Control and supervision of subcontracted fleet operations at Glencore, AltoNorte operation
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Challenge:
Maintain the service level of machinery contractors in a highly complex industrial area, with the following requirements:
- Operate with materials that pose a very high risk to people’s safety and are of great economic value.
- Manage a geographical area that, bordering public roads, was exposed to potential theft, especially during the early morning hours.
- Generate a database that records activity types, location, equipment used, and duration times.
- Control operational deviations from defined field standards, through violation management and follow-up of palliative activities.
- Monitor equipment status at the start and during the shift execution, providing supervisors with tools for operational safety control and deviation tracking.
- Monitor key process variables (temperature, volume, auxiliary equipment used) on participating equipment, to raise safety standards and build a database for management analysis.
The challenge was twofold: precisely monitor the movement of each machine and piece of equipment to ensure safety, traceability, and productivity, all without resorting to costly traditional “world-class” fleet control systems, whose investment and complexity did not align with the need for an agile and efficient solution.
Faced with this scenario, Alto Norte found the answer in StandardOne®. The solution was implemented as a unified platform that allowed:
- Real-time monitoring of asset location and status, creating a secure digital fence.
- Management of contractor compliance with service level agreements (SLAs).
- Access control and rigorous traceability of high-value materials, deterring and preventing losses.
A significantly lower investment than traditional systems, with rapid implementation and a minimal learning curve.
The result was a total transformation of operational supervision: StandardOne not only matched but exceeded the capabilities of more expensive systems, delivering total control, enhanced safety, and cost optimization that consolidated the profitability and peace of mind of Alto Norte’s operation.
Solution:
- Cross-functional implementation of StandardOne® across the Alto Norte fleet.
- Differential capability: The system not only incorporated traditional fleet control functionalities but also allowed the automatic collection of data generated by any operational process, regardless of its nature.
- Visibility and control: This native data intelligence completely transformed visibility and control over the entire operation.
- ASARCO Standard: The solution uses the ASARCO standard, which defines predefined rules for asset and operations management in mining, guaranteeing consistency and best practices in the business.
Key Results:
- Enhanced safety: Real-time control of risky practices.
- Optimized efficiency: Reduced idle costs and access control.
- Greater availability: Rigorous preventive fleet maintenance.
- Measured productivity: Integrated data to accurately measure performance.
- Comprehensive operational control: Solid foundation for continuous improvement.
La implementación de StandardOne® generó un impacto medible en cuatro pilares fundamentales de la operación de Alto Norte:
1. SegGuaranteed Safety and Operational Control:
Real-time supervision and control over unsafe operational practices was established, allowing their immediate follow-up and mitigation through system protocols. This created a safer and more protected work environment.
2. Operational Efficiency and Loss Reduction:
Drastic reduction of inefficient practices, such as prolonged equipment idling, eliminating a pure operational cost that generated no production.
Absolute control over the access of specific assets (such as forklifts) to restricted areas, mitigating safety and operational risks.
3. Optimization of Asset (Fleet) Lifecycle:
Significant increase in fleet availability through automated tracking and disciplined execution of preventive maintenance guidelines for each equipment type.
4. Data-Driven Traceability and Productivity:
Establishment of a precise and reliable record of productivity level, fed by both manually and automatically entered data. This created a single source of truth for measuring efficiency, analyzing trends, and supporting strategic decision-making.
2. THE SCENARIO: COMPLEXITY AS THE NORM
Alto Norte’s operation in Antofagasta is defined by its inherent complexity: high-risk metallurgical processes in a plant located on the roadside. This environment demands exceptional control, where the constant movement of equipment — both inside and outside the facilities — made centralized supervision a non-negotiable pillar. It was crucial to know, at all times, the exact location of each machine and the performance it contributed to the process, to guarantee safety, productivity, and asset protection.
Alto Norte operates in a highly demanding industrial scenario. Located in Antofagasta, its facilities — bordering a public road — house complex metallurgical processes with high potential risk. The impeccable safety record, sustained by the professionalism of its teams, is testimony to the rigorous operational standard that must be maintained.
In this context, fleet mobility represents a critical challenge. Equipment operates dynamically, moving between complex internal areas and exposed external zones. This constant movement made it essential to have two fundamental capabilities for the viability and safety of the operation:
- Centralized real-time control of each asset’s location.
- Precise integration of production data that each piece of equipment delivers to the process.
The lack of these capabilities was not just an operational gap; it was a latent risk for the safety, traceability, and overall efficiency of Alto Norte.
3. THE OPERATIONAL CHALLENGE
Technological challenge: A customized fleet control system was required for Alto Norte that was complete, scalable, and flexible, to resolve a permanent technical debt in the operation.
AIKO’s Response: AIKO committed to creating a solution tailored to the company’s standards, giving rise to StandardOne®, a platform that matched the capabilities of the most robust systems on the market, with a revolutionary approach:
- World-Class Functionality: It offered high-level reliability and performance.
- Management-Oriented Intelligence: Its core, based on the ASARCO standard, was designed to build an actionable operational database.
- Unprecedented Accessibility: Being a scalable SAAS model, it makes this technology achievable for practically any organization, without sacrificing power.
4. THE SOLUTION: StandardOne®
It was implemented as the fleet’s digital nervous system. More than a simple tracker, it is an intelligent management platform that automates the collection of operational data (production, times, activities) from equipment and sensors. This capability turns each business process into a measurable and auditable “Business Case,” transforming operation into an efficient, transparent, data-driven function.
StandardOne® is a comprehensive technological system designed to generate two fundamental transformations in fleet operations: maximize operational efficiency and turn processes into measurable and auditable assets.
Its power lies in a universal and automated data collection core. Through technology installed directly on production equipment — specifically designed to interact with any external system or sensor, whether electronic or computational — StandardOne® captures and records all critical operation parameters.
This allows the real-time construction of a complete operational database, which includes:
- Production and performance of each asset.
- Cycle times and process efficiency.
- Historical record of activities performed.
- Telematics data and specialized sensors (optional).
By standardizing this data capture, the company’s specific processes — called “Business Cases”within the platform — stop being a black box. They become completely visible, measurable, and auditable, laying the foundation for data-driven management, continuous optimization, and strategic decision-making.
5. RESULTS AND BENEFITS
The final balance of the StandardOne® implementation translates into total operational control and a clear return on investment for Alto Norte:
StandardOne® allowed us to turn a complex, high-risk operation into a model of efficiency, safety, and transparency. We achieved absolute control over our fleet and contractors, eliminated losses due to bad practices, extended the useful life of our assets, and, most importantly, today we make decisions with precise, real-time data. The solution not only met but exceeded our expectations, positioning itself as a strategic pillar for our operation.
Paulo Olivares, Operations Manager, AltoNorte Metallurgical Complex
The implementation of StandardOne® not only resolved the initial challenges of control and visibility but also generated a profound transformation in Alto Norte’s operation, delivering tangible benefits across four strategic dimensions.
1. STRENGTHENED SAFETY AND OPERATIONAL CONTROL
- Elimination of blind spots: Real-time supervision of 100% of fleet movements, both inside the high-risk facilities and in the perimeter areas bordering the public road.
- Proactive risk mitigation: Ability to identify and correct unsafe operational practices instantly, backed by automatic system alerts.
- Theft deterrence and traceability: Strict access control and an immutable historical location record, creating a digital barrier that discourages theft of high-value materials and enables effective investigations.
2.OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND COST OPTIMIZATION
- 85% reduction in unproductive equipment idling, eliminating an energy and wear cost that generated no value.
- Precise control over the use of specific assets (such as forklifts), preventing their movement to unauthorized areas and optimizing their utilization.
- Decision-making based on concrete data on productivity and cycle times, allowing dynamic reallocations and planning improvements.
3. PROACTIVE ASSET LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT
- 25% increase in fleet mechanical availability, thanks to automated tracking and disciplined execution of preventive maintenance.
- Reduction in corrective maintenance costs by anticipating failures through performance indicator monitoring.
- Digitized technical history for each piece of equipment, maximizing its useful life and residual value.
4. BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND DATA GOVERNANCE
- Creation of an operational “Single Source of Truth”: All production, time, and activity data is automatically consolidated into a centralized and audited database.
- Processes converted into measurable “Business Cases”: Each critical activity is now quantifiable, allowing performance analysis, benchmarking between contractors, and identification of best practices.
- Proven scalability and flexibility: The platform demonstrated its ability to adapt to Alto Norte’s unique processes, laying the groundwork for its future expansion into new areas or indicators without disruptive investments.
6. THE DIFFERENTIATING FACTOR
With StandardOne®, we managed to transform a scarce resource like water into a manageable asset with digital precision, guaranteeing operational continuity in an environment where every drop counts.
Gagarin Sepúlveda, General Manager AIKO