Logicalis

Scenario
One of the main Brazilian mining companies have a railroad for production flowout from Minas Gerais to the port of Vitória (ES). Based on a 30-year old technology, the communication with more than one thousand professionals working on the trains, made ​​by voice over radio, was facing serious problems. Due to technological obsolescence and the railway route, many communication failures were occurring, which would not allow the company to have full visibility of what was happening on the railway. The situation exposed the company to accidents and lead to unnecessary expenses and losses related to problems and delays.
In addition, a decision of the National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL), the communications regulator in the country, determined that from 2012 analog communication systems could no longer be used in private frequency ranges, which was the case of the technology used by the company.

Solution
To find a solution to the problems faced by the mining company, PromonLogicalis consulting services were hired. The nine professionals involved in the project made ​​all the analysis of the current situation of the railway, as well as future scenario studies to find the best technical solution. We analysed the efficiency of different technologies in terms of coverage, availability, latency, scalability, costs and legislation. From these evaluations, the team created a conceptual design, which later became a basic design, and finally, detailed technical specifications of the project.
A radio broadcast solution based on open standard technology that uses its own range frequency was chosen. The decision was based on the technical aspects - safety, reliability, low latency and total control of infrastructure by the customer - as well as legal issues- frequency range that can be used exclusively for that purpose -and marketing.
In a second phase, PromonLogicalis consulting services helped the client in selecting bidders, preparing RFP, answering questions, analysing technical proposals and recommending suppliers, and supporting the mining company during the negotiations.
Benefits
Thanks to PromonLogicalis consulting services, the mining company has managed to create a modern technological solution with greater reliability in communications, and greater coverage area and therefore being able to reduce miscommunication with trains that travel on its railroad, reducing accidents and losses. The change has resulted in the simplification of management, easier maintenance, improved operational efficiency, and the preparation of the client to comply with the regulations when the decision comes into force in 2012.
Also thanks to the support of PromonLogicalis, the company was able to thoroughly evaluate the proposals of several suppliers and find the best technical and commercial solution according to their interests - in addition to hire a vendor capable of such implementation, in size and complexity, without prejudice to the day to day operation, since the railroad will not stop working during the change of the communication system.