into ArchestrA. This will make the whole greater than the sum of its parts and far less risky than developing huge applications.”

Barry Searle, Software Development Manager at Systems Anywhere


58 thin clients replace stand-

alone PCs at RBCT with help

from WonderwareAbout the Richards Bay Coal Terminal Company Limited

RBCT is the single largest coal export terminal

in the world. Opened in 1976 with an original

capacity of 12 million tons per annum, it has

grown into an advanced 24-hour operation with

a design capacity of 91 million tpa.

Positioned at one of the world’s deep sea

ports, RBCT is able to handle large ships and,

subsequently, large volumes. As such, it has

gained a reputation for operating efficiently and

reliably.

The 276 hectare site currently boasts a quay 2,2

kilometres long with six berths and four ship

loaders and has a stockyard capacity of 8,2

million tons.

RBCT shares a strong co-operative relationship

with South Africa’s national utility, Transnet,

which provides the railway services linking

the coal mines to the port and the shipping

coordination of more than 700 ships per annum.

The company equipment includes 5 tipplers, 10

stacker-reclaimers, 4 ship loaders and a number

of high-speed conveyors.

Mountains into molehills. For more than

three decades, Richards Bay Coal Terminal

has been reducing the mountains of South

Africa’s rich coal deposits into the molehills

of the more than 700 ships that call there

every year to satisfy the world’s hunger for

energy. Such a vast strategic facility cannot

leave performance to chance. That’s why

RBCT decided that a traditional PC-based

SCADA approach was no longer good

enough for their unique operations.

Background

RBCT’s 10 stacker-reclaimers, 5 tipplers and

4 ship loaders are large, complex machines

whose operation is impossible without the

assistance of SCADA systems that keep

their operators informed of their real-time

operational status.

Since these machines are constantly

in motion, vibration is an important

environmental consideration for traditional

PCs with hard drives. Another consideration

is that these PCs are distributed over a vast

and dusty site where cooling fans, while

doing their job, also contribute to the

accumulation of coal dust. The same applied

to all servers.

“Reliability problems with standard PCs as

well as the difficulties presented by backups

and upgrades prompted us to look for a

more centralised solution based on thin

client technology,” says Eric Gumede,

control systems specialist, RBCT.

About thin clients

A thin client is a low-cost computing

device that works in an application server

environment. It does not require state-

of-the art, powerful processors and large

amounts of RAM or ROM. In addition, thin

clients:

58 thin clients replace stand-alone PCs at RBCT with help from Wonderware


• Don’t have hard disc drives, CDROMS or

cooling fans

• Run with very low processing power.

• Are about one third the size of a

conventional PC.

• Work the same way as a desktop PC.

• Support the GUI environment of

Windows®.

• Can be configured on as low as 16Mb of RAM.

• Offer the same feel as working on any

Windows-based operating system®.

Project goals

It was decided to replace all 58 plant stand-

alone PCs with terminal clients to achieve a

system that is:

• Manageable – For quick and easy

configurations

• Cost effective – Cheaper to maintain

• More secure– Not open to abuse

• More reliable – Less maintenance and less

downtime.

• Accessible – Easy accessibility of reliable

HMI reports.

Solution selection and implementation

System integrator Quad Automation was

chosen based on their credibility and

availability for support after completion

as well as their knowledge of the plant.

Wonderware’s InTouch was already the plant

SCADA/HMI standard so it made sense to

continue on the same route but this time

with the Terminal Client Servers (InTouch

View) version which would be supported by

Microsoft’s Terminal Services.

This is a component in Microsoft Windows

that allows users to access applications and

data on a remote computer over a network.

It also lets administrators install, configure,

manage and maintain applications centrally

on a few servers. All application logic runs on

the server while the processing and storage

requirements for client machines are minimal.

“Because of the impact non-performance

could have on an operation of this

magnitude, it was important that both the

old and new systems run in parallel before

the old system could be removed,” says

Gumede. “The implementation was carried

out during 2006/7 and only took five months

to complete.”

Gumede is also considering the

opportunities offered by ACP’s Thin

Manager in order to extend the capabilities

of the system.

Figure 1: System topology

Benefits of terminal services clients to RBCT

• Reduced engineering cost on PC

budget – Lower hardware costs as well

as easy maintenance and deployment of

applications

• Improved software integrity - Backup is

only done on the server so that changes

can only occur at one point.

• Reduced power consumption – Thin

clients don’t have any moving parts (disc

drives, fans) and reduced computing

power.

• Reduced likelihood of theft - Thin clients

are useless to thieves because they have

little resale value

• Reduced downtime on SCADA systems

– Thin clients are physically more reliable

than their PC counterparts, quick to

configure and operators cannot make

changes.

• Increase end-user productivity - Operators

are limited to authorised applications only.

• Multiple connections possible to

different servers creating redundancy – A

technician can access a thin client from

any part of the plant rather than only

control rooms.

• The system allows terminal servers to

obtain and manage terminal server client

access licence (TS CAL) tokens for devices

and users connecting to a terminal server.

The process

RBCT’s import section receives coal-laden trains

whose trucks are individually emptied onto

conveyors by tipplers.

The conveyors take the coal to the stockyard

where it is distributed by stacker-reclaimers

onto stockpiles.

These same machines are responsible for

“reclaiming” the coal for conveying to RBCT’s

export section and sampling plants as well as to

the ship loaders.

58 thin clients replace stand-alone PCs at RBCT with help from Wonderware


Keeping the networks in check at Lonmin

Lonmin at a glance

Lonmin is one of the world’s largest

primary producers of Platinum Group

Metals (PGMs) which are essential

for many industrial applications,

especially catalytic converters for

the control of internal combustion

engine emissions. PGMs also have a

widespread use in jewellery.

• Lonmin’s operations are based

in the North West and Limpopo

provinces of South Africa and

comprise 14 extraction shafts, 9

concentration plants as well as

extensive smelting and refining

facilities.

• Resources include 175 million troy

ounces of PGMs and 43 million

ounces of reserves

• The number of full time employees

is around 27,800 (year ending 30

September 2011)

• Lonmin has a primary listing on

LSE and the JSE

• 719,000 ounces of platinum in

concentrate (1.436m ounces of

total PGMs) produced and 721,000

ounces of Platinum sold (year

ending 30 September 2011)

The bidirectional flow of information

between business IT and manufacturing IT

is critical to real-time decision-making at all

levels but presents its own set of problems

regarding security. The owners of these

networks are naturally weary of providing

access to information and functionality which

could prove dangerous in the wrong hands.

Background

The original IT network had a flat topology

with a DAS I/O server collecting data from

the PLCs and communicating this to view

stations for the shift boss, mine captain or

engineer (figure 1). But, in order to conform

with security policies, it was decided to

separate the control network from the IT

network which resulted in the topology

shown in figure 2 where the production and

control networks are two VLANS running

on one control domain separate from the

IT domain. The production and control

networks are present in the control rooms,

process plant and in the production areas

but not in the office areas.

This arrangement, however, disconnected the

Figure 1: Previous system topology


shift boss, mine captain and engineer from

the SCADA system and they lost the ability to

view production information in real-time. To

address the problem, a DMZ (Demilitarized

Zone) was implemented. A DMZ is a network

that serves as a buffer between a secure

protected network (Control Network) and

an “insecure” client network (IT Network). A

DMZ usually contains servers which provide

services to users from the client network, such

as the web and, in this case, terminal services.

These servers are open to limited access from

the client network, but protected by a firewall.

But this brought with it the issue of how to

deal with security because office personnel

could not be allowed unqualified access to

the control systems. One way around this

was to deploy additional view stations on

the control domain only by extending the

network and its infrastructure (equipment,

fibre links, PCs, etc.) but this would prove

costly per view station and would also

require time to implement.

The challenge therefore, was how to provide

the office area with plant information in

real-time while conforming with all security

policies and at minimum cost.

Selecting the solution

Three approaches were considered. The

first was to use ArchestrA read-only view

stations but this would incur the additional

network infrastructure costs just mentioned

and require the ability to maintain multiple

applications.

“The second option was to make use of

the Wonderware Information Server,” says

Johan Louw, automation specialist, Lonmin.

“Although Information Server allows access

from any network PC, this was a real-time

SCADA reporting environment which this

solution supports but which is better served

by the third option which was the use of

Terminal Server.”

Terminal Server, which supports Microsoft’s

Remote PC Connection, provided Lonmin

with a list of features that met their specified

requirements with a remarkable degree of

accuracy and which included:

• No Wonderware installation required –

this allowed Lonmin to be self-sufficient

• Quick Implementation – “Where some

engineers expected me to me busy for an

hour or more, I was finished in a matter of

two to three minutes,” says Louw.

• Easy access and security control – all

access to the system is controlled from

one server and this allows the full control

of where SCADA access is available

and also provides for the instantaneous

granting or withdrawal of access rights to

individuals. It was previously impossible

to know who had access to which SCADA

system or if this access was permitted.

• Easy application maintenance – all

applications are maintained and updated

at a central location without the need

for deployment to a multitude of

workstations. “The traditional approach

is to load the operating system on each

and every workstation which may all be

in widely-separated locations, configure

the networks including their security,

load service patches and finally load

the application software with service

patches,” says Louw. “Needless to say,

Figure2: Current system topology

“In my view, the most appealing aspect

of this project was that we could use old

existing technology and incorporate it with

ArchestrA as a solution to our Remote View

problem. With this technology, we gained

a lot more control than expected over the

remote viewing of SCADAs.”

Johan Louw, automation specialist, Lonmin

Keeping the networks in check at Lonmin


this can be very time-consuming and

costly not to mention inconvenient.

With the Terminal Server architecture,

everything is done once only at a

central location and end-users all

have simultaneous access to multiple

applications, all of which are up-to-date.”

• Multiple applications hosted on

one server – all of Lonmin’s multiple

mine shafts, each with its own SCADA

system and applications, can be hosted

on a single server thereby providing

convenient access to those who need it.

• Client can view multiple applications at

once – terminals are not dedicated to any

single application and can switch between

applications at will.

“Finally, Terminal Server gave us the speed

we were looking for while also minimising

the load on the network,” says Louw.

Implementation

The first step was to set up Terminal Server

and to install the Terminal Server (read-

only) edition of the InTouch HMI / SCADA

application. “The read-only version prevents

any user from changing / stopping or

starting any equipment on the SCADA. We

then deployed the System Platform and its

view engine as well as all the applications,”

says Louw. “The next step was to define user

access and their sessions which involved

specifying which applications each user can

access. Thereafter, the only thing left to do

was to set up remote access to the server –

something which is really quick to do.”

Applications start automatically when

selected but server access beyond the

permitted range of applications is prohibited

thereby preventing any wilful or inadvertent

damage to the system. The application run

time can also be specified so that if a shift

boss or engineer forgets to sign off from

the application, it will self-terminate in the

specified time period. This feature also

lessens the network and server loads.

The System Platform’s Integrated

Development Environment shows which

platform and view engine is in use as well

as changes to any software releases. New

software releases can then be deployed to

all remote users instantly.

Figure 3: System Platform / ArchestrA Integrated Development Environment view of

software deployment

Benefits

• Real-time process information is available in the

office to support informed decision-making

• Independence of IT and production

networks while providing a secure access

from one to the other

• Easy and secure end-user access to

multiple applications

• No interference with SCADA system

operation possible

• Greatly reduced software support,

maintenance and deployment costs

• High system speed and minimal network

loading


Dr. Kobus van der Merwe of Industrial Management Enhancement

The cost of operating outside baseline in mining

Using the Time-in-State Metric to quantify

operational performance

Effi ciency improvement initiatives are

more productive when motivated by top

management. Since operational effi ciency

impacts contribution margin, it is in

management’s interest to have insight into -

• The source of the problem (plant or

section)

• The magnitude of the issue (the impact

on Key Performance Indicators and its

monetary value)

• The nature of the issue (e.g. is it a design

problem, limited experience or material

problem).

Time-in-State (TIS) Management

programmes study plants in terms of their

operation in relation to baseline conditions.

Baseline conditions are associated with high

effi ciency, reliability, availability and stability.

About Industrial Management Enhancement

Experience has shown that most production

plants operate in an unstable or high risk state

for 60% or more of the time.

Operational risk encompasses the potential loss

due to the breakdown of controls. Breakdown

of control results in unpredictable and unstable

production processes. By implication, this

condition results in an inability to meet

production targets.

IME delivers Operational Performance

Management solutions to the process and

manufacturing industry. A structured and proven

methodology is utilised to construct process

status maps and to analyse and troubleshoot

the process to quantify Operational Risks.

Projects are characterised by high returns, a

strong emphasis on training and development,

and solutions facilitating asset sweating.

The TIS Management programme links

operating and equipment conditions to Key

Performance Indicators (KPIs). The latter

establishes a platform to calculate the cost

of operating outside baseline state. By

implication, assessments provide insight into

operational risk exposure.

TIS Management programmes evaluate

plant performance (process and equipment

performance) at the functional unit level.

A functional unit is a logical grouping of

measurements describing a function within a

Production Function. A Production Function

is the functional relationship between inputs

(feed material) and output (product). In the

context of maintenance, a functional unit is

a logical grouping of equipment fulfi lling a

Technical Function.

When all functional units associated with a

Production Function perform within baseline

state, desired / ideal performance follows.

The Time-in-State Metric quantifi es the

time that each functional unit operates

within ideal state. The time that functional

units, associated with a specifi c Production

Function, operate within baseline state

may not necessarily overlap. The time

that a Production Function operates in

baseline state is calculated as the average

Time-in-State Metric value reported on

the respective functional units (another

way to describe this relationship is to view

a Production Function as a unit consisting

of a network of functional units serving

a common objective which is to fulfi l the

production function).

This approach provides the ability to explain

the circumstances under which performance

was realised. In other words, KPIs report

aspects such as production rate, quality,

energy consumption per unit, etc. at the

Production Function level. The Time-in-State

Metric provides quantitative description of

how Production Functions performed in the

context of recorded KPI value.

Compiling a Time-in-State Metric on

historical process data delivers quantifi cation

of a functional unit’s contribution to overall

performance. The following relationships

exist within processing plants:

• Contribution Margin: A positive

correlation exists between Contribution

Margin and Time-in-State

• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE):

OEE is the product of ‘Production Rate’,

‘Quality’, and ‘Availability’. A positive

correlation exists between Time-in-State

The cost of operating outside baseline in mining


and each of the elements of OEE.

• Energy Efficiency: A positive correlation

exists between energy efficiency and

Time-in-State.

• Operating Cost: Operating cost follows

the same trend as maintenance cost -

i.e. higher Time-in-State implies lower

operating cost

• Stability: A positive correlation exists

between stability and Time-in-State

• Yield: A positive correlation exists

between yield and Time-in-State

• Maintenance Cost: A negative correlation

exist between Time-in-State and

maintenance cost. That is, the higher

the Time-in-State value the lower the

maintenance cost.

Mining example

In an open-cast mining application, ore supply

from the mine is a function of how well equipment

is utilised within the mine (shovels, haul trucks,

etc.). In this example, a primary crusher receives

the ore from the mine, crushes it and transfers

ore to a primary stockpile. The stockpile level

should be maintained to allow for scheduled

maintenance and production downtime on the

primary crusher without causing downtime /

delays in the downstream process.

An inability to sustain ore supply, during

intervals that the crusher is available, has

a definite cost impact. The magnitude

of impact will vary based on operating

conditions. An extreme case illustrates this

point: When the crusher is available and the

primary stockpile is full, poor ore supply rate

from the mine will have no cost implication.

A Time-in-State model quantifies

crusher performance using the following

measurements:

• Stockpile level

• Crusher Motor Power

• Lubrication System Pressures and Flow

• Mantle Positioner Hydraulic Pressure

The model defines the parameters required

for calculating the Time-in-State (TIS) Metric

value. The output of this analytical process

generates the following results:

• The relationship between TIS Metric and KPIs

• Having derived the relationship and TIS

Metric parameters it is possible to track and

monitor the impact of operating outside the

baseline state, in real time. This method

of quantification also improves decision-

making and root cause analysis.

Figure 1 illustrates how production rate

varies according to the %Time-in-State

Metric (each point represents a 7 day

production interval). Ideal operating

conditions (i.e. baseline state) realises a

production rate of 1180t/h.

The cost per ton is proportionately higher

under conditions where TIS Metric is 62%

compared to the interval reporting an 81%

TIS value. Under conditions where TIS is

low, the plant utilisation and availability was

lower. From a financial point of view, the

return on net asset decreases under these

conditions. (These numbers are typically

captured in a financial model constructed

during the project execution phase.)

Applying the Time-in-State Metric to

different, interconnected plants generates

valuable insight into key areas of concern.

For plants that are connected in series,

without decoupling capacity (intermediate

storage), performance is represented by the

product of the Time-in-State Metrics of the

respective plants.

Comments

In figure 1, each data point represents a week’s

production. The time interval utilised for the

TIS Metric calculation is adjustable and adapted

to match circumstances and requirements. The

objective is to establish a metric that provides

information facilitating better decision-making.

The same reasoning applies to the detail

contained on the TIS Metric.

In the above example, the TIS Metric is utilised

to track performance at a relatively high level.

The client is interested in knowing whether

selected initiatives are delivering expected

results. The weekly assessment provides high

enough granularity for timely modification

or adjustment if initiatives are not delivering

results - i.e. little lag time in performance

feedback. It should be noted that the traditional

approach is to evaluate maintenance cost,

availability, reliability, etc. over a time interval of

several months. Apart from potentially missing

opportunities, it can also negatively influence

human behaviour and motivation.

Developing and deploying TIS Metrics takes

place in multiple phases. The priority and

criticality of equipment and plant functions

differ and the latter motivates a multiphase

approach. Furthermore, the structure proved

to be successful in managing project risk while

maximising the internal rate of return (IRR).

For more information contact: Dr. Kobus van

der Merwe

Industrial Management Enhancement

Mobile: +27 (0)82 656 5601

Mailto: [email protected]

Figure 1: Percentage Time-in-State metric vs. Production Rate


Amethyst, a variety of quartz, is an example

of a mineral (Wikipedia)

Acronyms

CIO Chief Information Officer

OEE Overall Equipment Effectiveness

COO Chief Operations Officer

DCS Distributed Control System

DPM Dynamic Performance Management

GMP Good Manufacturing Practices

HMI Human-Machine Interface

HSE Health, Safety and Environment

PGM Platinum Group Metal

ROM Run Of Mine

SCADA Supervisory Control And Data

Acquisition

SOP Standard Operating Procedure

Beneficiation – The process of extracting

valuable metals or minerals from ore.

Dynamic Performance Management – An

approach towards process measurement

that will empower the people responsible for

the success of that process to use their own

initiatives in making the right decisions for its

continuous and incremental improvement.

Metal - A metal is an element, compound

or alloy that is a good conductor of both

electricity and heat. Metals are usually

malleable, ductile and shiny. In a metal,

atoms readily lose electrons to form positive

ions (cations). Those ions are surrounded by

de-localised electrons, which are responsible

for the conductivity. The solid thus produced

is held together by electrostatic interactions

between the ions and the electron cloud,

which are called metallic bonds.

Metals are sometimes described as an

arrangement of positive ions surrounded

by a sea of delocalised electrons. Metals

occupy the bulk of the periodic table, while

Metals, Minerals and Mining dictionary

non-metallic elements can only be found

on its right-hand side (with the exception

of hydrogen). A diagonal line, drawn from

boron (B) to polonium (Po), separates the

metals from the non-metals. Most elements

on this line are metalloids, sometimes

called semiconductors. This is because

these elements exhibit electrical properties

common to both conductors and insulators.

Elements to the lower left of this division

line are called metals, while elements to the

upper right of the division line are called

non-metals.

Mineral - A mineral is a naturally-occurring

substance that is solid and stable at room

temperature, which can be represented by a

chemical formula, which is usually abiogenic

and has an ordered atomic structure. It

is different from a rock, which can be an

aggregate of minerals or non-minerals

and does not have a specific chemical

composition. There are over 4,900 known

mineral species. The silicate minerals

compose over 90% of the Earth’s crust.

The diversity and abundance of mineral

types is controlled by the Earth’s chemistry.

Silicon and oxygen constitute approximately

75% of the Earth’s crust, which translates

directly into the predominance of silicate

minerals. Minerals are distinguished by

various chemical and physical properties.

Differences in chemical composition and

crystal structure distinguish various types

and these properties in turn are influenced

by the mineral’s geological environment of

formation.

Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) - Platinum

Group Metals include platinum; iridium;

osmiridium; palladium; rhodium; ruthenium

and osmium.

Properties of platinum group metals:

PGMs are chemically very similar. Platinum,

iridium and osmium are the densest known

metals, platinum being 11 per cent denser

Metals, Minerals and Mining dictionary


than gold and about twice the weight of the

same volume of silver or lead. Palladium,

rhodium and ruthenium are lighter,

palladium having about the same density

as silver.

Platinum and palladium are soft, ductile and

resistant to oxidation and high temperature

corrosion. They have widespread catalytic

uses. In industry they are often used with

the addition of other metals, including other

PGM.

Rhodium and Iridium are difficult to work,

but are valuable alone as well as in alloys.

Their chemical compounds have many uses,

and rhodium is a particularly good catalyst.

Ruthenium and Osmium are hard, brittle and

almost unworkable in the metallic state, with

poor oxidation resistance, but are valuable

as additions to other metals, usually other

PGM, and as catalysts.

Platinum - South Africa, with vast platinum

ore deposits in the Merensky Reef of the

Bushveld complex, is the world’s largest

producer of platinum, followed by Russia.

Platinum and palladium are also mined

commercially from the Stillwater igneous

complex in Montana, USA.

Osmium is a naturally occurring alloy of

iridium and osmium found in platinum-

bearing river sands in the Ural Mountains

and in North and South America. Trace

amounts of osmium also exist in nickel-

bearing ores found in the Sudbury, Ontario

region along with other platinum group

metals. Even though the quantity of

platinum metals found in these ores is small,

the large volume of nickel ores processed

makes commercial recovery possible.

Iridium is found with platinum and other

PGMs in alluvial deposits. Naturally

occurring iridium alloys include osmiridium

and iridiosmium, both of which are mixtures

of iridium and osmium. It is recovered

commercially as a by-product from nickel

mining and processing.

Ruthenium is generally found in ores with

the other PGMs in the Ural Mountains

and in North and South America. Small

but commercially important quantities are

also found in pentlandite extracted from

Sudbury, Ontario and in pyroxenite deposits

in South Africa.

Rhodium - The industrial extraction of

rhodium is complex as the metal occurs

in ores mixed with other metals such as

palladium, silver, platinum and gold. It is

found in platinum ores and obtained free as

a white inert metal which is very difficult to

fuse. Principal sources of this element are

located in river sands of the Ural Mountains,

in North and South America and also in the

copper-nickel sulphide mining area of the

Sudbury Basin region. Although the quantity

at Sudbury is very small, the large amount

of nickel ore processed makes rhodium

recovery cost effective. However, the annual

world production in 2003 of this element

is only 7 or 8 tons and there are very few

rhodium minerals.]

Palladium is found as a free metal and

alloyed with platinum and gold with PGMs

in placer deposits of the Ural Mountains

of Eurasia, Australia, Ethiopia, South and

North America. However it is commercially

produced from nickel-copper deposits found

in South Africa and Ontario, Canada. The

huge volume of nickel-copper ore processed

makes this extraction profitable in spite of its

low concentration in these ores.

Thin client – A low-cost terminal device

with no moving parts which relies on a

server for programme execution but which

offers localised capabilities such as access

to any data or application and which can

be linked to multiple displays, a keyboard/

mouse and CCTV equipment. Ideal for use

in environments hostile to PCs and where

instant replacement may be required. No

software maintenance is needed since this

happens at the server level.

Virtualisation - In computing, this is the

creation of a virtual (rather than actual)

version of something, such as a hardware

platform, operating system, a storage

device or network resources. It’s a concept

in which access to a single underlying piece

of hardware (like a server) is coordinated so

that multiple guest operating systems can

share that single piece of hardware with

no guest operating system being aware

that it is actually sharing anything. In short,

virtualisation allows for two or more virtual

computing environments on a single piece

of hardware that may be running different

operating systems and decouples users,

operating systems and applications from

physical hardware.

Workflow – A systematic and human-level

process for detecting, responding to and

resolving abnormal events (usually) but can

be applied to any task.


Events: X-CHANGE 2013

X-CHANGE is your definitive window to

the industrial automation and information

landscape and brings together more

industry professionals than any other event

of its kind in Southern Africa. System

integrators, hardware and software suppliers,

end-users and international industrial

automation authorities come together to

X-CHANGE ideas, network and collaborate

at what is widely regarded as South Africa’s

premier industrial event.

More than twenty years ago, the world’s first

Windows-based HMI, InTouch, took its first

step into a world it would come to dominate.

Notably, few of the other technologies

that will be presented at X-CHANGE 2013

existed at the time either in fact or even as

wishful thinking.

X-CHANGE has been there at every step

of this extraordinary evolution, bringing

practical solutions to the South African

mining and manufacturing industries who

have responded by making it the longest

running and most successful event of its type

in the region.

Today, X-CHANGE is more relevant than

ever. Come and see how others are coping

with erratic market demands and what’s

the next step to keeping profitable in a

world that is changing at an alarming rate?

That’s why X-CHANGE looks at the bigger

picture of business challenges as well as the

supportive technologies and approaches

necessary to overcome them.

In this landmark year of its long history,

X-CHANGE 2013 will be host to the

entire range of Invensys Operations

Management range of solutions thereby

appealing to a much wider audience

and demonstrating that “sensor to

boardroom” is no longer a cliché but a

reality.

Celebrating the conference’s 21st anniversary, X-CHANGE 2013 will be held from 21st to 24th April at Sun City and promises to once again add great value to the lives of industrial automation professionals country-wide.

So, we invite everyone who has something

to share or something they want to learn

to X-CHANGE 2013. If you’ve never been

to X-CHANGE before, you’re in for a most

pleasant and informative surprise. If you’re

a regular, on the other hand, we don’t have

to sell you on the idea and welcome you

back.

X-CHANGE 2013 presentation streams

The presentation streams have been

designed to highlight and address the

information needs of executives, system

engineers, production managers, plant

managers and engineers involved in the

mining and manufacturing industries. That’s

because they all need different information

in the right context and at the right time – all

the time.

The contents of the presentations range

from technical to more business-oriented

and you can choose those best suited to

your current operational or business needs.

Technology Stream

Every year, Invensys Operations

Management introduces new and significant

products to its wide range of solutions.

This is your opportunity to see what these

products will do for your bottom line as

the presentations highlight the features,

advantages and benefits of each solution as

applicable to your industry. This year, there

are significant functionality upgrades and

enhancements to your favourite applications

as well as some new ones that continue to

populate the Invensys InFusion enterprise

control system space.

Solutions Stream

The solutions stream takes a broader look

at ways of addressing your enterprise

manufacturing intelligence needs,

improving asset effectiveness, streamlining

your manufacturing execution system

for operational performance excellence,

getting you started on the road to enterprise

integration, empowering your workforce,

corporate energy management and other

topics on which the health of your enterprise

depends.



Ecosystem Stream

No one company can do it all. The range of

information and other solutions necessary

to ensure the profitable operation of

companies involved in the manufacturing

or mining sectors is truly staggering. That’s

why Invensys Operations Management

forms partnerships with other industry

professionals to provide end-users with

the best possible combination of solutions

available today.

Even the world’s leading supplier of

industrial automation information solutions

needs help and Invensys finds it by working

closely with selected software partners.

These industry professionals with proven

track records provide the tools and support

needed for the development of value-

added applications that integrate with or

complement Invensys Solutions.

From system integrators to software

developers and hardware suppliers, the list

of Ecosystem partners is growing rapidly and

this is their opportunity of showing you what

they have to offer.

Vertical Industry Stream

These presentations demonstrate how

all of the above solutions are applied to

address the needs of vertical industries

such as mining, manufacturing, food and

beverage, utilities, etc. This stream will also

feature user presentations compiled by

end-users, their system integrators or both

allowing you to determine “from the horse’s

mouth” if Invensys Wonderware products

performed as it said on the tin and how they

helped end-users achieve their business and

operational goals.

Invensys Operations Management Stream

From valves to virtualisation and from

sensors to simulation, Invensys Operations

Management does it all. Invensys

Wonderware is only one of nine Invensys

Operations Management business units, so

it’s no wonder that the range of solutions

available to you has grown phenomenally

and very rapidly since the company started

operations in South Africa in 2011.

This stream will demonstrate how hardware

and software solution from Avantis,

Eurotherm, Foxboro, InFusion, SimSci-

Esscor Skelta and Triconex all contribute to

providing a seamless information continuum

from sensor to boardroom.

Keynote Speakers

We are fortunate in having access to some

of the leading local and international

authorities on subjects as far ranging as how

to survive profitably in the current world

economic climate to the adoption of new

approaches to information and control in

mining and manufacturing. Once they leave

their pedestals, you can have casual chats

with them or book sessions where you have

the chance of discussing your production

and business issues one-on- one.

Their wide and varied industry experience

will save you from reinventing the wheel and

cut through complexity to give you fresh,

practical insights that you can apply when

you get back to the office.


Invensys Operations Management Open and user presentations

We have found that one of the most valuable

ways to assess a product and its suitability

is to speak to the people who use it. The

Invensys Operations Management Open

was introduced to encourage both end users

and system integrators to document their

experiences of successful implementations

using Invensys Wonderware solutions. These

are customers who have used the products

extensively and their first hand experiences

offer insights not available from any other

source.

All user presentations are entered into the

Invensys Operations Management Open

competition where prizes are awarded

for the best presentations in various

categories. The presentations are then

documented in the form of articles and,

after approval, sent to various magazines

for publication. These articles also appear

on the Invensys Wonderware web site and

bi-monthly Protocol magazine as well as

Invensys Operations Management’s annual

international booklet of success stories.

Delegates whose presentations are

accepted for X-CHANGE automatically

qualify to attend the conference free of

charge!

(If you are interested in submitting a

presentation, please see the booking

information below.)

Expo

System integrators as well as hardware and

software partners use this unique venue to

showcase their wares and achievements.

They do so because nowhere else is there

such an opportunity to talk to a more

qualified audience eager to see what they

have to offer.

(Should you wish to exhibit your solutions,

please see the booking information below.)

Hands-on training

At X-CHANGE 2013 you can look forward

to practical hands-on training sessions

where you get to test-drive the products for

yourself. These practical sessions will allow

you to evaluate how and where they may

best be applied in your environment.

Spouse programme

Such conferences are always better

when shared with your partner – who

may, however, not share your enthusiasm

regarding the benefits of advanced

technology. That’s why a rich programme of

entertainment has been planned for your

partner ranging from sporting activities to

sightseeing and game-spotting (depending

on the venue) among many other events.

On-line bookings

Visit www.x-change.co.za if you want to do

any of the following:

• Book your attendance at X-CHANGE 2013

• Book a stand at the Expo

• Enter the Invensys Operations

Management Open and have a chance of

attending the conference free of charge

by doing a presentation and providing

enough material for us to write a success

story of the implementation of Invensys

Wonderware solutions in an interesting

application

Ask anyone who has ever attended X-CHANGE in the last 20 years –

you won’t be disappointed – and neither were they!



Season’s greetingsThe management and staff of EOH and Invensys Operations Management Southern Africa wish you and your family the compliments of the season. We hope your holidays will be relaxing and enjoyable and that 2013 will bring you health and prosperity.


Events - MESA SA “Adapt or Die” 2012 Conference

Services

and Support


Invensys Sentinel ServicesIn a Nutshell ...

Invensys offers advanced remote services

technology that enhances our ability to

deliver higher availability and reliability of

plant assets to your company.

Key benefi ts

• Increased uptime

• Frees you to focus on looking after

production rather than control systems

Key features

• 24/7/365 remote monitoring and

notifi cation of issues

• Detect and rectify issues or problems

before they become mission-affecting

• Provide better management of system

resources to improve asset performance

• Streamline diagnosis process

• Fast and systematic event resolution

eliminates trial and error and cuts costs

• Clear and regular reports provide insight

into possible improvements

Who’s supervising the supervisors?

You trust your Invensys Wonderware

Industrial IT solutions to supervise your

wealth-creating processes but who’s

supervising them? Let Invensys Sentinel

Services (ISS) be your SCADA’s SCADA

by remotely and constantly monitoring

and reporting 24/7 on the KPIs of your

Wonderware-based systems so that

potential problems can be nipped in the

bud. This will give you the peace of mind

you need to focus on improving your

company’s bottom line rather than looking

after systems.

Using technology to provide world-class support

Peak performance in our operating plants is a

continuous process that is being threatened

on a daily basis. As skills scarcity increases,

most production technicians are stretched

to the limit with their daily tasks. Little time is

left to maintain the running software systems

and very few can fi nd the time to develop and

maintain specialist knowledge to diagnose

faults on these systems.

As a result, Invensys offers ISS whose job is

to monitor the performance of your Invensys

Wonderware assets — continuously.

We achieve this by installing special “agent

software” on each Wonderware server

located at your sites. These agents monitor

the system on a 24x7 basis to ensure that

critical resources are performing within best

practice norms.

If an unacceptable threshold is reached, an

alarm is raised and Invensys engineers are

alerted before an issue develops. Remote

connectivity is also designed to ensure

that, if there is a problem, Invensys experts

can work with you to make appropriate

adjustments to correct the issue and return

your system to normal operation quickly and

easily.

The process

Our event management system monitors

anomalies or events that occur in the

Wonderware customer environment and

focuses on detecting issues and generating

meaningful notifi cations. These notifi cations

are reported to the Invensys Command

Centre which offers a single point of contact

for customer incidents and requests.

Reporting

A key aspect of Invensys Sentinel Services is

feedback to you. As a result, we ensure that

we provide monthly system health status

reports which include:

• Overall health status for the month

• Critical, major, medium and minor system

issues and errors for that month

• Changes or corrections made to fi x

errors that occurred in the Wonderware

environment


• Proposals for Wonderware system

modifications to ensure that the system

conforms to best practice standards

Monitored events

Monitoring includes examining the KPIs

of the Wonderware System Platform and

Historian, hardware performance, event logs,

Wonderware machines (where applicable)

among others. There is also a monthly audit

of OS, Windows and Wonderware version

control, Wonderware licence status, IP

configuration and more.

Optional value-added services

• Anti-virus reporting

• Wonderware and Microsoft patch

management

• Operating system platform support

Contact us

For more information please contact:

Zaine Domingo, ISS Product Manager —

Invensys Operations Management

T +27 (0)11 607 8191 | 0800 INVENSYS |

[email protected]

Invensys Sentinel Services


Customer FIRSTIn a nutshell ...

Comprehensive Services

Customer FIRST is not just technical

support, it’s a comprehensive

programme to help you manage your

systems and protect your investments.

Real Value

Customer FIRST members enjoy the

many benefits of a closer collaborative

relationship with Invensys.

• Responsive services

• Depth of expertise

• Proactive planning

• Continuous performance monitoring

• Emergency contingency provisioning

• Deep discounts on hardware

• Software and services

These important elements make the

Customer FIRST membership an

essential part of your business success.

Maximise asset performance

Downtime costs businesses millions of Rand

- Customer FIRST support gives you options

to maximise productivity by keeping your

operations running smoothly.

Outages, both planned and unplanned,

are costly; businesses increasingly need to

employ effective pre-emptive strategies

to reduce risks and employ efficient and

effective resourcing strategies to ensure that

non-productive time is kept to a minimum.

Customer FIRST is not just technical support,

it’s a comprehensive programme to help

you manage your systems and maximise the

performance of your assets.

Downtime hurts - Customer FIRST can help

Even the most reliable equipment requires

downtime, perhaps for routine maintenance,

preventative maintenance, upgrades or

replacement. You need to ensure that

downtime is kept to a minimum and to

ensure that there is minimal production loss

as a result.

• Customer FIRST provides you with

access to great hardware maintenance,

software maintenance and comprehensive

lifecycle management services to help

you optimise your planned downtime and

minimise unplanned downtime events.

Recovery time is critical and any delays

in acquiring either replacement parts, or

the expertise required to quickly resolve

problems, can have a significant financial

impact on your business.

• Customer FIRST provides you with timely

access to critical spare parts with the

ability to manage spares more easily and

ensure the reliability of your systems.

What’s more, extended downtime presents

other risks to your business such as failing

to meet contractual obligations to your

customers and the loss of business that

may ensue.

• Customer FIRST also gives you access

to Invensys technical resources to

help you ensure that your system is

back to capacity in as short a time as

possible. Our world-class global service

organisation is available locally, so the

help you need is never far away.

Asset performance is not just about

maximising availability though; you need

to ensure that your assets are working to

their maximum potential. You also need

to minimise the risk to your business of

missed schedules, poor quality or regulatory

violations, with the business consequences

that may follow.

Customer FIRST gives you proactive remote

health monitoring services to spot warning

signs before problems occur and advanced

consulting services to tune your systems to

maximum performance.

Customer first – our mission: your success

Customer FIRST membership gives you

access to award-winning technical support,

hardware and software maintenance

services, lifecycle management and remote

Services, training and consulting services

and much more. The programme provides

you with comprehensive services and flexible

options to choose exactly the right kind of

programme to suit your business needs and

help you to maximise asset performance.

Contact information

Support Telephone Number:

0861-WONDER (0861-966337) or

0800-INVENSYS (Toll Free)

E-mail: [email protected] or

[email protected]


2013 Training Schedule(Johannesburg)

NOTE:

The dates shown apply to training

at our offi ces in Bedfordview,

Johannesburg. Regional training is

presented on demand. A minimum of

six delegates is required to arrange

a course.

Regional training venues:

Durban: Khaya Lembali,

Morningside.

Cape Town: Durbanville Conference

Centre.

Port Elizabeth: Pickering Park

Conference Centre, Newton Park.

i Did you know that your bottom line is directly proportional to the effectiveness of your workforce?

2013 Training Schedule

As the owner of some of the world’s

most popular, advanced and versatile

industrial automation, information and

MES software solutions, you’ll want to

get the most from your investment and

that includes getting the best training

in the business. We routinely train about

600 professionals like you every year not

only on how to use our solutions but how

to turn our product features into real

business benefits.

InTouch Part 1 Fundamentals (includes New Graphics)

• 28 January – 1 February

• 25 February – 1March

• 27 – 31 May

• 1 – 5 July

• 29 July – 2 August

InTouch Part 2 Advanced (includes New Graphics)

• 4 – 7 March

• 3 –6 June

• 8 – 11 July

System Platform – Application Server (includes new graphics)

• 21 – 25 January

• 18 – 22 February

• 11 – 15 March

• 6 – 10 May

• 24 – 28 June

• 22 – 26 July

Historian (includes Historian Client)


• 13 – 16 May

• 18 – 21 June

• 19 – 22 August

InBatch


Bundled courses

In addition to the above, we offer the

following bundled courses at reduced rates:

For maintenance and engineering personnel:

• InTouch only (includes InTouch

Fundamentals and InTouch Advanced)

• InTouch and Historian (includes InTouch

Fundamentals, InTouch Advanced and

Historian)

• System Platform – Application Server

(includes InTouch Fundamentals, InTouch

Advanced, Historian, System Platform and

Application Server)

For system integrators:

• System Platform – Application Server

(includes InTouch Fundamentals, InTouch

Advanced, Historian, System Platform and

Application Server)

For non-technical personnel (operators, managers, supervisors):

• Historian (includes ActiveFactory basics

for non-technical staff)

For all your training requirements, contact

Emmi du Preez at

[email protected] or

[email protected] or call

Emmi on 011 607 8286.


Use Protocol Magazine to generate business opportunitiesProtocol magazine continues to be well

received on a bi-monthly basis by 6500

industry professionals like you, at every

level of the country’s leading mining

and manufacturing companies. You can

leverage this highly-qualified readership

to be heard.

How do you promote yourself right now?

Some of the things you might be doing

could include inserting opinion pieces,

adverts, editorials and other material

into South Africa’s leading manufacturing

and mining magazines. A good choice

since these are excellent and professional

publications that land on decision-makers’

desks every month.

What Protocol offers is all the advantages

of a professional magazine with a large

circulation but the cherry on the cake is

that all the readers of Protocol have one

thing in common – Wonderware solutions

in the areas of SCADA, MES, EMI, BPM and

enterprise integration – in fact, anything to

do with industrial and corporate production

IT. Everything in Protocol is aimed at helping

end users get more from their Wonderware

investment and trigger them to look at new

possibilities. Nobody wants to reinvent a

costly development or investigation wheel

and what you have to offer will go a long way

to stopping that happening.

Let’s think for a minute about your perfect

promotion vehicle and what it should do for

you:

• It must convey your message in a

professional manner to a large, targeted

and qualified audience

• It must generate incremental business (if

you’re a solution supplier) or recognition

(if you’re an end-user)

• It must generate market awareness of

your capabilities

• It must do all that at a reasonable cost

Protocol magazine meets all these criteria.

If you’re an end-user, your stakeholders are

most interested to know how well you’re

looking after their interests by lowering costs

and improving efficiency. Your colleagues

in the industry are keen to see how you’ve

implemented Wonderware solutions so that

they can evaluate if these will have the same

benefits in their environments.

If you’re a system integrator, end-users

want to know what you’ve done so that they

can consider you as a solution supplier for

their next project.

If you’re a hardware or software vendor,

end-users and system integrators want to

know about how well your offerings work

in the Wonderware environment and how

they can help them do a better and more

cost-effective job.

What medium will work best for you?

Success stories:

They won’t cost you a cent and you don’t

have to write them. Simply send an e-mail

to your account manager stating that you

have the makings of a good story and why

you think it is so. You will then be sent a

Guideline and a Permission to Publish form

to complete and return.

The Guideline is in the form of prompts to

which you supply the answers to the best of

your ability. This, together with the graphical

information required, will be used to write

the article which will be sent back to you for

editing, approval, etc.

The Permission to Publish form must be

signed by the end-user of the installation

and system integrator / solution vendor

(if applicable) before work on the article is

started. This ensures that all the work that

goes into compiling the story will not be

wasted.

You are free to use the completed success

story in any marketing sense you wish and

you have hundreds of examples on our

web site and in past issues of A2ware and

FutureLinx.

Opinion Pieces:

Once again, there’s no cost involved and

you don’t have to worry about probably

not having majored in English. Decide on a

central theme and the idea(s) you want to

put across, then jot down all the reinforcing

arguments you can think of (as well as

references if applicable). Also include any

supporting graphics you feel will better

illustrate the point.

Send your draft article to your account manager

and, if necessary, we’ll make the necessary edits

before returning it to you for approval.

Comments to the editor, Q&As, Product and/or service information:

Send your submissions to Denis your

account manager and they (as well as the


Use Protocol Magazine to generate business opportunities

i Did you know that if you don’t talk to anyone, they’re not likely to talk to you or send orders?

answers) will be published in the next issue

(if interesting and relevant).

Material formats

Text – In Microsoft Word format

Graphics – In PowerPoint, Bitmap or JPEG

format (the last two in the highest possible

resolution you have)

Advertising:

For all your advertising requirements –

including the drafting of effective adverts

from scratch – contact Heather Simpkins at

The Marketing Suite.

So what are we really saying?

As an end-user or supplier of Invensys

Wonderware and associated solutions, you

form part of the world’s largest ecosystem

of professionals in the fi elds of industrial

automation and the delivery of actionable

intelligence from the shop fl oor to the top

fl oor.

That makes you pretty special.

That makes what you have to say signifi cant

and important.

In other words, what you have to say matters

and we have made it as easy as possible for

you to say it!

You will be talking to people with the same

reality as you and who have the same

problems and concerns.

So, what we’re really saying is, use Protocol

magazine to say what you believe needs

to be said.


On the lighter sideOne-upmanship

German scientists dug 50 metres

underground and discovered small pieces

of copper. After studying these pieces for

a long time, Germany announced that the

ancient Germans 25,000 years ago had a

nation-wide telephone network.

Naturally, the British government was not

that easily impressed. They ordered their

own scientists to dig even deeper. 100

metres down, they found small pieces of

glass, and they soon announced that the

ancient Brits 35,000 years ago already had a

nation-wide fibre net.

Israeli scientists were outraged. They dug 50,

100 and 200 metres underground, but found

absolutely nothing...

They concluded that the ancient Hebrews,

55,000 years ago, had cell phones.

Getting to grips with new technology

I was visiting my son and daughter-in-law

last night when I asked if I could borrow a

newspaper.

‘This is the 21st century, old man,’ he said.

‘We don’t waste money on newspapers.

Here, you can borrow my iPad.’

That bloody fly never knew what hit it ....

Doggone

A man was leaving a convenience store with

his morning coffee when he noticed a most

unusual funeral procession approaching

the nearby cemetery. A black hearse was

followed by a second black hearse about 50

Feet behind the first one. Behind the second

hearse was a solitary man walking a dog on

a leash. Behind him, a short distance back,

were about 200 men walking single file. The

man couldn’t hold back his curiosity any

longer.

He respectfully approached the man walking

the dog and said, “I am so sorry for your

loss, and this may be a bad time to disturb

you, but I’ve never seen a funeral like this.

“Whose funeral is it?”

“My wife’s.”

‘’What happened to her?”

The man replied, “She yelled at me and my

dog attacked and killed her.”

He inquired further, “But who is in the

second hearse?”

The man answered, “My mother-in-law. She

was trying to help my wife when the dog

turned on her.”

A very poignant and touching moment of

brotherhood and silence passed between

the two men.

“Can I borrow the dog?”

The man replied, “Get in line.”

British humour

An Irishman had no idea his wife was having

an affair, so he was mad with grief when

coming home early one day he surprised her

and her lover in the act. He grabbed a pistol

and pointed it at his head, which made his

wife burst out laughing.

“What do you think you’re laughing at,” he

cried, “you’re next.”

•

At an auction in Manchester a wealthy

American announced that he had lost his

wallet containing £10,000 and would give a

reward of £100 to the person who found it.

From the back of the hall a Scottish voice

shouted, “I’ll give £150!”

•

A man walks into a doctor’s office. He has a


• What’s another word for Thesaurus?

• When I get real bored, I like to drive

downtown and get a great parking spot,

then sit in my car and count how many

people ask me if I’m leaving.

• When I was crossing the border into

Canada, they asked if I had any firearms

with me. I said, “Well, what do you

need?”

• You can’t have everything. Where would

you put it?

• If you were going to shoot a mime, would

you use a silencer?

On the lighter side

cucumber up his nose, a carrot in his left ear

and a banana in his right ear. “What’s the

matter with me?” he asks the doctor. The

doctor replies, “You’re not eating properly.”

More wit from the pen of Steven Wright

• I bought some dehydrated water, but I

don’t know what to add to it.

• I invented the cordless extension cord.

• When I was little, my grandfather used to

make me stand in a closet for 5 minutes

without moving. He said it was elevator

practice.

• The other night I came home late and

tried to unlock my house with my car

keys. I started the house up. So, I drove

it around for a while. I was speeding, and

a cop pulled me over. He asked where I

lived. I said, “Right here, officer.”

• I saw a sign at a gas station. It said ‘help

wanted’. There was another sign below it

that said ‘self service’. So I hired myself.

Then I made myself the boss. I gave

myself a raise. I paid myself. Then I quit.

• A cop stopped me for speeding. He said,

“Why were you going so fast?” I said,

“See this thing my foot is on? It’s called an

accelerator. When you push down on it, it

sends more gas to the engine. The whole

car just takes right off. And see this thing

[mimes steering wheel]? This steers it.”

• Every so often, I like to go to the window,

look up and smile for a satellite picture.

• In Vegas, I got into a long argument with

the man at the roulette wheel over what I

considered to be an odd number.

• While I was gone, somebody rearranged

the furniture in my bedroom. They put it in

exactly the same place it was. When I told

my roommate, he said: “Do I know you?”

• Whenever I fill out an application, in the

part that says “If an emergency, notify:” I

put “DOCTOR”. What’s my mother going

to do?

• The problem with the gene pool is that

there is no lifeguard.

• When I have a kid, I want to buy one of

those strollers for twins. Then put the kid

in and run around, looking frantic. When

he gets older, I’d tell him he used to have

a brother, but he didn’t obey.

• I went to the hardware store to buy some

batteries, but they weren’t included, so I

had to buy them again.

• I had parked in the tow-away zone

and when I got back, the entire

neighbourhood was gone.

• I had a friend who was a clown. When he

died, all his friends went to the funeral in

one car.

• I once put instant coffee in a microwave

and went back in time.

• I got a dog and named him ‘Stay’. Now, I

say “Come here, Stay!” After a while the

dog went insane and wouldn’t move at all.

• I spilled spot remover on my dog. Now

he’s gone.

• I want to get a tattoo of myself on my

entire body, only 2 inches taller.

• I made wine out of raisins so I wouldn’t

have to wait for it to age.

• Right now I’m having amnesia and déjà-vu

at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this

before.

• In my house there’s this light switch that

doesn’t do anything. Every so often I

would flick it on and off just to check.

Yesterday, I got a call from a woman in

Germany. She said, “cut it out!”

• I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You

couldn’t park anywhere near the place.

• I went to the hardware store and bought

some used paint. It was in the shape of a

house.

• I went to the museum where they had all

the heads and arms from the statues that

are in all the other museums.

• It’s a small world, but I wouldn’t want to

have to paint it.


Protocol Crossword #57

When you’ve completed the crossword, the letters in the coloured

boxes spell out what is mined at Sishen.

Note: This magazine contains the answers to a number of the clues.

E-mail your answer to: [email protected]. The sender of the

first correct answer received will get a hamper of Invensys Wonderware

goodies.

Clues across: 1. What this issue of Protocol is about (6)

7. What is mined by 33 across at Marikana (8)

12. Not the outside (8)

14. Real-time Event Notification (3)

15. Indefinite article (2)

16. Non Fiction (2)

17. A central _____________ room makes the best use of

a company’s knowledge resources (11)

21. Slippery fishes (4)

23. Gradually got warmer (9)

25. Rolls Royce (2)

26. Movement for African independence (especially in

Kenya) which translates to “freedom” in Swahili (5)

28. Alternative Network (2)

29. Pertaining to the environment (10)

33. One of the world’s largest primary producers of

Platinum Group Metals (6)

37. Victory in Europe day (2)

38. Universal Entrance (examination) (2)

39. The process of extracting minerals from ore (13)

46. Royal Society (2)

47. To forcibly evict the opposition, for example (4)

48. To speak at length and pompously (5)

49. Of paramount importance to all mining enterprises

(6,3,6)

52. Japanese city (5)

53. International Common Denomination (medicines) (3)

54. Farm machinery manufacturer initially (2)

56. Paid (abbr.) (2)

57. Laugh Out Loud (3)

60. ROM mills are best controlled by one of these (6,6)

64. Father (2)

66. Applied Information Technology (3)

67. That is (2)

68. Corrosive substance (4)

70. By coordinating the efforts of the right people,

workflow management helps to bring about swift _____

__________(5,10)

74. Product of combustion (5)

75. You can use one when shopping at a supermarket,

for example (7)

Clues down:1. Copper and zinc, for example (8)

2. Raging fire (7)

3. Windows® operating system (2)

4. That is (2)

5. National Rescue Institute (3)

6. Alcoholic spirit flavoured with juniper berries (3)

7. Lowering this is a key item on any mine’s agenda

(10,5)

8. If you had one, there would be nothing else you

could carry (6)

9. Sad rip? (4)

10. Preposition (4)

11. One of the places that horse hair comes from (4)

13. Denotes “belonging to” (2)

18. Regarding (2)

19. Exists (2)

20. Of the ear (4)

22. About everything that is of the warm season (8)

24. A valley (4)

27. Rhenium symbol (2)

30. Eggs (3)

31. What the lady of the night said to her client the next

morning (3,3)

32. Father’s sister (familiar) (5)

34. Nota Bene (2)

35. The ten commandments are said to have been cast

__ ____ (2,5)

36. Neon symbol (20

40. Those things that can make one the victim of things

(9)

41. Like a teddy bear (6)

42. The thing’s (3)

43. Anger (3)

44. Good for horses and humans (4)

45. Crystals found inside a rock, for example, (5)

49. Hydrostatic Test Pressure (3)

50. With 47, it’s deadly (2)

51. Novice (7)

55. It is carried (4)

58. Electronic, inter-personal communication (1-4)

59. Backbone (5)

61. They come with pots (4)

62. Uncommon (4)

63. It’s removed by dredgers (4)

65. Overall Equipment Effectiveness

(3)

69. Mountain pass (3)

71. Each (abbr.) (2)

72. Thorium symbol (2)

73. Preposition (2)

Answer to Protocol crossword #56:

Question: Because of the reversible

nature of its implementation, Foxboro’s

I/A Series DCS presents ___ _____ to

your migration plans.

Answer: NO RISK

Achieving competitive and efficient process plant operation is an increasingly tough challenge in today’s fast moving business environment.

Measurement Under Control

Selecting the most reliable and longest life measurement instrumentation is more important than ever. Invensys Foxboro offers time proven innovative measurement solutions that make this possible, leading the way with longer life pH, redox and conductivity measurement sensors and instrumentation.

View our full range of measurement tools and instrumentation at:

www.invensys.co.za or call 0800 INVENSYS for more information

When market tastes change.You’ll be ready.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Thursday Friday Saturday

Flexibly manage change, while maintaining product quality, consistency and safety with Wonderware MES software. For more information, visit wonderware.com/FlexibleMES and get a free whitepaper called “Be ready for changing tastes, a new approach to plant software”.


INV-350 MES_Cola-WW-A4.indd 1 9/11/12 1:02 PM

When market tastes change.You’ll be ready.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Thursday Friday Saturday

Flexibly manage change, while maintaining product quality, consistency and safety with Wonderware MES software. For more information, visit wonderware.com/FlexibleMES and get a free whitepaper called “Be ready for changing tastes, a new approach to plant software”.


INV-350 MES_Cola-WW-A4.indd 1 9/11/12 1:02 PM

0800 INVENSYS | [email protected] | iom.invensys.co.za

Flexibly manage change, while maintaining product quality, consistency and safety withWonderware MES software. For more information, visit wonderware.com/FlexibleMES and get a free whitepaper called “Be ready for changing tastes, a new approach to plant software”.

invensys protocol magazine – "metals and mining – one tough industry"

Documents

software40wonderware

wonderware licensing

wonderware related advansys

mining industry26mining

mining industry11some

south african mining

vertical integration

minerals industry