The plant maintenance environment is more enterprise-content-management- (ECM-) intensive than most people realise and needs integrated ECM systems to reduce maintenance challenges associated with the use of various document sources, says Nokusa Engineering Informatics (NokusaEI) consulting director Gerhard du Plessis.

The company specialises in the design and implementation of ECM systems to ensure business processes are supported by the correct documentation, which helps make mine maintenance processes more efficient, affordable and up to date, he adds.

“An ECM system ensures that the correct information is delivered at the right point and time, which is crucial in the mining industry.

“It is imperative that people use the correct information when making decisions and executing tasks. A lack of knowledge or incorrect information can have devastating safety and operational impacts, such as operation stoppages, in a mining environment,” notes Du Plessis.

He states that maintenance administration can be a complex process if it is not well managed.

Engineering drawings from the drawing office, health and safety regulations from the safety, health, environment and quality management department, maintenance instructions from the enterprise resource planning system and a completed and signed authorisation form for auditing or guarantee purposes are required to perform maintenance on mining equipment and machinery.

“All these systems might not be integrated, which makes the delivery of information challenging,” he says.

NokusaEI states that the end-to-end process of maintenance should also be taken into con- sideration and includes the buyer, who is respon- sible for buying new parts, the maintenance planner, who has to decide when to execute the required maintenance, the stores personnel that issue spare parts, the artisans or technicians that execute the job and the maintenance manager that keeps records of maintenance tasks.

Further, Du Plessis says the mine drawing office plays a big part in maintenance and is usually an independent entity that supplies a technical service to the rest of the organisation.

“In some cases, the drawing office department is completely outsourced. Drawings are part and parcel of the mine maintenance department’s everyday life; however, these two worlds often do not integrate well as they are on separate, disparate systems,” he explains.

Du Plessis notes that it is challenging enough to manage today’s drawing revision and the distribution of new and updated information in an electronic environment without the added complexity of outdated printed drawings that are not compatible with their electronic versions.

“Mines are in need of software that can help manage all the administration associated with maintenance tasks,” he stresses.

Sishen Mine EMS System

System application program (SAP) software, document management software (DMS) and Cideon conversion engine software were installed as part of opencast mining company Kumba Iron Ore’s Sishen plant’s maintenance.

The latest technology introduced at the Sishen mine is the modularised Cideon technology, which can be added to the mine’s ECM system according to the required functionality.

“The first versions of Cideon software products were made available in 2002. The software has since then become a development partner of SAP software,” says software developer Cideon Software CEO Lenz Finster.

The Cideon output management system determines which documents are needed to authorise or record scheduled or unplanned maintenance and automatically prints these.

Portable document format conversion modules for most drawing office and plant maintenance documentation are compatible with the Cideon technology, says Du Plessis.

“This ensures that a neutral view format and small file sizes are used for all view-access users throughout the plant.”

Output management was used for the plant maintenance printing processes and quality inspections, he adds.

“This ensures that all required documenta- tion for maintenance and inspection activities is printed as a single process and that all the documents are stamped with identification information and page numbers to ensure the completeness of the information set.”

Du Plessis adds that a view manager module was also rolled out to ensure that the correct watermarks are applied with up-to-date infor- mation when a user displays a document. The origin, date and status of a document is then permanently embedded in the file in case a PDF file is mailed or stored outside the ECM controlled environment.

Sishen also expanded its DMS system to address a need with its computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines, which have been around since the early 1970s. These machines form an integral part of plant maintenance as they are used to manufacture replacement parts for mine machinery.

Du Plessis states, however, that management of the required information to operate the CNC machines is challenging as the original drawing of the parts that need to be manufactured does not contain the finer details that the machines require to perform the cutting of the raw material.

NokusaEI installed a system that acts as an extension to the DMS system at Sishen in the first quarter of this year to enable the storing of detailed drawings and computer files as a unit. This unit is then linked back to the origi- nal design drawing.

“The extended system automatically notifies the CNC department if the original drawing is modified. This prevents the accidental fabrication of incorrect parts from old versions of the detailed drawings,” says Du Plessis.

As a result, installation of DMS software as well as SAP and Cideon software, reduces the complexity of updating documentation at the Sishen plant, he adds.

Approval is also needed when changes are made to ensure no unauthorised changes are made to the documentation, while an audit trail and revision history enable Sishen to see what the changes were.

Safety and efficiency are also improved, he adds. A simple concept, like the ability to add photographs and pictures into automatically printed documentation, makes it easier for the maintenance personnel to execute tasks as documentation remains up to date.

The fact that any printed drawing is stamped with the print date and status of the drawing at the point of printing also addresses compliance issues.

NokusaEI has continuously been involved in the Sishen mine since 1999.

The company started off by implementing a drawing office electronic document management solution for the mines’ SAP system, which helped to control the life cycle of the drawings and enabled authorised personnel to search, retrieve and print drawings from anywhere in the plant.

“This technology enabled them to make continuous improvements and adapt their system to modern trends,” says Du Plessis.

The aim of NokusaEI’s involvement at Sishen is to anticipate and proactively address stoppages and challenges by using ECM systems.