Innovation in Action

Tag: Innovation

Vibration Engineering is not just about solutions. It’s a business. Here is what you should do to stay ahead.
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Navigating the Landscape of Vibration Analysis: Where Science Meets Business

If you’ve ever worked on a mining site, chances are you’ve gazed in awe at the intricate beauty of complex structures and machinery. Inside every engineer resides a kid who marvels at the sheer enormity of the modern world. The realm of engineering is a captivating fusion of science and innovation. As mining companies increasingly prioritize safety and environmental excellence, the field of vibration isn’t just evolving—it’s catapulting forward. Talking about the science of vibration allows us to outline the link between theoretical concepts and tangible real-world applications. Vibration isn’t just about science; it’s about building strategies, forging connections, and creating a future that’s as dynamic as the vibrations we seek to decipher. Beyond the joy science brings, a distinct business perspective prevails. At the core of this article lies an understanding that while science propels us toward progress, it’s the strategic alignment with business objectives that drives us onward. That’s where engineering consultancies need to step up their game. What should they focus on? Let’s open the conversation.   The Business Side of Technological Advancements If you’re new to the business of engineering consultancies, it’s important to understand the pivotal role consultants play. Where science and business meet, consultants provide result-driven solutions. Put simply, companies seek their expertise to solve issues or find the right talent. Consultants craft step-by-step reports to tackle, monitor, or anticipate problems. Sounds simple, right? Not quite. This landscape is in perpetual evolution. From designing robust structures to optimizing intricate systems, these experts navigate ever-evolving science and technology. Succeeding as a business owner requires two vital aspects. First, the intellectual discipline to stay informed about cutting-edge developments. Secondly, the business acumen to translate progress into tangible services. While staying informed about sensor technology improvements is easy, the true essence lies in grasping their potential impact through a strategic lens. How can you integrate these sensors into your team’s operations? Do they require specific hardware, software, or training? Will the next innovation render new equipment obsolete in weeks, making the investment costly? How open will clients be to unfamiliar tools? Turning science into business forms the bedrock of success. In this dynamic landscape, technical excellence is necessary, but no longer the sole competitive factor. Consultancies thrive by translating scientific strides into practical solutions that resonate in boardrooms and laboratories alike. Engineering consultancies, as catalysts of innovation, must transcend the allure of scientific intricacies to embrace the broader perspective—the business angle. It’s about more than adopting the latest technology; it’s transforming it into tangible value for clients.   The Cultural Shift of the Businessification of Science Across history, science’s transition into a profitable force is undeniable. We name a few examples: the discovery of coal led to factories, and weaving became the thriving fashion industry. You might be sceptical about merging business and science. Yet, this scepticism is just one obstacle among many that limit our exploration of possibilities. As future challenges loom, reshaping how we view the union of business and science becomes vital. Significantly, business acts as a dynamic catalyst for scientific progress. This reality echoes in space exploration and more recently (tragically), in deep-sea research. Bridging scientific understanding with profitable application often propels us beyond boundaries. This dynamic extends to the mining industry. Staying current with the latest scientific strides empowers us to offer innovative, cost-effective, remote solutions driven by data. Clients recognize the value of these investments, reinforcing the significance of science in business. Embracing this symbiotic alliance demands modern engineering consultancies to cultivate courage. To be such a consultancy means welcoming trial, error, and improvement. Nurturing a culture that not only tolerates but encourages mistakes is pivotal. Progress thrives through iterations, the steady march towards excellence. Visualize a team continuously shattering limits, unafraid to venture beyond comfort zones. They harness science’s power, drawing inspiration from its intricacies to craft practical strategies propelling business expansion. And there’s more to it. Realizing the full potential of scientific progress means carving out focused study periods. Allocate time for brainstorming or form dedicated teams to uncover fresh applications for cutting-edge scientific advancements. Imagine a mining-focused consultancy. Envision experts momentarily detach from routines to delve into scientific leaps. They explore integrating cutting-edge sensor tech, perhaps envisioning predictive maintenance revolutionizing mine safety. These exploratory missions epitomize science’s business potential. By nurturing curiosity and innovative ideas, consultancies remain competitive and relevant.   Diversity is Smart for Business and Science! Reaching the point where scientific knowledge transforms into a profitable business venture isn’t wishful thinking—it requires a robust team! This is where things get interesting. Savvy business owners grasp the significance of research and development. Yet, realizing diversity’s importance isn’t always so clear. It’s not about skin colour, neurodiversity or gender; it’s about mindset, curiosity, and culture. For engineering consultancies, talent acquisition means expanding horizons. While experienced professionals hold value, embracing diverse recent graduates brings immense benefits. Emerging fresh from school, these newcomers retain an academic and research-oriented mindset. Likely part of research labs or authors of groundbreaking papers, they contribute with fresh outlooks. Their youth affords them an edge with technology, as they’re well-versed in new tools’ capabilities. But finding talent isn’t simple, particularly in the mining sector. And we’ll talk soon about the problem of talent acquisition…. As we explored the importance of Hybrid work for mining. Numerous avenues aim to attract and retain skilled teams. Moreover, team diversity’s cultural dimensions can significantly impact projects. Varied ways of thinking and problem-solving approaches—what’s essential in an Alaskan mine might diverge in Australia. Experts from one corner can offer unique perspectives to problems in another. Neglecting hybrid work’s potential and the strength of diversity could hinder your engineering consultancy.   Bringing Business and Science Together Time for a fresh perspective.  Embracing science for profit isn’t negative—it’s a path to uncover new science applications. This synthesis of business and science fuels exploration, often yielding breakthroughs. However, remember to stay grounded, delivering value to clients. Avoid promising the impossible. Authenticity matters, focusing on solutions genuinely enhancing clients’ operations. Staying informed is

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5 mining innovations to look out for
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5 mining innovations about to drop

Innovation has revolutionised mining in recent years, from digital twin technology to 5G, satellites, and beyond. We’ve made some huge strides in creating safer and more efficient mining operations, yet many challenges still remain. As your trusted engineering consultancy, Mincka is here to shed some light on the changes ahead. Here’s a look at some of the areas in mining on the cusp of revolution. Communicating deep into the Earth Technological advances have allowed miners to dig deeper into the Earth than ever before, with mines now stretching kilometres into the ground. Two-way communications remains a challenge in these setting, with signal interruptions and legacy technology still in use on my many sites. As 5G (link to Mincka blog on 5g) technology continues to roll out globally, communications deep underground will become crystal clear and seamless, aided by direct signals relayed via mesh networks. Reduced mine site footprints Automation made possible by new sensor technologies will see many sites operating entirely on small teams and skeleton crews. Self-driving trucks and machinery will operate autonomously, with limited human oversight managed from a central control room far away from the actual mine site. These innovations will streamline the process to algorithmic precision, reducing the environmental footprints of mine sites. Managing Water The supply and use of water is already a major issue in mining, and as environmental regulations continue to tighten it’s set to become an even bigger concern for the industry’s bottom line. Reducing overall water usage on a site through recycling and novel approaches to management will provide significant advantages over the coming years. Safeguarding against water table contamination will also become a top priority as new blasting technologies come online, reducing these risks. Mental Health and Remote Work The pandemic and associated lockdowns put a spotlight on mental health issues worldwide. It’s long been understood that mining work can take its toll on mental health, especially for fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers. The need to fly thousands of kilometres to and from work will soon seem old-fashioned, as virtual reality capabilities and remote dashboards will allow miners to remotely interface with machinery on-site. Political Pressure and Social Licence There are significant structural changes taking place within the mining industry. As Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) scores and targets are rolled out globally and the transition to renewable energy is increasingly seen as a social license to operate, mining businesses are under increasing pressure to retrofit and purchase new assets and reform their processes to meet new industry standards.  We are actively working at the forefront of these changes for the advancement of our customers. Getting in front of your mining needs is our job, Mincka is your trusted innovation partner, and our global team of experts works across disciplines to provide fast and innovative solutions.   

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Digital Twin delivers real time win
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Digital Twin deliver Real World Wins

Technology is advancing at an exponential rate. And with the adoption of new innovations in the mining industry, we’ve seen dramatic increases in efficiency and business-wide reductions in cost. It meant greater risk management for those businesses that stay ahead of the curve. It’s a new era of operational transparency, and now for the first time it is possible to have near full visibility across every single aspect of your business. With advances in always-on sensor technology, the amount of data that can be collected is staggering. Digital Twins can help with that. It is no just about data However, there is a catch. These new abilities are not without their own challenges. How do you effectively manage so much data? How do we transform this data into actionable tasks? And who is now responsible for managing and interpreting the data? One of the most exciting solutions is found in the emerging field of digital twin technology. A digital twin is a virtual model designed to accurately depict a real-world physical object. The real-world object being studied — for example, a car dumper — is outfitted with multiple sensors related to important areas of functionality. These sensors can collect data about different aspects of the physical object’s performance, such as energy output, temperature, weather conditions and more. This data is then relayed to a processing system and applied to the digital copy. Once the virtual model has been informed with this sensor data, engineers can then use it to run simulations, investigate performance issues, make lifecycle predictions, and identify and virtually test possible improvements. Depending on the outcome of these simulations, the insights can then be applied to the original real-world physical object. Many applicable uses The benefits are immense. The use of a digital twin allows for dramatic improvements in research and development by enabling more effective design and testing before spending even a single dollar on production. This technology provides a new way to rapidly prototype new assets and infrastructures, subjecting them to real world conditions before even bringing them into the real world. The insights gleaned from digital twins are also useful in assisting engineers in making maintenance and lifecycle decisions by identifying product components in need of replacement long before the date arrives. Combined, this represents a revolution in business risk management. This is the kind of cutting edge innovation that we at Mincka live for! And this is just the start; Digital twin technology is still in its infancy, as new AI capabilities come online and are integrated into the simulation process, new capabilities will continue to emerge at breakneck speed. If your business is working with Mincka, this revolutionary power will be at your disposal, too!

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mining services
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Drones In Mining: Innovation Takes Flight

Commercial drones have revolutionised the way that many industries now operate by making once dangerous or labour intensive work much safer, more efficient and better informed through dramatically improved data collection. Mincka, and our team of asset integrity consultants, have been using drones in our engineering consulting work for several years, and our clients have enjoyed having this advanced technology at their disposal. Although many advanced industries stand to benefit from the use of drone technology, perhaps the mining industry stands to gain the most. Commercial drones provide several key advantages that many in the industry could scarcely have imagined just a few short years ago. Australia was one of the first countries to regulate commercial drone use in 2002, before the market or the technology had matured. By 2012 the drone industry really began to take flight globally and is anticipated to become a US$41.3 billion market by 2026. Mincka has employed drones to overcome the challenges related to working at height requirements, in particular for visual inspection, which eliminates this risk and eliminates the need for the use of equipment like an elevating work platform (EWP), man cage, or scaffolding. Because mining is an industry that places such a high value on keeping staff out of harm’s way, this represents a huge leap forward for safety standards. It also keeps project costs down and reduces time to completion, which means more uptime and consistency. Drones can also be used to survey large areas onsite, maintaining records of where materials are located and remotely logging project updates. More recently, drone technology is being used to assist with planning work with aerial 3D mapping and capture of topographic data. This makes it easier and more cost effective to identify potential drilling sites and areas that can be used for equipment storage. As drone technology continues to evolve, we anticipate seeing a wider range of sensor equipment incorporated at the hardware level, and the continued evolution of artificial intelligence capabilities at the software level. Together, these developments will revolutionise many of the existing processes and projects within mining and other advanced industries. And, as one of the most innovative and disruptive new technologies at our disposal, we at Mincka have our finger on the pulse of drone technology. Afterall, disruptive innovation is what we do! Drones offer the potential for companies to reimagine the way they operate, reduce costs, and keep their staff safer. Not to mention, providing a massive reduction in project costs and time to completion. If these are priorities for your business, get in touch with Mincka today to find out how we can provide you with innovation for the long term. Use the contact form below and one of our team member will be in touch within 24-48 hours.

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