The Lazaruss™ technology generates a digital replica of the shaft and delivers remote visualization, reducing the need for inspectors to physically access the shaft environment during inspection cycles
Decision Focus
In May 2026, ABB announced a strategic partnership with Point Laz, a developer of mine shaft monitoring technology, to integrate the Lazaruss™ 3D scanner into the ABB Ability™ Smart Hoisting solution 4.0. The stated commercial path: the scanner will be available either as a standalone service or embedded within an ABB Care service agreement. The operational signal for underground mining directors is specific. Manual shaft inspection — long accepted as standard despite documented safety exposure and detection limitations — now has a vendor-backed digital alternative in active integration planning, not merely conceptual development.
90-Second Brief
Today, aBB and Point Laz have signed a strategic partnership to bring 3D shaft scanning into ABB’s mine hoist portfolio. The Lazaruss™ technology generates a digital replica of the shaft and delivers remote visualization, reducing the need for inspectors to physically access the shaft environment during inspection cycles. The integration targets the ABB Ability™ Smart Hoisting solution 4.0 and is expected to reach customers via ABB’s service channels. The timing matters because the manual inspection model it displaces has a confirmed structural weakness: intermittent shaft defects can remain undetected until they escalate, and the labor overhead of manual data processing pulls qualified technical staff away from higher-order performance management work.
What Is Really Happening?
The underlying problem is not a technology gap — it is a risk tolerance gap that has persisted because no at-scale digital alternative existed inside mainstream hoist portfolios. Manual shaft inspection requires inspectors to operate in a physically hazardous environment, collects data intermittently rather than continuously, and relies on human pattern recognition to catch faults that may only manifest briefly before progressing.
What ABB and Point Laz are structurally changing is the inspection frequency model. A 3D scanner that operates continuously and generates a digital copy of the shaft converts shaft condition assessment from a scheduled, labor-intensive event into a persistent data stream. That shift has two distinct consequences: it changes when you know about a developing problem, and it changes who needs to be physically present to know about it.
The partnership also signals something about where major hoisting OEMs are heading. ABB is including 3D shaft scanning as part of the Smart Hoisting 4.0 product update rather than offering it as a separate bolt-on — a structural choice that suggests remote shaft monitoring is being positioned as a next-generation service standard, though no explicit company statement has confirmed that intent.
Why It Matters for Mining Operations Directors
For operations running underground mines, shaft access and hoist availability are not marginal concerns. An unplanned hoist outage does not just affect hoisting — it gates everything: ore movement, personnel transport, ventilation access, and emergency egress. Missing an early shaft condition signal can mean a production stoppage and a potential safety incident compounding simultaneously.
The shift to automated, remote shaft visualization changes the maintenance planning conversation in two ways. First, the detection window for developing shaft issues moves earlier in the defect cycle, giving maintenance teams more lead time to plan interventions without forcing reactive shutdowns. Second, it removes the routine inspection burden from shaft inspectors who currently spend time on manual data collection rather than defect analysis and corrective planning.
There is also a workforce dimension worth weighing. In underground operations where attracting and retaining qualified inspectors is already a pressure point, reducing physical exposure and manual data overhead changes the role’s risk profile — relevant to both safety culture and staff retention in remote or FIFO environments.
On commercial structure, the ABB Care service agreement path suggests an operating expenditure model rather than a capital purchase, which may fit more naturally into existing maintenance contract frameworks. That is worth probing directly with ABB’s service team before the product formally lands in their portfolio.
Forward View
Three fronts are worth watching as this integration matures. First, the customer availability timeline: ABB has signaled commercial intent but has not published a confirmed delivery date for the integrated Lazaruss™ offering. The gap between integration planning and field deployment in hoist systems can be material, and underground operations directors with near-term contract renewals on hoist service agreements should clarify that timeline directly.
Second, inspection standardization implications: Point Laz has stated the technology is designed to standardize inspections against international benchmarks. If regulators in key underground mining jurisdictions — Australia, Canada, South Africa — begin referencing digital inspection standards in their compliance frameworks, operations still running manual-only inspection cycles may face a compliance exposure, not just a competitive one.
Third, data integration with existing condition monitoring: The value of a 3D shaft scan increases substantially if it feeds into the same platform tracking hoist motor condition, rope wear cycles, and conveyance performance. Whether Lazaruss™ integrates meaningfully with third-party condition monitoring systems, or remains confined to the ABB ecosystem, will determine how broadly applicable it is across mixed-fleet underground operations.
What Is Still Uncertain
Several material questions remain open. No field performance data or mine-site case results have been published for the Lazaruss™ system in full operational deployment. The design intent to reduce downtime and standardize inspections is stated, but no quantified outcomes from operating mines have been disclosed. The specific regulatory jurisdictions for which standardized inspection outputs will be accepted have not been confirmed. The pricing structure — whether the ABB Care integration changes existing agreement costs materially — is not yet public.
Operations directors evaluating this development should treat it as a confirmed commercial direction, not a proven field solution, until site-level deployment data is available.
One Question for Your Team
If an automated shaft inspection system identified a developing fault between your scheduled manual inspection cycles, does your current maintenance workflow have a defined escalation path and response protocol — or would you be creating one under pressure?
Sources
- Abb — ABB and Point Laz collaborate to support safer mine hoist inspections with 3D scanning (Link)
