The last System 6 Spotlight showed how the newest edition of the Wenco Mine Performance Suite re-imagines mine monitoring and fleet control. Today, we go under the hood to explain how the updates in System 6 handle your mining data differently, extracting new value from analytics and laying the groundwork for autonomous mining.
Bringing Mine Data Together for Stronger Access and Insights
System 6 sets data interoperability front and centre with the new Wenco Data Warehouse. This online analytical processing (OLAP) database serves as a central bank of data from sources throughout your entire mining enterprise. It merges records from fleet management systems, condition-based maintenance solutions, ERP systems, mine planning systems, and any other data solution used in operating your mine. With all this data connected in one central location, mine managers and data analysts can explore information across multiple systems like never before.
A Data Warehouse Built for Mining Systems
The Wenco Data Warehouse relies on a design known as a star schema to keep data rapidly accessible. Star schemas process data and handle queries much faster than other database architectures. Data populates the Wenco Data Warehouse through an extract-transform-load process. First, the system copies all data from each of your available data sources — fleet management databases, maintenance records, ERP systems, and so on. As it extracts data, the system performs an initial validation and quality check to ensure only viable information gets imported.
After the data has been extracted, the system converts it into a standard format. Different data sources often use different database systems, units of measure, character sets, or terminology to record essential details of your mine. This transformation stage keeps all data in the Wenco Data Warehouse functioning in a consistent way. With the data standardized, the system then loads it into the Wenco Data Warehouse for use in reporting and intelligence. Individual systems still maintain the operational databases they need to function, but reporting personnel can finally manipulate mining data and run queries across multiple datasets to uncover insights — without affecting real-time operation.
Preparing Mines Now for the Autonomous Future
While the Wenco Data Warehouse is necessary for strong analytics and business intelligence, it also sets the foundation for future automation. To create workflows and processes that occur without heavy human interaction, data from multiple systems needs to work interoperably. The Wenco Data Warehouse prepares all of the discrete data systems used in mining for sharing information among each other in a coherent way. Users of the Wenco Mine Performance Suite can already take advantage of this data interoperability with Avoca, the suite's business intelligence application. Dashboards and dynamic visualizations are ready to connect the dots and unearth valuable data correlations throughout your entire operation.But, forward-thinking mines need to consider where the industry is headed. How will they be able to use their data to extract unrealized value in coming years? What can they do now to take advantage of emerging technologies when they become available? Wenco users are already a step ahead, thanks to System 6's Wenco Data Warehouse and its ability to make various datasets work together as one.
Want more information about how Wenco is leveraging data interoperability to help mines extract unrealized value? Join our webinar, Unlocking Hidden Value in Mine Operations Data. On June 13, Wenco Vice President, Research and Development David Noble and Business Intelligence Product Lead Simran Walia will discuss a critical theme for the future of modern mining — extracting unrealized value from operational data and unified business intelligence.
For more information about the Wenco Data Warehouse or another component of the Wenco Mine Performance Suite, please contact us at info@wencomine.com or 604.270.8277.