The use of automation to improve operational efficiency, safety and sustainability is rapidly changing the industrial landscape and impacting workforce skillsets in Oceania.
Technology from Hitachi Group company Hitachi Rail STS has enabled Rio Tinto to achieve a global first in freight rail automation – the creation of the first automated heavy-haul long distance rail network.
Launched in 2018, Rio Tinto’s AutoHaul® program enables trains to travel to and from 16 mines and four port terminals, autonomously.
Each autonomous train comprises three locomotives fitted with AutoHaul® technology to support autonomous operation, and some 240 ore cars. These 2.5km long robots can now travel the return distance of 800km across the often remote and inhospitable terrain without a driver on board.
Technology designed and developed by Hitachi Rail STS enables each train journey to be monitored continuously from a central operations centre some 1,000km away.
AutoHaul® is the result of a multi-year collaboration between Rio Tinto and Hitachi Rail STS which began in 2006 when Rio Tinto contracted Hitachi Rail STS to develop a concept design for driverless train operation on a section of its Pilbara railway line.
Over the following years constant development, testing and trialling was conducted, and in 2010 Hitachi Rail STS signed an agreement with Rio Tinto to provide the complete signalling, communications, train control, supervision and automation system upgrades needed to support full autonomous operation of the mining rail network, and ultimately make AutoHaul® a reality.
In providing the communications and supervision infrastructure required to deliver the highest safety standards for this ambitious operation, Hitachi Rail STS installed more than 50 radio base stations and upgraded more than 40 level crossings to the highest safety standards, including adding CCTV cameras.
Rio Tinto commenced operating trains in autonomous mode in early 2017, with a driver on board to supervise and take control if required.
The highest safety standards have been maintained at every stage of development, and regulatory approval was essential to enable fully autonomous operation.
AutoHaul® has been developed and delivered to the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization's (CENELEC) international safety standards and accredited by Australia’s Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator.
In July 2018 the first autonomous production run was successfully completed when a driverless train hauled 28,000 tonnes of ore from Rio Tinto's Tom Price mine more than 280kms to the port of Cape Lambert.
Fully autonomous operation has brought many benefits. Drivers previously had to travel over 1.5 million kilometres every year to attend their shifts, and on average each shift change took an hour.
With no need to match up trains and drivers, operational flexibility has increased, and autonomous trains have achieved a six percent speed improvement over manned trains.
Information on locomotive operation gathered by the system will enable predictive analysis to be used to improve maintenance.
And AutoHaul® will continue to evolve, bringing further efficiency gains. It embodies the vision of social innovation: a novel solution to a problem achieved through creative collaboration and the deployment of digital technologies.
Solution By: Hitachi Rail STS
Co-creation between Hitachi companies, partners and customers like the Queensland Brain Institute, is advancing the technology that underpins neuroscience and disease research, supporting the ground-breaking discoveries that will lead to much-needed treatments and cures.
Digitalisation is more than a business concept. It’s a way to ensure our collective culture is archived and accessible for future generations.
Hitachi have looked at ways in which technological advancements can redefine the way of farming practices for greater sustainability and resilience.
Curtin University using a range of technologies from Hitachi that enable to gather data, at an unprecedented level of granularity, on how staff and students use its facilities, and then to analyse that data for insights to support its planning.
Hitachi’s Autonomous Haulage System is providing enormous benefits to resource companies keen to enhance productivity and reduce costs.
Hitachi is working to enable farmers to eliminate this problem through a combination of image recognition, artificial intelligence, data analytics and satellite positioning with accuracy far superior to that provided by GPS.
An advanced form of cancer therapy is giving fresh hope to sufferers, particularly children and those with previously untreatable forms of cancer.
A new software solution from Hitachi is helping Australian farmers make smarter choices on their quest for digital transformation.
Queensland Rail’s Tilt Train uses technology designed, manufactured and delivered by Hitachi, which makes each carriage tilt to enable the trains to go faster round curves, providing greater comfort for the passengers.
Hitachi has helped STAR Tasmania reduce human resource costs through FingerVeinID technology, meaning they can continue their great work supporting Tasmanians with disabilities.
Search
Oceania