Impala Platinum (Implats) Mineral Processes in Rustenburg has gone live with an integrated process plant operations system supplied by Solit, a leading developer of e-business software and an implementer and integrator of enterprise software.
EDS Africa, Implats' IT service provider, contracted Solit for the project after executives at the mineral processing business unit identified the need for an integrated system that would provide them with live production reports.
A spokesman at Impala Platinum says the system will provide end-users with automated real-time reports and give the company greater control and visibility of cost and production yields.
In addition, the system will reduce the need for manual data transcription and reduce the margin for errors in interpreting data.
Says the spokesman: "One of the reasons we opted for the Solit solution was that the company had carried out a similar installation at the Implats precious metals refinery located in Springs. This project proved to be highly successful."
The system is based on the Protean Production and Inventory module from Wonderware, the Seagate Crystal Info reporting tool, Solit's Getreal! integration manager, and a set of custom-developed application programme interfaces (API). Implementation of the new system started in September last year and was completed by August 2001.
The vertically integrated system draws data from the production instruments at the Impala site and presents interactive reports on yields and production status to users across an intranet. The Protean production modules use the Production Model methodology to mirror Impala's real-world environment and accommodate complex process variations.
Registered users access the reports with a standard Web browser, eliminating the need for multiple installations of client software.
Says Tim Wickens, principal consultant at Solit: "The implementation of this new system at Implats is aligned with the mining group's vision of using IT to improve efficiency and international competitiveness.
"Access to reliable, immediate production information forms a critical component of the Implats strategy to maintain its position as one of SA's lowest-cost mining and metallurgical operations."
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