In recent years, Weir has been focused on harnessing digital technologies to improve equipment performance, availability and product quality – what’s known as overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
This has provided a solid foundation on which to grow its digital capabilities. Having recently added artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to its suite of digital solutions, Weir is now harnessing these technologies to optimize entire circuits and processes.
As part of this evolution, Weir recently launched its new intelligent solution, NEXT, at MINExpo. NEXT Intelligent Solutions extends and expands Weir’s current capabilities and transforms its process optimization services into real-time digital solutions.
This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach; rather, Weir understands that different customers, operating in various applications, have a range of priorities and requirements. As a result, the NEXT digital offering can be tailored to overcome each customer’s unique challenges and, ultimately, help them reach next levels of performance.
Weir has developed three packages to service its customers based on their needs and requirements.
Insight
The Insight package provides actionable visibility of the system health and performance. It includes:
- Condition monitoring: NEXT sensors are designed to monitor the health and measure equipment efficiency based on a range of core health parameters.
- Performance monitoring: NEXT technology empowers operators to monitor and measure key performance parameters of the equipment and provides them with access to critical information about its operational behavior.
- eDocumentation: Allows quick access to critical documentation such as IOMs and more. The mobile app offers important information about the equipment, as well as the ability to request a quote for spare parts.
- Maintenance reporting: Gain access to the equipment’s maintenance history, allowing the operator to have full visibility of any maintenance that’s occurred, while also support maintenance scheduling.
Uptime
This package is focused on extending availability using predictive condition monitoring. It does this in two important ways:
- Wear Detection: NEXT technology allows the operator to monitor the wear of key components of the machinery and gain full visibility of its remaining useful life in real-time.
- Failure Prediction: Built on Weir’s propriety data, engineering knowledge and expertise of the equipment’s wear and failure conditions, NEXT’s digital twin platform combines condition monitoring with intelligent predictive models to help operators foresee equipment failures ahead of time.
Production
The Production package maximizes process efficiency in line with specific customer objectives. It’s a two-stage process:
- Stage 1 – Process optimization: Weir has combined its expertise with AI technology to deliver an Intelligent Assistant for production optimization. Using advanced AI, the solution considers all necessary variables, such as ore feed, machine drift, production cost and operational targets, enabling maximum production optimization.
- Stage 2 – Process optimization automation: Weir supports its customers in their efforts to meet demand in ways that are sustainable, environmentally friendly and safe. NEXT intelligent solutions use non-linear algorithms to get closer to the dynamic behavior of the process. With the power of reinforcement learning, NEXT intelligent solutions deliver true process optimization.
Nobody serves more mines than Weir and its NEXT Intelligent Solutions are supported by its global network of service centers, spanning over 60 countries, including all major mining regions. Weir has always prioritized being close to its customers – in the sense of being proximate to their operations, as well as working alongside them to understand their challenges and develop solutions to overcome them. NEXT Intelligent Solutions is taking that to the next level.
