Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology India: Manojit Haldar, Managing Director
While many companies have been forced to make difficult decisions about costs and spending, but at a deeper level, many are also opting to innovate and digitise at a faster pace.
Sandvik’s digital solutions like the i-series machines, tele-remote operation machines, AI-based Remote Support, and mySandvik services tool, have been a game changer for our customers.
As a high-tech engineering company with specialisation in underground and surface mining, and construction equipment, we are always at the forefront of providing technologically advanced products to our customers. Our aim is to ensure not only the safety of customers’ operations and people, but also to enhance their efficiency and productivity for better revenues.
Under our i-series, equipment like Automatic Tunnelling Jumbo DT 922i and Leopard Di650i DTH Drill rig, come loaded with patented intelligent software, helping the operators automate the entire drilling operation like face drilling plans, bolting, different hole settings, and boom drilling sequence.
We have introduced tele-remote operation machines where operators can simultaneously control and monitor multiple underground and surface machine operations from the comfort and safety of a remote-control room.
Digital services tool like mySandvik are helping customers to access and manage all the vital information for predictive analysis, and to monitor and control their fleet from anywhere in the world. mySandvik is also helping our channel partners with real-time updates on impending parts requirement and ordering by customers. AI-based Remote Support system is helping the Sandvik service team in troubleshooting machines from a distant central location.
Aftermarket support is the key strength of Sandvik, and we have a total life-cycle approach to our customers’ business.
With our in-house trained service engineers, we work on a proactive model rather than a reactive one. Even during the Covid times, our service teams were working at mine sites and quarries to support customers and ensure their business continuity. We built lodging arrangements for our teams at customer sites so that they could provide quick service to them.
To overcome the disrupted supply chain of parts and consumables on customer sites, we made many smart tweaks to our SCM corridor, ensuring seamless continuity. We introduced the right balance of air lifting of parts to ensure that there was no machine downtime. We also conducted on-the-job training of operators at sites, in addition to regular health check-ups of the machines so that there was minimum impact on our customers’ productivity.
Apart from leasing and renting, our complete equipment rebuilding solutions help customers get peak performance of their machines at substantially lower costs.
We are aware of the market dynamics, and the changing need profiles of our customers. The pandemic has surely created a void in the cashflow side of things. Sandvik has introduced several new business models like equipment rental service with the support of NBFCs to help customers tide through these times. As a gesture of goodwill, we extended the credit period and warranty coverage for our customers to sail through this difficult period.
Apart from leasing and renting, our complete equipment rebuilding solution enables customers to refurbish and rebuild the critical components of the equipment, granting precious lifetime extension, at a fraction of the cost of new equipment.
The construction and mining sector is confident of a good growth trajectory owing to rising demand and fresh investments by major companies.
Despite two Covid waves and the disruptions across industries, the construction sector has managed to come out shining. The Government’s intention of economic growth has sped up the process of normalisation. Initiatives like increased investments in Infrastructure with a clear focus on Roads and Railways, investments announced for mechanisation of coal mining, amendments in the national mineral development policy to allow captive mining and auctioning of new mines, all these initiatives would surely pave way to a faster recovery of growth.
On the surface the industry has suffered temporarily, especially the infrastructure sector, with many companies being forced to make difficult decisions about costs and spending. But at a deeper level, many companies are also opting to innovate and digitise at a faster pace than ever before, to weather this crisis.
This shift in paradigm has infused a certain amount of hope in the system. Momentum is increasing slowly, Capex outlook continues to strengthen, and one can be confident that large investments in the coming years will not be derailed, and, in fact, may experience a stronger thrust, going forward.
We utilised the lockdown time judiciously in self-improvement and competence development through various online programs, and implemented many new employee-friendly policies.
We took various steps to ensure that our people were safe and at the same time we continued to support our customers in these challenging times. Sandvik urged its employees to work from home, which made it important for us to ensure daily virtual interactions between the team and the management using new-age digital tools.
Numerous workshops and regular webinars were organised to ensure the psychological and mental health of the team. We also introduced structured work schedules to ensure a healthy work-life balance.
Sandvik also built temporary medical facilities for teams working at remote customer sites. These campuses were equipped with medical staff and equipment like oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders, etc, and with the support from our customers, many vaccination drives were organised.
We provided additional Covid insurance coverage for all our employees and their dependant family members. In case of any unfortunate tragedy, we introduced a policy for extending support to employees’ family and their children’s education.
Sandvik’s digital solutions like the i-series machines, tele-remote operation machines, AI-based Remote Support, and mySandvik services tool, have been a game changer for our customers.
As a high-tech engineering company with specialisation in underground and surface mining, and construction equipment, we are always at the forefront of providing technologically advanced products to our customers. Our aim is to ensure not only the safety of customers’ operations and people, but also to enhance their efficiency and productivity for better revenues.
Under our i-series, equipment like Automatic Tunnelling Jumbo DT 922i and Leopard Di650i DTH Drill rig, come loaded with patented intelligent software, helping the operators automate the entire drilling operation like face drilling plans, bolting, different hole settings, and boom drilling sequence.
We have introduced tele-remote operation machines where operators can simultaneously control and monitor multiple underground and surface machine operations from the comfort and safety of a remote-control room.
Digital services tool like mySandvik are helping customers to access and manage all the vital information for predictive analysis, and to monitor and control their fleet from anywhere in the world. mySandvik is also helping our channel partners with real-time updates on impending parts requirement and ordering by customers. AI-based Remote Support system is helping the Sandvik service team in troubleshooting machines from a distant central location.
Aftermarket support is the key strength of Sandvik, and we have a total life-cycle approach to our customers’ business.
With our in-house trained service engineers, we work on a proactive model rather than a reactive one. Even during the Covid times, our service teams were working at mine sites and quarries to support customers and ensure their business continuity. We built lodging arrangements for our teams at customer sites so that they could provide quick service to them.
To overcome the disrupted supply chain of parts and consumables on customer sites, we made many smart tweaks to our SCM corridor, ensuring seamless continuity. We introduced the right balance of air lifting of parts to ensure that there was no machine downtime. We also conducted on-the-job training of operators at sites, in addition to regular health check-ups of the machines so that there was minimum impact on our customers’ productivity.
Apart from leasing and renting, our complete equipment rebuilding solutions help customers get peak performance of their machines at substantially lower costs.
We are aware of the market dynamics, and the changing need profiles of our customers. The pandemic has surely created a void in the cashflow side of things. Sandvik has introduced several new business models like equipment rental service with the support of NBFCs to help customers tide through these times. As a gesture of goodwill, we extended the credit period and warranty coverage for our customers to sail through this difficult period.
Apart from leasing and renting, our complete equipment rebuilding solution enables customers to refurbish and rebuild the critical components of the equipment, granting precious lifetime extension, at a fraction of the cost of new equipment.
The construction and mining sector is confident of a good growth trajectory owing to rising demand and fresh investments by major companies.
Despite two Covid waves and the disruptions across industries, the construction sector has managed to come out shining. The Government’s intention of economic growth has sped up the process of normalisation. Initiatives like increased investments in Infrastructure with a clear focus on Roads and Railways, investments announced for mechanisation of coal mining, amendments in the national mineral development policy to allow captive mining and auctioning of new mines, all these initiatives would surely pave way to a faster recovery of growth.
On the surface the industry has suffered temporarily, especially the infrastructure sector, with many companies being forced to make difficult decisions about costs and spending. But at a deeper level, many companies are also opting to innovate and digitise at a faster pace than ever before, to weather this crisis.
This shift in paradigm has infused a certain amount of hope in the system. Momentum is increasing slowly, Capex outlook continues to strengthen, and one can be confident that large investments in the coming years will not be derailed, and, in fact, may experience a stronger thrust, going forward.
We utilised the lockdown time judiciously in self-improvement and competence development through various online programs, and implemented many new employee-friendly policies.
We took various steps to ensure that our people were safe and at the same time we continued to support our customers in these challenging times. Sandvik urged its employees to work from home, which made it important for us to ensure daily virtual interactions between the team and the management using new-age digital tools.
Numerous workshops and regular webinars were organised to ensure the psychological and mental health of the team. We also introduced structured work schedules to ensure a healthy work-life balance.
Sandvik also built temporary medical facilities for teams working at remote customer sites. These campuses were equipped with medical staff and equipment like oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders, etc, and with the support from our customers, many vaccination drives were organised.
We provided additional Covid insurance coverage for all our employees and their dependant family members. In case of any unfortunate tragedy, we introduced a policy for extending support to employees’ family and their children’s education.
NBM&CW July 2021