Step-by-step improvements are no longer enough

Mining companies have never had more opportunities to transform their operations with automation, electrification and digital technologies. Yet many transformation projects fail to deliver the expected value. Not because the technology doesn't work, but because the technologies are still too often introduced one project at a time.

For many mining companies, digital transformation begins with new software or requests for more operational data. According to Ramström, it should begin somewhere else.

Start with the problem you're trying to solve

"Customers often ask for all available data. But before deciding what data you need, you first have to understand what you want to measure, improve, or optimize," says Mikael Ramström.

Only then can you determine what information is actually needed and how it should be collected. Without a clear purpose, organizations risk collecting large amounts of data without creating corresponding value. The same principle applies across the transformation journey.

Before introducing new technologies, mines need to understand how those technologies will support the operation as a whole.

Every decision affects the next

Automation, electrification, and digitalization are often discussed as separate initiatives. In reality, they are becoming increasingly interconnected.

Battery-electric equipment changes charging infrastructure. Autonomous equipment changes traffic flows, safety zones, and how work is organized. Digitalization depends on reliable data flowing across the entire operation. None of these developments can be planned separately.

"They all rely on the same data. If you want an autonomous and battery-electric mine, you also need to rethink mine design and your operating processes," says Mikael Ramström.

Consider autonomous haul trucks operating alongside vehicles driven by people. Where should autonomous vehicles have priority? Where should manually operated vehicles wait? How should traffic flows be separated to maintain both safety and productivity?

These are not questions that can be solved by automation alone. They need to be considered when the mine is designed. This is why transformation increasingly becomes a design challenge rather than a technology challenge.

Technology cannot succeed on its own

One of the biggest challenges is that technology is often introduced faster than the operation can support it.

Connectivity may be insufficient. Infrastructure may not yet be in place. Older equipment may not be able to provide the data new systems require. As a result, organizations sometimes conclude that the technology has failed, while the real limitation lies elsewhere.

"The software is rarely the problem. More often, it's the infrastructure or the way the operation is designed," says Mikael Ramström.

Common standards accelerate transformation

As mines become more connected, access to reliable data becomes increasingly important. But data only creates value if different systems can understand and use it. Without common standards, every new integration becomes a separate engineering project.

"Standardization may sound boring, but it's one of the biggest enablers of digital transformation. Rather than limiting innovation, common standards make it easier for equipment suppliers, software providers, and mining companies to exchange information, integrate systems, and scale new technologies across mixed fleets," says Mikael Ramström.

This work is already underway. Organizations such as GMG and ISO are working together to define common datasets and industry standards that make equipment and software interoperable, regardless of manufacturer.

Ramström is closely involved in this effort. In addition to serving as Chairman of GMG, he was recently appointed Chair of an ISO working group developing standards for automation and autonomy. His ambition is to strengthen the collaboration between GMG and ISO so that industry guidelines and formal standards evolve together, helping accelerate digital transformation across the mining industry.