24 / 84
22
MODERN MINING
January 2017
TECHNOLOGY
T
he project delivery and engineer-
ing consultancy has been develop-
ing a 5D project design platform
that integrates sophisticated tech-
nology tools in order to provide
a greater degree of predictability throughout
the lifecycle of an asset, ultimately increasing
profits, even in the ongoing volatile commod-
ity market.
“We ‘orchestrate’ the best available standard
systems so that they can plug into each other,”
says Henry Jonker, General Manager – Mining
at WorleyParsons RSA. “There are a number of
powerful engineering design processes and pro-
grammes that are used to improve efficiencies
in the mining and other sectors. We are one of
the first engineering consultancies in the min-
ing sector to develop methods that integrate
these products to combine the benefits of using
them together. Essentially we’re taking individ-
ual puzzle pieces and figuring out how to slot
them together to show our customers the bigger
picture of their project.”
WorleyParsons RSA began developing its
integrated design project platform over five
years ago, by integrating 3D intelligent design
data mapping with over 20 different engineer-
ing design processes and programmes to create
a visual 5D design scope that incorporates
schedule and cost. This 5D integrated project
platform approach has already been applied to
a number of projects, and is proving to save cus-
tomers time and money.
Mushir Khan, Manager of Engineering at
WorleyParsons RSA, says that by applying
the integrated technology to the Front End
Engineering Design (FEED) contract for Royal
Bafokeng Platinum’s second phase 100 kilo-
tonne per month (ktpm) Merensky concentrator,
the project was completed successfully and
expediently.
“This is the first project where the integrated
technology was applied to its fullest potential
and it has proven to work efficiently. We were
able to quickly identify value improvements
by picking up optimisation from the previous
design by using 5D technology. Optimisation is
usually done after a project is finished – in this
case, we used 5D technology in parallel with
optimisation, saving the customer time and
money, while concurrently identifying risks
and value improvement propositions.”
Khan explains that the norm is to first com-
plete a feasibility study and then address all the
risks that were identified in the feasibility stage,
followed by establishing value improvements
to bring costs down and improve construction
schedules. For the Royal Bafokeng Platinum
Mine (BRPM) project, by using the integrated
technology model, WorleyParsons was able to
do the feasibility study and value improvement
simultaneously and determine 90 % of the
dimensions and costs, enabling the next phase
– the detailed engineering – to be undertaken
quickly and very accurately, resulting in a pre-
dictable construction cost.
Khan says that this high level of accuracy
is obtained by plugging in real-time costs into
a 3D parametric design module to create a
cost-based estimate. “We can now seamlessly
integrate 3D parametric design in a 5D plat-
form, making detailed engineering much easier
and quicker, and enabling us to give our cus-
tomers a far clearer overview of their projects,”
he says.
WorleyParsons RSA has been using para-
metric design for some time, particularly for
bulk material handling, to simulate how pro-
cesses will work based on specified parameters
entered. Parametric design is a type of 3D mod-
elling which can demonstrate how a product or
process will function based on varying param-
eters or values. Parametric design models allow
WorleyParsons RSA
develops 5D project
As WorleyParsons’ global centre of excellence for mining,
WorleyParsons RSA expends a substantial amount of
energy and resources on developing advanced solutions
for its customers that will increase accuracy and
efficiency while reducing risk.
This 5D
integrated
project platform
approach has
already been
applied to a
number of
projects, and is
proving to save
customers time
and money.