Sandvik support drive to digitalization in surface drilling

Company introduces connectivity between SanRemo remote-monitoring system and Infrakit Cloud

SUPPORTING the drive towards digitalization of infrastructure construction projects and worksites, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology have introduced connectivity between their SanRemo remote-monitoring system for Sandvik surface drilling equipment and Infrakit Cloud, a solution for connecting work machinery, field equipment and personnel on a single platform for more efficient construction, better quality, real-time accessibility of project data and cost savings.

‘We responded to requests from customers and took a major step towards increasingly digitalized, transparent and more productive worksite systems for infrastructure construction,’ said Tuomo Pirinen, application expertise manager with the Surface Drilling and Exploration Division at Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology.

‘The new solution creates a link between our OEM fleet-management and third party mixed-fleet cloud systems, to make work easier for contractors, design engineers as well as equipment operators.

‘The idea is to hook up with systems that companies already use, to reduce unnecessary complexity. Sandvik are excited to be the first equipment OEM to offer this interoperability with Infrakit Cloud.’

The new solution creates a flow of communication between Sandvik drilling equipment, the SanRemo information-management system and Infrakit Cloud. In this way the process data generated by onboard automation and TIM3D drill navigation systems can be easily shared with contractors’ and civil engineering companies’ other systems.

Thanks to this new solution, data only need to be uploaded once from the rig, after which they are automatically shared into the Infrakit Cloud. This allows the data to be shared with as many other systems and users as necessary, eliminating the need for multiple uploads or manual transfers of the data.

A major benefit is the ability to share project data with all the relevant systems and parties: design engineers, drill planners, drill operators, production managers, client’s supervisors etc. Everyone can also easily access the information they need on site, eliminating the use of USB drives and issues with multiple file versions. All the necessary data is available in the cloud, everywhere and at all times. The cloud storage also serves as a permanent archive for any future use.

Data generation on the drill rig is built on the Sandvik TIM3D drill navigation system. TIM3D allows pre-designed drill plans and surface models to be uploaded to the drill rig, and even to be created or edited on the rig (depending on the rig model). During and after drilling, the rig stores as-drilled information, driller’s notes, and measurement-while-drilling (MWD) data for reporting, quality control and downstream process planning.

The connection between SanRemo and Infrakit Cloud is created by a cloud-to-cloud connection, building on API (Application Programming Interface) technologies. The drill rig connectivity is based on mobile data via GSM networks. The current pilot solution allows data to be pushed from SanRemo to Infrakit Cloud. Uploading options that already exist in SanRemo will be made possible in the future through Infrakit Cloud too.

‘At Sandvik, we are committed to digitalization of worksites and mines. We want to offer maximum productivity, including connectivity and other value-adding digital features for the users of our drill rigs. To this end, we will fully support our customers, third party service providers, and other OEMs to capture the digital potential of our drilling products,’ said Mr Pirinen.