Our customer's maintenance strategies were producing good availability results for their 4100XPC DC and 4100XPC AC shovels. However, to achieve consistent availability results, they wanted better visibility into potential upcoming causes of downtime. 

Solution design 

We partnered with the customer though our Smart Solutions to improve shovel reliability and avoid catastrophic failures on major components. We were given six months to prove the value of the Smart Solutions offering. 

Smart Solutions product specialists quickly identified areas of focus that would be prioritized to achieve improved reliability:

• Major equipment: motors, transmissions, gearing, bearings
• Lubrication
• Air supply

Using collected sensor data, experts deployed predictive models that could analyze real-time sensor data to determine if any of the identified major equipment or systems was starting to drift from "normal" operation. On a daily basis, Smart Solutions product specialists would intercept any model detections and then report out with a recommended course of action, giving it a priority rating depending on the component type and severity of the detection.

With a system in place, the necessary change in culture was the final hurdle. Early on, an incidence was caused by not following recommended steps after detection of imminent failure, and resulted in 38 hours of downtime. Following that incident, team engagement and commitment rose, allowing greater successes to be achieved through the partnership.

Results

Toward the end of the six-month trial period, the combined machine availabilities hit the target of 92% eight weeks in a row. In addition, no major equipment failed during the six-month period. The benefits were so clear that the customer decided to proceed with a long-term partnership.