Komatsu’s brand-agnostic system takes real-time production data from loading and hauling machines.
Quarries and large civil construction projects are always looking for opportunities to increase production and reduce operating costs.
One of the best ways to achieve this goal is by quickly identifying issues and bottlenecks, or areas where there may be a need to divert resources.
Komatsu has developed a complete fleet-management solution for quarry operations and civil construction projects that focuses on five key areas: site management, production, machine health, maintenance, and safety.
The Komatsu iSite version 1.1 provides site and project management personnel with at-a-glance production visualisation of any quarry or civil construction site, giving a real-time animated overview of every movement of production machines, as well as the material they’re extracting, shifting or placing.
Komatsu iSite has been designed from the ground up as a brand-agnostic holistic visualisation solution that allows all levels of site management to have an ongoing overview of every machine.
The system uses cloud technology to allow users to monitor an entire site – or multiple sites – whether on-premises or remotely.
Komatsu iSite is a fully brand-agnostic solution so it’s not restricted to Komatsu-only fleets and operations.
According to Komatsu national product and solutions manager Aaron Marsh, Komatsu iSite uses data provided by a site’s mobile equipment to give management a complete view of all machines on a site, including their payloads and production rates.
Data from a machine’s standard equipment monitoring system is captured using a plug-in onboard dashboard device that transmits the data to a centralised cloud, giving full site visualisation to the operator and management.
Data captured includes payload, payload opportunity and bucketload information; operating parameters such as machine travel speed and fuel consumption; and any potential machine health issues like overheating or excessive oil or fuel consumption.
Up to 50 machine operating parameters can be captured by the Komatsu iSite dashboard device.
For machine brands that don’t have high-level monitoring capabilities, the Komatsu iSite dashboard device can capture required data via a CANbus connection.
“All the data captured by Komatsu iSite is centralised, so it can be viewed by all key site and management personnel – from operators through to site managers to senior management – through real-time visualisation and reporting,” Marsh said.
Data can also be shared between machines using peer-to-peer connected mesh network.
If a machine is in an area without connectivity, data is automatically uploaded when one of the mobile machines is back in range.
“This mesh network facility allows Komatsu iSite to measure load and dump production on a constant 24–7 basis,” Marsh said.
“It includes automatic truck payload capture, automatic truck-to-loader pairing, and true vehicle ground speeds.
“In our current version 1.1, Komatsu iSite determines payload from the truck’s payload measuring system. In version 1.2, due for release later in 2022, it will integrate to payload systems fitted on loading tools, such as loaders and excavators, for instances where production trucks don’t have their own telematic payload measuring system.
“Material types can also be set up automatically – for example, in stockpile operations – or selected and changed by operators as they move to different areas of the site,” Marsh continued.
“And so long as Komatsu iSite is installed on both trucks and loading tools, and the trucks are fitted with payload-measuring systems, loader production can be linked to each truck.”
This type of production visualisation is a major step forward in quarry and project management.
“Komatsu iSite makes use of industry-leading dashboards, so easy access to real-time data is now a reality,” Marsh said.
“This allows site supervisors and managers to make real-time decisions across all aspects of a quarry or project.
“Key stakeholders can see immediately at a glance just what’s happening across their site and have the option of immediately diving deeper if they need to.
“This gives an unrivalled opportunity to increase production and reduce operating costs by quickly identifying issues and bottlenecks, or where there may be a need to divert resources.”
Komatsu iSite version 1.1 also provides integrated machine health and maintenance reporting across an entire fleet, regardless of how many different brands it may include.
Features include: Daily electronic prestart, linked to operator IDs, and including auto reporting functions; fault events linked to original equipment manufacturer (OEM) controllers; fuel consumption on fleets and individual machines, automatic service meter readings (SMRs); automatic machine utilisation measuring; idle analysis; and access through the myKomatsu online customer parts portal for parts and service kits, as well as oil analysis kits and reports.
Komatsu iSite’s inclusion of operator pre-start ensured all machine pre-starts are completed, with easy reporting and reviewing.
“Because it’s tied to operator ID, it ensures that pre-starts are correctly carried out, every day,” Marsh said.
“In addition, Komatsu iSite pre-start’s auto-reporting capability – specific to each machine – alerts key site personnel by email and SMS if an unserviceable item is detected, allowing for immediate action on any shift. And it’s based on severity.”
This reporting function also allows for auditing and maintenance review at any time.
Komatsu iSite can also provide in-cab alerts to operators on overspeed and overload events, helping improve site and operator safety.
This information is also provided to site supervisors to help monitor and maintain a site’s safety procedures.
“And if an incident occurs, Komatsu iSite can replay all machine movements leading up to the incident, allowing site management to cycle back and review and audit events, and the potential causes leading up to it,” Marsh said.
“Komatsu iSite has applications in any quarry site that uses more than two or three production units, as well as any fairly large civil construction project with significant production components.”
“We believe it has the potential to make a huge contribution to any quarry’s bottom line, production rates and cost reductions,”Marsh said.
Once Komatsu iSite has been rolled out in Australia and New Zealand, Komatsu will be looking to offer it to quarry operations around the world.
“It’ll be available as a selectable first-fit for new production machines, as well as an aftermarket option,” Marsh said.