The wait is almost over. Our latest version of the Wenco Mine Performance Suite — Wenco System 6 — has gone into beta testing. Soon, our customers will finally be able to start using the most intuitive mining technology we've ever produced. Wenco System 6 includes over 88 new features and updates to the Wencomine fleet management system. Not only that, it incorporates dozens of extensions and integrations with advanced safety systems, asset health, analytics, and more. We've already covered new apps such as Fleet Awareness V2X and Avoca. Now — for the first time — we're pulling back the veil to give you a sneak preview of the biggest advancements coming later this year to Wenco's flagship solution, Wencomine Fleet Management System.
Mine Monitoring and Control, Reimagined
Without a doubt, the biggest update in System 6 is the total overhaul of our most popular applications for mine monitoring and administration — Fleet Control and MineVision.
These drag-and-drop tools have always made it easy for mines to command the activity of their fleet. Fleet Control allowed mine dispatchers to view schematics of progress as trucks moved through their haul cycles. MineVision served as a real-time map, highlighting equipment position and activity. Dispatchers used these applications in tandem to set assignments, adjust routes, and otherwise control their operations.In System 6, we've merged both of these applications into one. Now, schematic views and maps sit side-by-side, giving dispatchers a seamless experience that allows for greater flexibility in mine management.Fleet Control now uses a set of tabbed windows, similar to common software such as Adobe Photoshop. Dispatchers can open multiple views at the same time, resizing each window as they like. There's no need to switch back and forth between a shovel-dump view and a real-time map. All schematics, maps, equipment lists, and even some reports live in the same workspace. Mines are free to configure a fully customized picture of current activity and mine details. With the new Fleet Control, dispatchers can even open several windows of the same view, setting each at its own zoom level. In this way, dispatchers can keep close eyes on particular equipment or locations while also maintaining a full view of the mine. It's a new approach to fleet management, one focused on the way mines really work. The range of functions now available to dispatchers give them the freedom to run their mines however works best for their operation.
The Next Evolution of Mapping
Beyond integrating maps into Fleet Control, System 6 also advances the graphics and mapping capabilities of Wenco technology as a whole.
System 6 draws on a custom-built graphics engine that greatly enhances all visual data used in Wencomine. Maps now load in rich topographic detail that dispatchers can easily explore through simple dragging and scrolling. The new engine also supports multiple map functions, so dispatchers can keep several windows of maps open at once without noticing a drop in performance. More than ever before, mapping is central to the Wencomine experience. We've also renovated the way our mapping system handles mine activity playbacks. Before System 6, playbacks called up a set of historical data points to match any filters applied. Dispatchers could see the GPS points along a truck's path, all the locations that trucks dumped a particular material, any spots that a certain OEM event occurred, and more. Although it proved useful, we thought it could be even stronger. Now, playbacks have been totally redesigned with clarity in mind. From the mapping window, dispatchers can now select a timeframe for a playback, press play, and watch activity unfold as if it were happening all over again. Rewind and fast-forward functions let them scrub through the timeline until they reach a critical moment. Then, dispatchers can pause the playback to examine that moment's detail more closely. This function brings mines to a whole new level of understanding.
Upgraded, Visualized Dispatching
It's never been easier to take advantage of Dynamic Dispatch than with its new configuration screen. The old-style grid is gone, replaced with icons that clearly show relationships among shovels, dumps, and haul trucks within your dispatch groups.
Dispatchers can simply drag trucks from one group to another, while sidebars show details such as Loading Unit Projections, Dump Targets, and other KPIs. Just like the other views in Fleet Control, Dispatch Configuration now appears as another tabbed window. Mines never need to take their eyes off production to adjust dispatching parameters— it all happens together.
Wait, there's more!
These features barely scratch the surface of all the upgrades System 6 has to offer. From Mobile Dashboards to simplified license management to an Electronic Logbook that adds depth of the pre-start checklist, System 6 has the potential to boost mine performance to greater heights than ever before. It stands as Wenco's testament to simpler, smarter, safer mine management. We can't wait to bring it to you. For more information about Fleet Control, Dynamic Dispatch, or any other advancement in Wenco System 6.0, please contact us at info@wencomine.com or 604.270.8277.