Iot Capability in Valve Products Reduces Downtime, Saves Money

Q: What added value does Bray offer through its valve solutions?

A: Bray continues to add value to its customers by only focusing on flow control solutions. The main value we provide to our customers is that we are a technology company first and foremost, rather than just a valve manufacturer. We understand that a continuous focus on and investment in R&D is key to staying at the forefront of the industry and delivering the latest technology to the market while making our solutions portfolio more complete. 

As a global manufacturer, Bray has an international reach as well as having a local presence in countries where we operate. Unlike our competitors, we are manufacturers with a passion for listening, being close to our clients and acting as consultants to provide the best valve for each application. Sometimes that means changing the valve type to establish a better process efficiency or a longer product life, or a better seal. Each operation is unique and so we adapt to it. 

 Q: How do you maintain a close relationship with your customers and keep up with their needs?

A: It is vital for us to stay close to our customers through all stages of their project. Our goal is to be involved from a very early stage and act as consultants, getting to know their operations in depth. We want to become a business partner and an ally to our customers so we can continue the relationship beyond the purchase. At Bray, we believe it is important that our customers receive the right valves to meet both their needs and their budget. We achieve this by being with our customers on-site. This is the only way to understand and observe everything that needs to be taken into account to provide the best solution.

 Q: How have your customers' needs evolved in the past year and how do you find the best solutions for them?

A: While some processes in the mining industry remain the same and we just need to provide a better product, there are other applications that require certain modifications as operations evolve. While our customers' expectations continue to develop, we have to evolve with them. It is not just about the product per se but everything that is related to the product. For example, our customers are increasingly focused on preventive maintenance, so our products need to provide them with advanced diagnostics that will allow them to make real-time decisions. We are introducing IoT capabilities into our products, which means our valves will feature sensors that will allow our customers to obtain metrics on how the valve is performing. With this information, the customer can make smarter decisions and save time and money by preventing operational failures.

Q: What results do you expect in the medium to long term from implementing IoT in your valve offerings?

A: This is new for us and we have not seen it from any other valve manufacturer in the market. I believe that incorporating IoT into these processes is going to change the way the mining industry looks at maintenance and safety in its operations. Our IoT sensors will be installed to measure things like vibrations, torques or pressures in the equipment. These valves communicate this data through a secure gateway to Bray’s cloud, where predictive analytics are processed so we can provide actionable insights to our customers in real-time. We have officially launched our initial offering with this technology and is working to deliver this capability to users through different mechanisms on a wider range of our portfolio. This can be implemented as an add-on to existing hardware or as a stand-alone solution. We expect that as this IoT functionality becomes more widespread, more mining operations in Mexico will start to integrate it into their processes to improve their performance. We anticipate that this will soon become the preferred way, which users will choose to manage their operations.

Bray offers a complete portfolio of flow control solutions including valves, actuators and accessories that offer compatibility, value and quality performance.