Vantaz Australia and Chile develop solutions to integrate IT/TO infrastructure at Covalent Lithium
Traditionally in mining, operational technology (OT) networks, which control and automate industrial equipment, have been kept separate from information technology (IT) networks, which handle data and management of organizations. In recent years, however, it has become clear that the technological transformation of the mining industry is a priority and that the integration of these two networks brings many more benefits than previously thought, both technically and strategically.
Convinced of this, Vantaz Australia and Vantaz Chile teams gave life to a project to analyze and prepare a convergent architecture model for the IT/OT systems at the Covalent Lithium Pty Ltd. concentrator plant, a joint project between SQM and Wesfarmers Ltd. subsidiaries in Australia.
The benefits of integrating this architecture include cost reduction, process optimization, and informed decision making. In addition, once the integration has reached a sufficient level of maturity, it provides the opportunity to gain operations outsourcing capabilities from Integrated Operation Centers.
Because of its many benefits, convergence is already a trend in many industries, including manufacturing, energy, healthcare, agriculture, and public safety. It enables greater efficiency and productivity by enabling better coordination between information systems and operational processes.
"We are very proud to have been part of this great consulting project and to have achieved the convergence of these systems, a concept that Vantaz has been working on for many years. To achieve this, it is very important to provide a series of protocols and best practices to do it in a safe and cost-effective way,” said Gary Warden, Country Manager of Vantaz Australia.
Commenting on the collaboration between the Vantaz Australia and Chile teams, Rodolfo Cáceres, IT Manager at Vantaz Chile, emphasizes the constant cooperation: "Although it had its challenges, it was a very efficient way of using Vantaz's global resources. Despite the time difference, we were able to work on semi-packaged experiences and deliver a project of international quality through a remote and multidisciplinary collaboration hub that worked perfectly". Undoubtedly, a success story that the same client company has expressed through the various feedback provided.
Importantly, IT/OT convergence also enables organizations to collect and analyze data in real time, which can improve decision-making and the ability to respond to constant changes in the business environment.
