The mining industry has been going through a technological revolution for quite some time now.

Equipment manufacturers have been advancing and evolving at an incredible rate. The aim is simple – get the job done quicker, safer and at a lower cost.

In recent years, software has played an increasingly pivotal role in operations.

The demand for efficiency and optimisation has driven the influence of software at all levels of a mining project – from fly-in, fly-out flight schedules and rosters, to the calculation and management of the amount of ore in a haul truck.

Supply Side is a big fan of any new idea that can improve existing, tried and tested methods.

So it was with great interest that we learned of GPS specialist Navman Wireless’ announcement that it had developed the capability to centralise an entire fleet of mining machines and equipment into a single tracking system.

Fleet tracking all under one roof? That’s impressive. Even more so when you consider the fact that Navman can consolidate data from all OEMs.

“For the past decade, contractors with mixed fleets have been increasingly handicapped in their use of telematics by the fractured nature of the reporting,” Navman Wireless North America vice-president Steve Blackburn explained.

“Only the largest fleets with exceptional budgets and large IT teams have been able to afford to consolidate the data from each OEM website.

“Our new Qtanium Connect portal offers a single view of all telematics data regardless of the source, giving operators insights and controls that can help drive new fleet efficiencies and profitability.”

So how does Navman Wireless’ Qtanium Connect system achieve this integration?

This is how Navman describes it: “Qtanium Connect, a new web-based telematics portal designed to streamline management of mixed heavy equipment fleets by consolidating machine data from all OEM and Navman Wireless-tracked assets into a single interface.

“The new solution complies with the AEMP Telematics Data Standard, provides one-stop fleetwide visibility without adding third-party hardware to machines that already have factory-installed OEM telematics, and supports integration of data into the enterprise office system for broader business use.

“Qtanium Connect allows fleet operators to request data access credentials from each OEM represented in their fleet.

“Data from each reporting source will then be securely transmitted to operators’ servers and aggregated for use in the portal’s widgets, dashboards, maps and reports.”

Information collated by the portal includes machine location, fuel utilisation, fuel burn and preventative maintenance schedules.

Navman Wireless added: “Other value-added features include the ability to sort reports by OEM, analyse data by machine category and click to access real-time weather reporting from each jobsite to help fleet managers and equipment rental companies quickly ascertain the reason for low real-time utilisation rates.”

Operators can access available data on smartphones, tablets or PCs.

The real beauty of Qtanium lies in the integration across all OEMs.

A significant challenge for software and technology developers is how to tap into existing telemetry and process data that mine operators and managers can use quickly.

Eliminating time spent on analysing data and updating systems will prove attractive to Navman’s clients.

Fleet operators will be encouraged by a product that assists them in achieving productivity targets, while simplifying the process of gathering, processing and analysing data.

US-based Navman begins testing Qtanium this month. It will be priced based upon the number of assets tracked.