Industrial informatics applications: Optimising life cycle costs of an Underground Mining Longwall Conveyor

This paper presents a study that was conducted to find effective means of improving the life cycle cost of industrial equipment. The analytical study was also applied to an Armoured Face Conveyor (AFC) used in Longwall Underground Coal Mining Operation. A cost effective maintenance and operation strategy and practices is mandatory to meet the production demand and required availability target of this critical asset of the plant. The study conducted and presented in this paper includes a detailed review of failure history and its effect on the throughput and the overall performance of the longwall operation which is the heart of the underground coal mining operation.