orphan as no other articles link to it . please introduce links to this page from related articles ; try the find link tool for suggestions . april 2014 modular mining systems inc. type subsidiary industry mining computer software computer hardware founded 1979 headquarters tucson arizona u.s.a. area served worldwide key people luiz steinberg president and ceo james white chairman and founding member products fleet management software maintenance management software machine guidance system interface and module gps tracking device mobile computing platform wireless networking device railway centralized traffic control proximity detection number of employees 700 worldwide parent komatsu website www.modularmining.com modular mining systems inc. modular headquartered in tucson arizona u.s.a. is a privately held company that develops manufactures markets and services mining equipment management systems . modular is the pioneer and industry leader in fleet management technology in mining . 1 the modular dispatch fleet management system is available in eight languages and is currently running at more than 200 active mine sites ; among these are nine of the ten highest producing surface mines in the world . 2 modular was founded in tucson arizona in 1979 . 2 over the next two years modular developed and successfully implemented the dispatch system a computerized fleet management system designed to optimize haul truck assignments to loading and dumping points in an open pit mine and to produce operating reports during the shift . following the dispatch system s development modular has gone on to create a number of other software and hardware products that seek to improve different areas of mine operations . in 1996 komatsu america corporation kac of rolling meadows illinois in concert with their parent company heavy equipment manufacturer komatsu limited of tokyo japan komatsu acquired a controlling interest in modular . in 2003 kac acquired the remaining shares of the company 1 and today modular remains a wholly owned komatsu subsidiary . 3 contents 1 history 1.1 first installations 1.2 global growth 1.3 modular today 2 products 2.1 the intellimine suite 2.2 autonomous haulage systems 2.3 presence in underground mining 2.4 modularready oem interfaces 2.5 masterlink wireless network 2.6 smartrain integrated rail management system 3 services 3.1 value added services 4 see also 5 references history edit first installations edit from 1980 to 1981 modular worked with phelps dodge corporation a wholly owned subsidiary of freeport mcmoran copper & gold since 2007 to develop and install the first version of the dispatch system at the company s open pit copper mine in tyrone new mexico . 4 following this implementation phelps dodge conducted a productivity study on the system showing a 10 % production increase . 4 in 1985 phelps dodge contracted modular to develop and install a dispatch system tailored to the rail operation at its mine in morenci arizona and the company also had the system installed at el chino mine in santa rita new mexico . 5 global growth edit following initial installations in the southwestern u.s. modular went on to install the dispatch system at various mines around the world . international customers included iron ore co. of canada ioc at labrador in 1985 ; palabora mining co. ltd. in south africa 5 in 1985 and the cerrej n mine in colombia in 1988 . after a decade of rising industry demand for the dispatch system modular established its first subsidiary modular mining systems pty. ltd. in caboolture australia in 1989 to support its expanding australasian customer base . 6 the australia office was relocated to tuggerah australia in 1993 . modular has established the following global subsidiaries 1989 modular mining systems pty. ltd. new south wales australia 1993 modular mining systems inc. y cia ltda . santiago chile 1996 p.t. modular mining systems balikpapan indonesia 1998 modular mining systems china beijing china 2000 modular mining system africa pty. ltd. johannesburg south africa 7 2000 modular mining systems do brasil ltda . recife brazil 2000 modular mining systems canada ltd. port coquitlam canada 2002 modular mining systems scrl lima peru 2004 modular mining systems india pvt. ltd. pune india 2006 modular mining systems eurasia moscow russia 2009 modular mining systems do brasil ltda . belo horizonte brazil modular today edit over thirty years since the company s founding modular has established itself as a global leader in mine management technology with systems currently running in eight languages at sites around the world . 2 in october 2010 modular announced its two hundredth customer vale s.a. s moatize mine an open pit coalmine in tete province mozambique which marked the third greenfield mine that year to implement modular technology . 8 recent innovations from modular have come in the areas of machine guidance remote vital signs monitoring and mine safety . products edit the intellimine suite edit modular provides software applications and hardware products designed to enhance mining operations productivity safety and equipment availability utilization . the core modular product line the intellimine integrated asset management suite includes the following products modular s flagship product the dispatch system for open pit mines has become established as a standard for fleet management software in the mining industry . at its core the system optimizes haul truck assignments reducing truck queuing at loading and dumping locations through the use of multiple optimization algorithms including linear programming best path and dynamic programming . a mine s dispatcher uses the system to centrally manage mine operations including equipment allocation shift change refueling and equipment downtime events . other features of the system include gps based equipment positioning equipment health monitoring maintenance tracking blending and production reporting . the dispatch system enables real time computerized central management of mine operations to maximize production and efficiency while increasing safety and control . the dispatch underground system first deployed in 1991 is the only fully integrated mine management technology for underground operations . the system uses rugged field computer components designed for underground mining environments . dispatch underground supports all major underground mining methods and processes providing tools for inventory and material movement crew management and fleet monitoring and location management . the minecare maintenance management system is a software application designed to minimize maintenance response time perform predictive and reliability centered maintenance rcm provide critical failure analysis information and report key performance indicators kpis to mine maintenance personnel in real time . 9 modular offers over 175 interfaces to original equipment manufacturer oem systems giving operators access to equipment data and allowing maintenance personnel to monitor the health of components such as engines hydraulics electrical systems and tires . 9 the minecare system has helped save considerable maintenance costs and equipment downtime at mining operations around the world . 10 the provision machine guidance system utilizes high precision global navigation satellite systems or gnss including gps and glonass to enhance safety provide reporting and immediate operator feedback highlight opportunities for improvement initiatives and reduce operating costs . provision technology is available for excavators loaders backhoes drills and dozers . to improve safety the provision system offers features such as the proximity detection module which is designed to alert equipment operators of encroaching equipment hazards and keep out zones by use of gnss and on board camera . 11 the shiftboss production tracking system is a fleet management software application which provides tracking of a mine s production records 12 as well as position tracking and paperless reporting . the product utilizes gps receivers and oem interfaces to automate the tracking process eliminating the need for a mine control room operator . the roadmap position and safety tracking system enhances safety for light vehicles at mine sites . 13 it monitors light vehicle positions and provides real time awareness of changing conditions to visitors and mine personnel . any equipment with a roadmap system installed continuously tracks its own position using gps comparing it in real time to a preconfigured road network . the basic configuration uses a pda with internal gps receiver . 14 autonomous haulage systems edit from early on the development of autonomous driverless haulage systems ahs i.e. vehicle automation has played a significant role in modular s affiliation with komatsu . in november 2011 multinational mining and resources company rio tinto signed an agreement with komatsu limited for the purchase of 150 autonomous haul trucks to be implemented into the company s western australian pilbara operations by the end of 2015 . the deal marked the first large scale commercial deployment of autonomous haulage in mining and came as a major milestone for modular as a company . modular s contribution to the komatsu ahs includes the supervisory system operational intelligence communications infrastructure operation reporting and vehicle interaction safety technologies . 15 this implementation of autonomous haulage has been credited with the ability to create high tech jobs and help improve mine productivity safety and environmental performance . presence in underground mining edit in 1991 modular mining systems developed and installed the world s first underground fleet management system at a diamond mine in south africa . 16 the dispatch underground system increased productivity by detecting equipment positions in real time using infrared beacons as well as by operator interaction with a field computer on board the load haul dump lhd machines used to extract ore bearing rock . field information from the on board computers was delivered to the central server . 16 today some of the world s largest underground mining operations use dispatch underground to proactively manage underground mining equipment . solution was updated in 2016 according to the recent market requirements . modularready oem interfaces edit modular has relationships with all major original equipment manufacturers oems of heavy equipment in mining to provide asset health monitoring . modularready interfaces allow 3rd party systems to interface with intellimine products . in total modular has over 175 interfaces that provide thousands of parameters to issue payload readings automate haul cycle events issue oem and user defined alarms and analyze trends that indicate impending equipment failure . 9 modularready interfaces provide the ability to aggregate min max and average parameter readings streaming them to central applications such as minecare for use in rcm analysis . masterlink wireless network edit the modular masterlink wireless network enables high bandwidth data rates on rugged mobile hardware designed for open pit mining . intensive graphics and video real time asset health data equipment location monitoring and machine guidance applications are all enabled through the masterlink network . masterlink systems utilize industry standard 802.11 technology and offer system diagnostic and interfacing capabilities secure data transfer and rugged solar powered trailers with cold weather ratings . smartrain integrated rail management system edit the smartrain system was developed and brought to market in 2002 for the caraj s railroad estrada de ferro caraj s or efc owned and operated by the brazilian mining corporation vale s.a. 17 the product is a railroad traffic control system designed to plan supervise and dispatch train movements . since its introduction the smartrain system has played a significant role in maximizing the performance of the caraj s railroad by increasing the tonnage carried and reducing the transportation cycle of the cars.the smartrain system earned modular the best it creator of 2003 award from brazilian railroad magazine revista ferroviaria 18 and the product s integrated railroad system technology received a u.s. patent in 1995 . 19 services edit value added services edit modular provides value added services to help mines discover and address areas for improvement in various parts of mine operations and maintenance . the modular value add services vas division specializes in design implementation and optimization of mine management systems for both surface and underground mines . services include product user training consulting business process mapping bpm performance benchmarking change management and lean services among others . in april 2011 modular expanded its offer of change management and lean to all customers worldwide . 20 see also edit mining komatsu limited references edit a b feary christine december 2009 modular founder and chairman james white