iVolve
Operational Excellence for the Mining Industry

The complex business of mining involves a plethora of environmental, legal, and safety considerations while managing the fleet and assets. Amid low commodity prices and declining grades, mining companies need to capitalize on innovation and leverage digital tools and capabilities to drive operational excellence. To stay competitive, these companies need a solution that provides a close overview of their assets at all times, helping them effectively overcome the declining availability of minerals, optimally cut down on metal wastage, and get the most out of their mines.

Enter iVolve. The company has designed the iVolve Mine4D Fleet Management System (FMS) to extract, record, and present operational data that monitors and manages mining fleets to improve operational efficiency in production, maintenance, guidance, and safety. With Kim Parascos at the helm as the CEO, iVolve is focused on helping mining companies recognize the importance of data and the potential value it can bring to the table. Kim emphasizes that mining companies can get excellent benefits out of high-quality data. “If data is not presented consistently, it can lead to alienated recommendations when used in analytics,” she adds. “With almost two decades of experience in gathering and presenting data from mine sites, customers can use the iVolve system to bring more value to their mining operations, mitigate risks, and achieve improved productivity and cost reduction.”

Because mining operations are located in some of the world’s most remote regions with few reliable means of communication, iVolve’s hardware is equipped with in-built mesh networking that allows for the dynamic extension of networks. The company’s equipment uses IoT to remain interconnected without requiring access to a central server to help administer the network. As technology suppliers, iVolve’s sophisticated yet simple system continues working off the grid without needing continuous access to a central server, eliminating the impact of a shifting worksite environment on network coverage.

iVolve’s IoT-powered industrialized hardware can extract data from any field equipment and present it to the necessary personnel in real-time. Operators receiving information regarding the location of loaded and unloaded vehicles, their contents, and destination can keep a close watch to ensure that vehicles do not stray from their designated routes. At the same time, the maintenance crew receives an overview of the fleet on-site.

iVolve ensures that customers can use data to bring more value to their mining operations, mitigate risks, and achieve improved productivity and cost reduction

The proactive maintenance approach adopted by iVolve maximizes the uptime of vehicles through real-time tracking and guides drivers to make informed decisions in critical situations. Supervisors can rely on the tracking capability of iVolve’s tools and networks to follow on-site occurrences across locations in real-time.

iVolve benefits clients by improving the quality and accessibility of their data, which provides them with the information they need to support quick decisions. iVolve’s process of accessing and analyzing data for customer benefit has proved highly beneficial to one European mining company. Within six to eight weeks of the installation of its hardware, iVolve started analyzing the post-production benefits of data for its clients. iVolve Mine4D’s real-time vehicle health and utilization functionality enabled load and excavator operators to load trucks optimally and dispelled the previously held fears of the overloading-related dismissal of vehicle warranty claims. On utilizing site data appropriately, the company observed productivity gains of 10-12 percent, translating to $10,000 per day.

Since its inception, the company claims to have worked with 90 percent of the vehicles used in this sector. On encountering a new vehicle, iVolve works closely with the equipment manufacturer to create the necessary interface to track on-board data. iVolve Mine4D sets itself apart with its simplicity and familiarity with mixed fleets while being flexible enough to meet specific customer requirements.

iVolve works with customers to understand the critical aspects of their operation, so that tangible value is realized with targeted, timely data.