ABB installs digital software at Shanyang Coal Mine, China

The digital software has been installed at 18 sites worldwide since launching in 2015 and the commission at Shanyang Coal Mine is the first for ABB in China. 

The coal mine produces three million tonnes of coal annually and its equipment includes a production hoist, two service hoists and one main ventilation system. The hoists are equipped with ABB brake systems installed by ABB China eight years ago. 

The ABB software comprises a data acquisition system, five workstations, network devices and ABB Ability Asset Vista to monitor three hoists and the main ventilation system of the mine. 

“This contract marks Asset Vista’s first application in China,” said Xin Wang, service manager, ABB Process Industries, North Asia and China. “With technical support from ABB Brazil’s Asset Vista team, including training and project experience sharing. The success of this project will play a key role in expanding our digital capabilities among other mining customers and industrial sectors in China with enquiries from new customers already underway.”

According to Eduardo Ingegneri, global product manager, ABB Ability Asset Vista, it has seen an increase in customers understanding the benefits of condition monitoring and how it creates a larger geographical footprint across industries.

“The technology is not only scalable, but can be adapted to a range of scenarios to ensure the highest levels of asset health and to enable more predictable operations,” he added. 

The ABB Ability Asset Vista for mining pulls together disparate data on the condition of equipment to provide a complete picture of asset health, helping to increase process efficiency and minimize maintenance. It predicts potential problems and detects root cause, considerably reducing downtime. This improves equipment utilization and maximizes productivity, which ultimately enables mine operators to reduce costs.

It also provides full-time online monitoring capabilities, including functions such as intelligent algorithms on evaluation system operation and device condition change, troubleshooting and maintenance support. 

“We have benefitted from ABB's expertise in hoists and brake systems previously, and know that ABB also has a strong track record in building unified IT frameworks,” said Chongyun Zhang of Shaanxi Chenghe Shanyang Coal Mine Co., Ltd. “ABB's local technical competence and the adaptation and scalability of ABB Ability Asset Vista were additional key factors in awarding this contract.”