Being data-led – collecting and utilising the most relevant and valuable information – leads to insights-driven decision-making and ultimately safer, smarter and sustainable mining.
Data is at the heart of digital evolution, but how do you become truly data-led?
Leveraging the power of data to transform operations and value chains gives you increased safety and worker connectedness, effective centralised functions and cost efficiency, and sustainable and responsible practises that support environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies.
“At Accenture, we’re working with our mining clients to evolve their systems and processes through an array of business solutions, including large-scale and complex technology implementation, to build the necessary agility for future success,” Accenture’s ANZ mining lead Eric Croeser told Safe to Work.
Accenture believes data and digitalisation are extremely important for mine operators. The company understands that the value of a connected mine lies in digging deep into the wealth of data available across the entire value chain in order to provide integrated, end-to-end situational awareness and intelligent asset management.
For more than a decade, Accenture has been building a broad suite of engineering and manufacturing services called Industry X.
This initiative has led to the development of a connected mine solution that helps enable companies to more effectively manage their operational environments through the use of embedded intelligence systems.
“We refer to Industry X as the application of advanced technology solutions specifically focused on the core operations of our mining clients,” Croeser said.
“We bring our global technology experience to drive large-scale transformation. “In essence, we are a mining value-generator with the capacity to supply our clients with a solution for any operational requirement.”
Digital transformation is delivering significant rewards for mining companies, and Accenture looks for improvement opportunities across any mine situation.
The company can deploy many solution layers ,from strategy consulting, enterprise resource planning (ERP), instrumentation and cloud computing. It leverages its experience and size, with thousands of trained people in each technology area, to assist the process.
Accenture is platform- and partner-agnostic, which means it can deploy any technology, product or application according to a mining client’s needs. It also has alliances with most technology providers and is trained in their solution suites.
Connecting people, equipment, data and insights across a mine by utilising advanced digital technologies helps operators gain important intelligence and predictive insights. This in turn enables faster and more accurate decision-making, leading to safer outcomes.
The ability to monitor everything from road conditions and truck performance to specific equipment productivity and worker fatigue is supported by Accenture’s connected mine solution, which provides accurate operational insights in real-time.
“Within our Industry X business we are making a massive play into robotics and automation technologies with the recent acquisition of Pollux, a provider of industrial robotics and automation solutions in Brazil,” Croeser said.
“Recent forecasts suggest that robotics and automation in mining will remove thousands of injuries from mining operations, and the industry has always strived to be at the forefront of safety and adopting safe practices.”
This ability to harness information through advanced digital technologies such as data science, machine learning, data engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), and augmented and virtual reality, linked to 5G connectivity, creates the capability to make data-driven, value- and risk-based decisions.
“We’re starting to see a trend towards autonomous decision-making and our role at Accenture is to harness the vast amounts of data now being generated and convert it into insights as a way for our clients to augment their workforce decisions,” Croeser said.
“Advanced analytics and intelligent decision-making for mining operations is providing critical insights across the entire value chain, driving better safety, sustainability and ESG outcomes, as well as greater efficiencies.”
Decarbonisation is critical.
A key for resources companies is accurate, auditable carbon tracking that starts at the mine and extends downstream.
Accenture’s analysis points towards miners leveraging technologies like data analytics and AI in the near term to improve efficiencies such as automating operations. This can help companies reduce energy consumption by regulating and optimising machinery speeds and movement.
In the long term, Accenture believes mining companies can move on to bigger and longer-horizon projects; for example, electrifying the mining infrastructure from renewable sources such as solar and wind.
The question is no longer about whether or not mining companies should pursue decarbonisation. It’s how to make decarbonisation environmentally and financially rewarding.
Miners that formulate an approach to this combination will not only be better positioned to meet increasingly stringent carbon targets, but also stand to realise higher valuations and open more doors to capital investment.
The challenges associated with safety, ESG and sustainably, especially the process of decarbonisation, require a whole-of-industry approach and, for Accenture, the role of Austmine as a leading industry organisation is crucial.
“Austmine has kept the industry connected through a difficult period over the last 24 months,” Croeser said.
“As an industry, we face challenges but we also have opportunities, and Austmine has been very much the golden thread that has helped to facilitate our response.”