Cummins’ PrevenTech for Mining is a proven maintenance solution offering an array of benefits for the industry.
Sensor-based solutions are becoming an important part of modern-day maintenance systems.
The trend, which sees mining equipment of all shapes and sizes attached with devices to measure critical metrics, is only going one way, with a growing number of reports from around the world acknowledging the rapid onset and importance of digitalisation in mining.
By predicting potential equipment ‘health’ issues before they occur, the bottom line for digital monitoring is obvious – reduced downtime and production costs.
Cummins’ PrevenTech for Mining is a proven real-time, data-driven digital solution to improve equipment reliability and reduce lifecycle costs.
Image: Cummins
Mining companies around the world testify to its effectiveness.
PrevenTech works by applying telematics, big data, advanced analytics and IoT (Internet of Things) technology to a machine’s engine hardware, helping a mine identify and diagnose issues faster and more accurately.
Features include real-time engine data logging and graphing, equipment mapping, and customised fault code management.
PrevenTech can track every connected engine, securely transmitting alerts for urgent and potential problems and recommendations for actions and servicing.
Miners can optimise maintenance intervals for each site individually, see the status of equipment in real time, and plan downtime and repair work to minimise disruption.
Alerts and recommendations are sent to the customer by the Cummins Care team via email, phone and a web-based customer dashboard.
The system also increases technician safety and efficiency by viewing live engine data remotely without the need for technician/engine interaction.
A logical step for Whitehaven
In Australia, PrevenTech is connected to around 100 Cummins-powered trucks and excavators at Whitehaven coal mines in New South Wales.
Mark Irwin, Whitehaven’s maintenance manager at Maules Creek, saw PrevenTech as a “logical step” for integration in the fleet while the system was being trialled at the mine.
“During the trial period we only had 10 engines connected but still prevented a couple of potentially significant downtime events,” Irwin said. “The machines were diagnosed and then repaired in a short period so as not to disrupt production. Anything that helps us trend data and get ahead of issues is important.
“We’ve gone from looking in the rear-view mirror to learn from the past, to looking forward and making informed decisions with the real-time data we’re getting from PrevenTech. In other words, we’re now being more proactive, and less reactive, with our maintenance practices and that means reduced operational and maintenance costs.”
Another important element of PrevenTech is the ability to integrate it with FleetguardFIT, which monitors oil, air and fuel filters as well as oil conditions.
This allows Cummins to report on the condition of oil and engine filters on mining equipment, thus reducing reliance on standardised maintenance schedules and minimising unnecessary costs.
Customers have reported extended filter servicing intervals – for example, from 500 hours to 2000 hours – by combining PrevenTech with FleetguardFIT.
This feature appeared in the March 2025 issue of Australian Mining.
