We lead the way
Lead the way means that Sandvik Rock Tools is striving to be the leading, most innovative and sustainable supplier of rock tools in the world. We want our products to have longer service life, higher productivity, be more energy efficient and consume less fuel than our competitors’. By providing this, Sandvik Rock Tools builds circularity and reduce our products climate impact in the whole life cycle. This is our way to lead sustainability in our business.
In new product development projects, our R&D organization aims to develop new products that are significantly better than standard products and provide either longer service life, higher productivity or are more energy efficient.
Rock Tools has decided to follow two targets in the focus area “We lead the way”:
- Sustainable sales
- Digital shift.
Sustainable sales
Key Performance Indicator (KPI) definition
“Sustainable sales” is a KPI defined as sales of premium products compared to industry standard. Rock Tools leads the way to reduce climate impact in the product life cycle, by increasing sustainable sales.
How do we achieve this?
We will actively work to increase sales of premium products that can help our customers achieve better performance within sustainability. Below are some of the products that Sandvik Rock Tools define as being included in the term “Sustainable sales”.
Result in 2022
In 2022, 37% of Sandvik Rock Tools sales were categorized as “Sustainable sales”. This did not meet the target of 43%.
Focus in 2023
During 2023, we will continue to work actively to focus on the value of our premium products, showcasing to an even larger share of our customers how they can contribute to more sustainable and efficient operations. The target for “Sustainable sales” in 2023 is 40%.
The RH560 DTH hammer is developed to be a robust and reliable addition to your drilling operation, and on top of that it’s exceptionally air efficient. That air efficiency comes from a modern air cycle design that does not utilize any foot valve. Additionally, the hammer is built with high tolerances that further contributes to efficient air usage. Fuel consumption is directly linked to hammer air consumption, and therefore 10-20% less air used by RH560 can be translated into a fuel saving of 8-12%.
RH560 provides exceptional rate of penetration and by boosting productivity with up to 15% will enable further positive impact on sustainability. Drilling more in a shorter period of time will also allow your operation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The new Sandvik Alpha™ 340 thread is designed for use in face drilling and bolting in mine development and tunneling. It features an entirely new asymmetric thread profile and has a larger diameter on the bit end thread of the drifter rod, leading to lower stress levels in critical areas.
Uncoupling is also easier than in previous designs, saving both time and effort at the drill rig. However, perhaps the biggest potential lies in the increased service life of the drill rod: with Sandvik Alpha™ 340, our customers can achieve up to 30% longer service life – significantly increasing productivity and reducing cost per meter advanced, while at the same time delivering sustainability benefits. The new thread concept also comes with improved drill bits.
Sandvik’s successful PowerCarbide® grades will be more widely available in the standard assortment, and many bits get design upgrades with more gauge angles or larger buttons for increased robustness.
A shock absorber is an important tool in any drilling operation: by greatly reducing shock and vibration, it saves the drill rig’s rotary head, enhances performance, and provides a much smoother drilling operation.
The revolutionary design of the Sandvik RP550 shock absorber makes it maintenance-free and the entirely new safety coupling locks the thread connection, making handling much safer than with other shock absorbers. Testing shows that by using the RP550, customers can achieve significantly longer service life – up to 115% – of their shock absorber compared to older and competitor products.
Regrinding drill bits regularly increase bit service life, while at the same time reducing waste and lowering the emissions of manufacturing and transporting new drill bits.
The RG600 Pro grinding machine was presented last year, and comes with advanced and integrated operator safety features, such as reduced vibration, two-hand safety operations, and automatic stops – all aiming to eliminate the risk of hand injuries.
A power ventilation system also ensures a safer work environment and minimizes operator inhalation exposure.
It is a sustainable precision grinder with an efficient water recycling system and solid production capacity. It reduces water consumption with up to 97% and can increase the time efficiency by 37% for each grinding session.
The new RS410 raise boring cutter features an updated roller bearing design, improved carbide inserts for reduced breakages and an upgraded lubricant with higher heat tolerance than previous cutters. Within raise boring, changing cutters means significant downtime, as the process can take up to a week to complete.
It also means a substantial safety risk for the operators as they work within the raise boring area. Longer service life is therefore key within all raise boring operations, and with the new RS410, up to 20% improved service life can be achieved, which has the potential to unlock great productivity, sustainability and safety improvements.
Digital shift
Key Performance Indicator (KPI) definition
“Digital shift” is a KPI defined as the amount of customers that implement our digital tracking and performance system “Track”. Sandvik Rock Tools leads the way by improving our customers productivity, increase the service life of our products and make sure no tools are lost at the customer sites. By doing this, and making the digital shift, the lifetime of our products increases and the total environmental impact decreases.
How do we achieve this?
We will work actively to introduce Track in more customer operations in order to improve productivity and increase the service life of our products. Track is described more in detail below, as are some other products that form Sandvik Rock Tools digital shift in the mining industry.
Result in 2022
At the end of 2022, we had exceed our target and implemented Track in 48% of our service contracts. This was made possible thanks to great collaboration between our customers, Sandvik on-site service personnel, digitalization specialists, and app development team.
Focus in 2023
In 2023 our digitalization journey continues, and the ambition is to reach 60% coverage utilizing the same successful approach.
Track (Services)
Track is an application to capture data, and measure and optimize customer contracts. For many years, the track and review process of customer contracts was done using pen and paper and spreadsheets.
Today, Sandvik Rock Tools offers a concept that digitalizes our customer contracts and help our customers’ businesses excel. Track capture rock tools data and track inventory, rig, operator, and tool performance, while also presenting a real-time analysis for optimal tool selection and operational excellence securing safety, productivity, and efficiency.
By performing and understanding failure analysis and waste management our tools’ service life will improve which is beneficial from both a sustainable and circular standpoint.
The power of using a solution such as Track – both regarding sustainability and productivity – was recently showcased at a customer site in Australia.
There, through the implementation of Track, it was possible to achieve a 30% lowered cost-per-meter, while at the same time significantly increasing the service life of the products.
Analyze (Services)
My Rock Tools Analyze is a mobile application designed to do failure and discard analysis of our customers’ rock tools and provide guidance on improvements - all remotely. The aim is to determine the root cause of the failure or discard reason of the rock tool, prevent it from happening again, and to help improve future performance. It is very easy to use: our customers download the app from either App Store or Google Play, provide some key product information, take a few photos of their worn-out tool and then send it to us for analysis and feedback.
They can then use this analysis to improve their operations with the aim of increasing productivity and in turn, profitability.
Other sustainable initiatives
Sandvik Rock Tools offers interactive customer trainings based on drill hole simulation, called My Rock Tools Drill. There are two different versions: classroom training, through the use of an iPad app, and remote training, using a phone, tablet or computer, a web application and a video conferencing system (Teams).
These digital offerings are available for top hammer, down-the-hole (DTH), and rotary drilling. It is a practical customer training that demonstrates the operational impact on rock tools’ service life and performance when using the correct settings. This has the possibility to achieve longer service life of our products, and in turn, sustainability benefits.