Costs & Uncertainty Make Optimizing Production Mining's No. 1 Challenge, Ventyx Mining Survey Finds

ATLANTA, Oct. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Squeezed by rising production costs, slim margins and fluctuating commodity prices, more than three-quarters of mining executives responding to the Ventyx 2014 Global Mining Industry Survey identify "optimizing or maximizing production" as the most  urgent challenge their companies must address. Though a growing number of executives and managers identify "optimization" as the leading benefit of combining information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), compared to the 2013 Survey, more than half report their companies are still operating with siloed data through the organization and rely on spreadsheets combined with human expertise for crucial decision support.

The next five most-urgent challenges after optimizing production, according to survey respondents, are:

• Workforce safety (73 percent)
• Equipment reliability (71 percent)
• Managing capital projects correctly (70 percent)
• Addressing environmental concerns (63 percent)
• Executing to operational plan (57 percent)

"The 2014 Ventyx Mining Survey is an encouraging snapshot of an industry slowly but increasingly embracing technologies that help the industry meet its most urgent challenges, deliver predictability and improve safety while increasing shareholder return," said Jay Jenkins, director of product management for Ventyx technical mining software. "Judging from the top challenges listed by respondents, the best solution is a combination of technologies that includes remote asset diagnostics, continuous automation and software optimization."

The Ventyx 2014 Global Mining Industry Survey interviewed 247 mining executives and managers in more than a dozen countries during July 2014 using an online questionnaire. Geddes Analytics LLC developed the research design, survey questionnaire, and final analysis in collaboration with Ventyx, an ABB company.

Other noteworthy findings of the Ventyx 2014 Mining Industry Survey:

• Safe, skilled workforce remains a priority: Operations managers are particularly concerned with resourcing their skilled workforce, with 27 percent identifying this goal as the leading force driving optimization. This may be because more than a third of mining companies surveyed still rely on human intelligence to optimize the value chain. Workforce safety remains a priority. While 73 percent cited it as "the most urgent challenge," more than 50 percent of respondents stated that it's an extremely urgent priority. More than a third of respondents already have mobility solutions in place that can alleviate some short-term safety challenges, but the focus on zero harm, zero fatalities will continue to drive investments in mobility, automation and initiatives such as remote mining.
• Access to real-time production and equipment data is an executive priority: Two in three (67 percent) operations management executives, 92 percent of asset management executives and 67 percent of corporate executives seek the ability to make smarter decisions based upon real-time production and equipment data as a primary objective for their move toward greater automation.
• Remote mining continues to increase: Half of respondents (51 percent) indicated their companies are actively implementing remote mining strategies. As technological capabilities for automation and optimization evolve, remote mining initiatives also bring relief to the urgent challenges to optimize production, improve worker safety and improve reliability.

"The survey results confirm what we're hearing from our customers: the mining industry is looking for better ways to profitably increase productivity, while ensuring safety and environmental compliance. Further, encouragingly, the miners see technology as one of the main enablers to achieve these goals," said Eduardo Gallestey, Senior Principal Engineer for Advanced Process Control at ABB. "ABB's technology road map will continue to focus on generating value in the areas of system integration, real-time visibility, process optimization and remote operations."

Click here to see the complete survey results.

About Ventyx
Ventyx, an ABB company, is a world-leading supplier of Industrial Enterprise Software for essential industries such as energy, mining and public infrastructure. Ventyx solutions connect information technologies (IT) and operational technologies (OT), enabling clients to make faster, better-informed decisions in both daily operations and long-term planning strategies. Some of the world's largest organizations rely on Ventyx solutions to minimize risk, enhance operational and financial performance, and execute the right strategies for the future. For more details, see www.ventyx.com.

SOURCE Ventyx

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