Raspadskaya Chooses Orange Business Services IoT Solution to Ensure Coal Quality
Raspadskaya, a Russian coal mining company partly owned by British steel making and mining group EVRAZ, has deployed an Orange Business Services bespoke IoT solution at its Russian coal preparation factory. The system plays a key role in minimizing the risk of mixing different grades and types of coal, thereby tainting supplies.
Raw coal is transported to different unloading bays in Raspadskya’s warehouse – a 40,000 square meter open-air storage facility – from its open-pit mines and is tagged for different grades of coal concentrate. The challenge Raspadskya has is making sure different grades of coal are not mixed. Mixing, due to human error, negatively affects the quality of its product.
Tracking truck deliveries with IoT
To ensure loads are put in the correct locations, Orange Business Services deployed telemetry sensors and real-time tracking (RTLS) systems using industrial outdoor WiFi hotspots. Transport tags are attached to the trucks delivering the coal from the mines to the warehouse, which read data from the truck and the sensors. Beacons installed in the trucks’ cabs alert drivers if they try to unload coal in the wrong grade bay.
Base stations, which are the hub of the WiFi network, tags and transmitters are packed in special thermal casing so that the equipment can operate in extremely low temperatures at the warehouse.
“The Orange Business Services IoT solution effectively and efficiently automates the control of the coal unloading zone, removing the risk of human error. The digitalization of these types of processes guarantees the highest possible quality of coal products and reduces costs by reducing manpower requirements,” explains Alexey Chervyakov, Director for Labour Protection, Industrial Safety and Ecology, Raspadskaya.
“Our work with Raspadskya shows how connected objects can be a game changer for an enterprise, increasing operational efficiency and providing real, tangible business value. We have extensive experience in the mining industry, and this project highlights how the power of industrial IoT in automating relatively simple tasks can make a huge difference to output,” said Richard van Wageningen, Senior Vice President, IMEAR region, Orange Business Services.
About Raspadskaya
PAO Raspadskaya is an integrated group of coal mining and enrichment facilities located in the Kemerovo region of Russia. It is a subsidiary of EVRAZ, a major vertically integrated metals and mining company.
About Orange Business Services
Orange Business Services is a network-native digital services company and the global enterprise division of the Orange Group. It connects, protects, and innovates for enterprises around the world to support sustainable business growth. Leveraging its connectivity and system integration expertise throughout the digital value chain, Orange Business Services is well placed to support global businesses in areas such as software-defined networks, multi-cloud services, Data and AI, smart mobility services, and cybersecurity. It securely accompanies enterprises across every stage of the data lifecycle end-to-end, from collection, transport, storage, and processing to analysis and sharing.
With companies thriving on innovation, Orange Business Services places its customers at the heart of an open collaborative ecosystem. This includes its 28,500 employees, the assets and expertise of the Orange Group, its technology and business partners, and a pool of finely selected start-ups. More than 3,000 multinational enterprises, as well as two million professionals, companies, and local communities in France, put their trust in Orange Business Services.
Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with revenues of 42.3 billion euros in 2020 and 259 million customers worldwide on 31 December 2020. Orange is listed on the Euronext Paris (ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (ORAN). In December 2019, Orange presented its new ‘Engage 2025’ strategic plan, guided by social and environmental accountability. While accelerating in growth areas, such as B-to-B services and placing data and AI at the heart of innovation, the entire Orange Group will be an attractive and responsible employer.
