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Introduction to Industrial Control Systems

Industrial Control Systems by Industry

Industrial Control Systems for Mining

Within the mining industry, industrial control systems provide understanding of the environment and assets, including people that are in that environment. SCADA can also help optimize and orchestrate the processes that produce the resource being mined.

For example, in a mining environment, diggers are heavy machinery that drill or grind to break apart big chunks of wall in order to scrap out the coal or gold or desired mined material. That process of an asset grinding a wall is incredibly expensive. To have the ability to prevent the machinery from breaking down in the mine can save a substantial related costs.

Mining

In order to do this, monitoring plays an important role. If there is a loose part, or a part that is breaking down, monitoring temperature and changes in vibration patterns can help prevent complete breakdowns. Understanding that physical world and then being able to either reduce the amount of work an asset is doing or taking the asset out of service before it breaks down in the mine, can save on costs.

Monitoring the stability of the environment is also important in resource management and risk prevention. Sensors can be set throughout a mine that can come together to indicate the stability of the mine. This monitoring combined with asset stability, life-cycle and optimization in terms of its usage, can determine the best outcomes for the mine.