Yokogawa aims to combine good citizenship with the courage to innovate. How does this principle reflect in the work that you do at the company in relation to the mining sector?
Mining operations need to always be stable and safe, so our main focus is on reliability across the whole spectrum of our services and products. In the pursuit to replace manual work with automation, Yokogawa has been developing and providing process control systems for around 50 years, and, moving forward, we aim to embrace AI technologies that will enable the industry to move to the next stage, autonomous operations. We have already completed a field trial in Japan where our AI autonomously controlled operations at a chemical plant, and this will act as a trigger that will drive business in the artificial intelligence direction. In order to truly be able to achieve unmanned operations with AI, we would need to collect much more field data, however we are confident we will be able to realize autonomous operations in specific areas soon with AI.
How are your customers responding to these types of innovations?
The customers in mining are interested in AI, but they are also extremely cautious about the dependability of these systems, an element which can be easily provided by our company thanks to our strong service network in each of the countries where we are present. We have a streamlined troubleshooting process that allows us solve the issues in a short time with remote support from an expert, and this is definitely a strong point that helps us in relation with customers. In addition, project execution and delivery are another key differentiating factor that helps us stand out in this economically challenging market. All these characteristics are especially useful when assuring customers about the introduction of AI and other innovations.
Given all these technological advancements, could we imagine a mine of the future controlled entirely remotely?
That would be the ideal scenario for sure, but at this point in time it is difficult to implement all the elements that could make it real. However, we can reduce human intervention on site with the help of the new technologies that we have now, and this is no small feat.
Besides AI, remote operation is one of the most sought-after features mining customers seem to be seeking, mainly due to the increased level of safety this would provide to human operators.
Given that remote controlling systems need to be very robust to be able to withstand the intensive use on mining sites, we developed the Sushi Sensor solution which gathers data through a magnetic sensor that can be attached to equipment to monitor it in real time. The data collected in this manner becomes extremely useful when trying to do predictive maintenance.
How are you approaching sustainability topics and what are some of the solutions that you embrace?
For the past 30 years, we have been providing sensors that monitor energy and water utilization, and based on that data, we can optimize the use of power and water across our customers’ facilities. Besides these, we are aware that decarbonization is the keyword of the green transition, and we are now focusing on helping customers to limit GHG emissions as much as possible. All these sustainability efforts through our business activities are what we hope to be our contribution to make the planet a better place for the future.
What are some of the most challenging aspects of your work today?
As a global company, the workforce has proven to be one of our biggest challenges, as it is not easy to find experts in each region where we are present. Japan lacks mining talent due to its limited history in this sector, and as most mines are found in Australia or Africa, we have designated our Australia operations as our global center of excellence for this industry. Additionally, more R&D is required to address and solve our customer's issues in the most effective way possible.
What are the strongest countries in your portfolio, given that 70% of the operations are overseas?
For Yokogawa overall, Asia is one of the primary geographies in our operations portfolio, and India and the Middle East are also important locations for our future expansion. However, strictly pertaining to mining, Australia is our strongest market at the moment.
Yokogawa has been operating for over a century. What are the next objectives that you have for the mining business and Materials division in the coming three years?
We want to use our hundred-year-long experience to contribute to society, and serve our customers and stakeholders by providing unique value. By leveraging the technology developed for the oil & gas industry, we aim to enhance our presence in the mining sector, and become a trustworthy and competitive solution provider in this space. To achieve this goal, we will leverage our center of excellence for mining in Australia, where we will gather all applications and knowledge in a single hub. By FY30, we plan to further grow the mining business to about three times the current level.
