A Perth resources company is using Panasonic Toughbooks to help repair essential mining equipment in the depths of some of the world’s largest underground mines.
Panasonic Toughbooks are built to military specifications and
can withstand harsh working environments. These fully-rugged
notebooks are used worldwide for demanding applications by heavy
industry, emergency services, utility field service, the military,
and mobile professionals.
Byrnecut Mining is a contract mining company that employs more
than 1,000 people and has a multi-million dollar fleet of
specialised underground mining equipment. It operates on sites
around the world, including Australia's largest gold mine, Telfer.
At Telfer, the company uses centre-articulated vehicles which
resemble large dump trucks to remove the coarse ore from the stope
to the surface. This can be a long journey with the deepest mines
in Australia up to 1,800 metres below the ground.
Byrnecut engineers and mechanics take Panasonic Toughbooks down
the mines to provide diagnostic information from faulty vehicles to
above ground workshops wirelessly. This onsite electronic
evaluation allows for onsite repair and dramatically reduces repair
time Byrnecut Mining IT Manager Jeff Knuckey said the company
turned to Panasonic after amassing a ' graveyard' of notebooks not
built to withstand tough mining conditions. "At one point we were
going through a notebook every couple of weeks, with everything
from broken screens to seized drives. We were buying up six new
notebooks a month and they really weren't up to it,"
Knuckey said. "For us the big positive was the total return on
investment. There were other models that were initially cheaper,
however over the following 12 months the Toughbooks easily came out
in front in terms of value."
However it was not just the cost of notebook repair where
Toughbook earned its stripes. Its increased reliability meant
Byrnecut had fewer in-mine notebook failures which can cause
thousands of dollars in lost productivity for each instance - as
well as potentially disrupting important mine schedules. In some
instances broken down haulage trucks need to be hauled to the
surface, costing thousands of dollars each time.
Panasonic Toughbooks are built from the ground up to deliver
high reliability in extreme environments and are extensively used
throughout the mining and resources sector. They feature a 100 per
cent magnesium alloy casing and are certified to the MIL-STD-810F
standard. These military testing procedures ensure the notebooks
withstand drops, shocks, vibration and extremes of temperature. In
addition, they are sealed and rated at IP54 (Ingress Protection)
level for dust and water resistance. The notebooks include sealed
keyboards and ports, flexible internal connectors and shock-mounted
screens and hard drives.
Byrnecut Mining uses Panasonic Toughbook CF-30s for its
underground diagnostic work. The Toughbook CF-30 is 3G wireless and
Vista ready and is the benchmark model for outdoor notebooks.
Greater flexibility and optimum WLAN reception are achieved through
the diversity antennae which are integrated into the display
casing. Byrnecut Mining has been so impressed with the performance
of the Toughbooks that it is now using them in mining sites
throughout the world including Kazakhstan and Indonesia. In fact,
the company has also extended their use outside the underground
sites, bringing them into repair workshops and even providing them
for their auditors as they do on-site inventory work.
Knuckey said Byrnecut Mining had issued a fleet of Panasonic
Toughbook CF-18 convertible tablet PCs to help with the above
ground auditing work. This allows auditors to do a lot of their
work while on-site, collating any data they need while being on the
network. "The auditors can be just as tough on their notebooks as
those working under ground," Knuckey said. "Every now and again
they'll send their Toughbook in for an upgrade and some work and
they won't even package it. They literally just slap a sticker with
the IT department's address on the lid of the Toughbook and drop it
in the mail.