Elevating Mining Efficiency: Acoem's Eagle Takes Flight in Brazilian Port Operations

Country: Brazil
Application: Port mining

Executive Summary

Acoem Brazil has nurtured a steadfast and enduring partnership with a key player responsible for overseeing iron operations at a vital port terminal in Brazil, extending this collaboration across Latin America. This private enterprise often encounters intricate challenges, which demand customized solutions.

Acoem has maintained this strong alliance since 2015, positioning itself as the primary supplier of both portable (Falcon) and real-time (MVX) monitoring solutions. In response to the evolving needs of this customer, a renewed approach has been set in motion.

The Challenge

The company had already integrated select products from Acoem’s NEST ecosystem* into their operations. Since 2015, they had utilised a FALCON to monitor the performance of motors, compressors, and pumps. Furthermore, in 2022, an MVX system was requested to oversee a reclaimer. However, their expansive facility gave rise to specific requirements that needed to be addressed.

In particular, they required monitoring for a critical conveyor belt to avert unexpected failures due to a lack of spare machinery and redundancy. This was crucial since any malfunction could potentially halt the entire production process. Compounding the challenge was the conveyor belt’s vast 5-kilometer stretch, making manual data collection and vibration analysis exceedingly complex, especially with limited resources and a shortage of skilled labor. The challenge was to identify a fitting solution for monitoring the conveyor while effectively managing these aforementioned constraints.

*Our ecosystem, featuring Sparrow, FALCON, EAGLE, MVX, Machine Defender and more, integrates all your asset information in one centralised place.

The Solution

Eagle proved to be the optimal solution for the company’s challenges. This wireless and automated monitoring system effectively evaluates vibrations in three dimensions, delivering comprehensive real-time data. In case of an alarm, there’s no need to send personnel to the 5km site. Acoem Eagle facilitates seamless remote diagnostics from their current location, leading to time and resource savings, and reduced downtime through its remote diagnostic capabilities.

Beyond its standalone maintenance capabilities, Eagle seamlessly integrates into the NEST ecosystem. This integration allows for unified access to vibration data alongside FALCON and MVX, all within a single platform. This streamlined approach enables the company to effortlessly switch between EAGLE, FALCON & MVX while maintaining a consistent layout and a user-friendly interface across all devices.

The Outcome

The deployment of Eagle at their site resulted in cost savings of approximately US $300,000, underscoring its suitability for the company’s needs. This successful implementation has led to a consistent expansion of Eagle devices on-site over the years. Beginning with 80 sensors and 4 gateways in 2021, the setup grew significantly in the following year, incorporating an additional 140 sensors and 6 gateways. In the current year, the demand surged even more, with a request for 144 Eagle sensors, 9 gateways, and 10 expanders, bringing the total units on-site to an impressive 364. This stands as the largest application of its kind in Brazil. In the near future, Eagle will also be utilized for monitoring Drives and Gearboxes, demonstrating its versatility.

Today, our customers derive immense benefits from the dynamic Acoem Nest ecosystem, integrating FALCON, MVX and EAGLE. This unified platform empowers the company to efficiently oversee site operations and manage all vibration data from a single interface, optimizing time management for the on-site team and enhancing overall workflow availability.