Mining Digitalization starts in Mining - not IT
Starting Point for Digitalization in Mining
The seemingly obvious starting point for digitalization initiatives is a company's own IT department. However, these departments have often been grown historically as an point for administration of hardware and management of "office-software" packages. Accordingly it is not very bold to assume a limited project management background as well as a non-existent in depth data science (process) setup and personnel. In this area of conflict, a lack of experience and skills in the field of digitalization and data science is usually addressed by involving external IT experts, which represents either hiring data scientists or consulting sales staff on the market for IT tools. As a result of this approach, an immediate focus is placed on technology, i.e. IT solutions and available products on the market, right from the start of the project.
However, the crucial piece of the puzzle for successful digitalization is missing in this approach: A discrete and defined problem statement. Which business problem, or rather mining problem, should the digitalization tool actually solve? Digitization is an outstanding tool for tackling problems that can be mapped with data. However, this requires filtering out a specific problem and subsequently the development of a necessary mathematical formula as to which key figures contribute to the target key figure to be defined. This preliminary work on the use case is the essential basis for enabling experts from the IT environment to develop a suitable, targeted and ultimately value-adding IT solution.
Due to the complexity of mining projects, the elaboration of this specific problem statement requires extensive mining expertise in order to identify suitable value creation levers. It is mandatory to ensure positive effects on existing processes. Thus, it is required to vet those use case ideas with a mining perspective accordingly and only then create a link to IT and ensure to build a solid bridge for implementation by clear specifications for IT. Digitalization starts in mining and only makes sense when supporting a mining problem.
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Stefan Ebert, Digital Mining Technologist
To create genuine business value through digitalization in mining, deep mining expertise is key. Only those with extensive knowledge of mining operations and processes can accurately identify and define substantial problem statements that address real industry challenges.
Machine Learning Engineer | Cloud MLOps Engineer
1 个月Very informative
Digital Twins (AI + Real World)
1 个月I am literally running a workshop this week to show asset owners and service providers how to do this. Validating problems and testing the feasibility and viability of potential solutions, before we build or buy, is the key. We're in a tough middle ground right now, with everyone building stuff, and less and less of it actually being used to create value.
Ingeniera Civil Industrial UTFSM | CTIO con experiencia en innovación y tecnologías | Impacto en transformación digital, descarbonización en Minería y Energía | Conectando estrategias en LATAM, Europa y Norteamérica
1 个月Stefan Ebert , I couldn't agree more with your insights. In my experience, successful digital transformation in mining indeed starts with addressing real operational challenges. By defining specific problems and building that "solid bridge" between mining expertise and new technologies, we create meaningful solutions. I've seen firsthand how this approach leads to more effective implementations and user adoption. Your emphasis on deep mining knowledge guiding digitalization resonates strongly with my own projects. I'd love to share some case studies that reinforce your points. Perhaps we could connect to discuss further?
Mining, Projects and Innovation Leadership
1 个月I dont support his stance... it requires both teams to come together. I started my technology consulting business 6 years ago based on this premise. IT generally don't understand the business and they assign some underpaid, inexperienced business analyst to define 'user requirements' based on their very limited interpretation of what they hear from the business. The result is often something seen as useless by the business. On the flip side, the business (miners in this case) don't understand the first thing about how IT works and you'll get some engineer thinking 'I can do this myself' and off they go on their merry tangent to create the world's most customized and complex piece of software never to be used more than a year. I tried selling consulting services to sit in the middle and be the bridge but unfortunately we were (and still are) in the phase of engineers wanting to have a go by themselves and the demand for my consulting services was (and still is) zero. Until engineers go through several failed attempts (many years still) then only will they begin to acknowledge the need for expert help and collaboration with technology experts.