Helping customers in mining improve utilization, boost revenue, reduce CO2 emissions and cut fuel consumption with dual-mode satellite-cellular IoT.
There are tens of thousands of mines operating around the world today. The largest mines produce millions of metric tons of copper, gold, iron ore, nickel, bauxite, tellurium, molybdenum and more.
Mines operate in remote, rugged areas that make it difficult for the people and vehicles that keep the operations running to be connected via cellular networks. The disconnected operations often have challenges in managing and monitoring the mines that can cover hundreds of thousands of square kilometers.
Berlin-based mining technology company Kuchera has identified numerous areas where mining operations could improve and develop their teamUp mining operations platform to help drive productivity and optimize equipment utilization for their customers. However, according to Kumbirai Chipadza, co- founder and managing director of Kuchera, this came with some challenges.
“In many countries, such as Zimbabwe and South Africa, connectivity at mining sites is often spotty or non-existent,” Chipadza said. “Sometimes there are five- to eight-hour blackout periods where data isn’t delivered due to unavailable cellular coverage.”
The solution
Kuchera answered their connectivity challenges with ORBCOMM dual-mode satellite/cellular connectivity and devices. With ORBCOMM’s technology, Kuchera’s teamUp can do what it does best: help customers improve mining operations and boost employee collaboration, all while reducing negative environmental impacts.
“Kuchera’s teamUp is more than an IoT data platform,” Chipadza said. “It’s a performance management platform that empowers mining teams to set clear, achievable objectives and track their progress in real time. By automating data collection and offering actionable insights, Kuchera helps teams focus on what matters most—achieving their goals. With tools to streamline operations, reduce downtime and enhance safety, Kuchera turns complex mining challenges into manageable tasks, driving both efficiency and success in every project.”
“We wanted to provide a way for everyone working in the mining operation to collaborate on developing goals and related key performance indicators that would help the entire team work together to realize better results,” he said. “We knew that persistent communication among workers and mining fleets was imperative to supporting transparency and goal realization. We also wanted our application to provide immediate feedback to the drivers and people working in the field.”
ORBCOMM’s programmable dual-mode terminals send data to teamUp. Versatile and environmentally sealed, the terminals are built for the remote, rugged regions where Kuchera’s customers operate.
The ability to switch between satellite and cellular networks keeps vehicles, people, and assets connected seamlessly while keeping airtime costs down. Plus, being able to process data and send updates over the air helped significantly reduce device upkeep, said Kuchera co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer, Christian Hugger.
“What we really liked was the flexible programming environment ORBCOMM provides that includes a development kit and offers open APIs for easy integration of teamUp and the addition of functionality,” Hugger said. “Plus, installation of ORBCOMM satellite IoT terminals takes 20 minutes or less and doesn’t impact vehicle warranties. This was especially important for our customers.”
A key part of this successful partnership was the way that ORBCOMM and Kuchera worked together from solution ideation to deployment and beyond.
Chipadza said, “When we were rolling out teamUp, ORBCOMM helped us determine exactly what we needed to ensure our customers would realize the benefits of our application. Having ORBCOMM supporting our launch has been valuable as we began connecting people and vehicles operating in the field. They could see how their efforts in the field were directly impacting the results. We saw people lighting up with excitement to see how their daily efforts were making a difference. We didn’t want our solution to be just another IoT application that provides data but not results. We saw mining IoT solutions on the market that weren’t having a positive impact on mine productivity or operational efficiency.”
Kuchera delivers
results
Here are a few of the measurable results Kuchera customers have realized since implementing the company’s solutions.
• Accurate distance reporting up to 100m: Corrected invoicing for a mining contractor billing 1km per trip to a dump site that was actually 1.4km. This resulted in a 40% revenue increase during the next billing cycle.
• True inclination reporting: Discovered a 6-degree incline was actually 11 degrees, leading to additional revenue after correction.
• Optimizing operating hours: Increased uptime from 8.5 hours per shift to 10 hours within the first week of using the solution.
• Improved accuracy for productive loads: Increased accuracy from 80% to 95% within the first month.
• Planned and daily rate of bank cubic meter: Increased operator output from six to eight loads per hour through cycle standardization times and recommended output rates.
• Reduced idling: Decreased idling time from an average of three hours per shift to less than 30 minutes.
• Optimized fuel consumption: Reduced average fuel consumption from 1,300 liters to less than 900 liters across a fleet of 10 dump trucks.
Measurable increases in mining productivity for Kuchera’s customers
Every element in a mining operation is an opportunity to improv e production. Instead of simply collecting and reporting on data, Kuchera is tying the data to employee-influenced KPIs focused on optimizati on. This has resulted in shorter cycle times per load, an increased number o f loads and less waiting time per load.
Minimizing environmental
impact to comply with
regulations
Traditionally, mining is known for having a negative environmental impact. Today, there’s increasing regulatory pressure to improve mining sustainability, leading many to turn to technology for help. Thanks to teamUp, Kuchera is helping mining operations reduce their environmental footprint by optimizing fuel consumption, cutting CO2 emissions and reducing waste.
Empowering employees
to make a difference
teamUp empowers employees by providing them with immediate feedback on the impact that they’re making. It gives everyone a voice and an opportunity to contribute to defining KPIs and measuring performance against team-set goals.
“With ORBCOMM’s support, we’re providing our customers and their employees with the data they need to develop constructive solutions so they can accomplish goals together, and that is exactly what we set out to do,” said Chipadza.
kuchera.global/