Central platform for all things service
Sandvik’s Mechanical Cutting division provides customers with solutions that enable continuous mining and tunneling. This includes rapid-entry roadway development, demanding production settings without drilling and blasting, as well as boring of ore passes and ventilation shafts.
In the division’s line of business, customers put special focus on continuity, minimized downtime and effortless service. To promote these exact objectives, Sandvik deployed the digital MySandvik SmartMate service platform.
Planning for the platform started back in 2022, based on both internal ambition and customer requests. Sandvik’s customers were keen to have a platform where they could track service operations in real time, view materials such as parts manual and maintenance manual when needed, and that could be used for data-driven decision making.
Sandvik’s Portfolio Manager for Digital Services Solutions Hareesh Kanakaswamy was involved in the process since initial ideation and the early design stages.
“We started thinking about a single portal for information for the end user and solving the problems of service operation optimization and parts inventory optimization – aspects such as on-time part delivery, on-time demand planning and on-time service. Proactive and predictive maintenance are very important to minimize equipment downtime and to increase overall equipment efficiency,” Kanakaswamy says.
Three key pillars identified in the process were strategy – what kind of services the division wants to provide – the digital infrastructure, and a well-trained team that would have all the necessary information available in one place.
“We started connecting all these dots. Each of these tangible key value propositions to the customer happen through a lot of data. That's how we got started with the MySandvik SmartMate journey,” Kanakaswamy recounts.
Time and money are saved at many stages
Sandvik’s Mechanical Cutting division has a highly niche product line that serves specialized purposes and involves many safety aspects. In the OEM business, service is both crucial and difficult.
If an operator needs information on a specific piece of equipment, they may have to run through a 2,500-page PDF – and then read another 20-30 pages to ensure that all safety aspects and preparations are covered.
“We solved the problem through interactive content. The user can search for a specific topic, and they are also shown all related topics. This way, the search rate for the content can be minimized. Our service technicians can now put more effort on fixing the issue rather than learning how to fix it,” Kanakaswamy explains.
The system now allows end users to receive notifications about their chosen events of interest, such as equipment status updates, and to have new documents and reports available as needed.
Another major benefit of MySandvik SmartMate is parts inventory management. Spare part inventory optimization is essential for Sandvik as the components are highly customized and some take months to manufacture.
“Just imagine: if it takes six months to repair a part or to get a new one, there is no productivity and no production. That means losing a lot of money. Based on the data in SmartMate, our customers can now proactively see if a specific part is in stock.”
In addition to gathering all service-related information in one place, the platform was designed to ensure that it is in a meaningful format for the user. Having everything organized in a logical way streamlines day-to-day operations while also serving fundamental business needs.
Just-in-time service
In mining, where profitability is calculated through cost per ton, time is of the essence. Lack of service and lack of parts are directly reflected in downtime and therefore the bottom line. In the long run, Sandvik aims to apply the principles of just-in-time manufacturing to just-in-time service.
“We now have a data platform, we have IoT data, we have inspection data, and we have maintenance data. When you combine all this data, you can solve the problem of knowledge availability while also starting to find issues in advance and starting to notice pattens.”
At the design stage, the platform was future-proofed through internal controls and conformity. Integrated with the ERP, the solution was also designed in a way that allows both vertical and horizontal scaling, including onboarding other divisions going forward.
"Insta has been our strategic partner for digital transformation"
For Sandvik’s Mechanical Cutting division, Insta has been a strategic partner that closely supports the digitalization journey. With MySandvik SmartMate, the partnership began in 2022 and has involved both software consultancy and a team of dedicated experts.
“We are an OEM manufacturer and we know our mechanical world. We are not a software company. Insta helped us to identify what the technological backbone for our ambition should be and then started onboarding the right expertise,” Kanakaswamy says.
Work between the Sandvik and Insta teams has been smooth and straightforward. Working towards an ambitious, shared goal has required trust, openness, and a shared commitment to progress.
“On a digital transformation journey, you need to have the right mindset, the right people and the right skills. As for MySandvik SmartMate, Insta supported us in getting the right technical skills and knowledge for product development. I want to thank the Insta team for that,” Kanakaswamy concludes.