To
the savvy maintenance professional, industrial machinery almost “talks”
to reveal its condition. But the real key to success is in
understanding what the machine is saying. To detect potential machine
problems, the professional “listens” in many ways:
With thermometers and thermal imagers, to detect overheating, poor electrical connections or failing bearings;
With digital multimeters and power analyzers, to diagnose electrical problems; and
Using techniques like lubricant analysis, to gauge machine condition over time.
Today, the maintenance professional has a new way not just to listen but
to find mechanical problems and fixes: the Fluke 810 vibration tester
is engineered to detect and evaluate machine vibration and recommend any
needed repairs.
In one case study, a major oil company had to keep 40 electric motors on
the job, pumping crude oil, propane and other petroleum products down
the pipeline. That task is now easier for one 35-year industry veteran,
the area logistics manager for the company. For the past year, he’s been
using the vibration tester to diagnose issues in pumps, blowers, and
motors up to 3,500 horsepower that pump 8,000 barrels an hour.
“This is something I’ve been waiting on for quite some time,” he said.
“The ones we’ve used in the past give you the vibration signature, but
you had to interpret the signature. The problem with that is you need to
get that in the hands of a technician who knows how to read your
signature. The neat thing about it is the Fluke will give you its idea
of what it thinks is wrong. But it also gives you that signature you can
give to the engineers.”
“We went down to our transport station — we’ve got eight mainline units
there — and were able to find some bearing problems on one of our
units,” the logistics manager said. “Once we got the pump into the shop
we found out the shaft was out of round, which took the bearing out.
“We went to our number eight pump, and it said ‘motor-pump
misalignment.’ The coupling has a shim pack — it’s kind of a flex
coupling. That was on a 400 horsepower. We thought we might have a
misalignment on the motor but it turned out we had a broken shim pack.
We fixed it and it’s still running today, with no problem. It really
surprised me how it picked that one up. I don’t know how it did that.”
Ease of use is another advantage. “You can give this thing to just about
anybody, and they can learn how to use it in a matter of a few minutes.
You can log all your equipment, you can pair it up with Fluke’s
infrared camera and it will give you a full picture.”
Today, the Fluke 810 delivers results fundamental to the company
maintenance program. “With the big motors, we do the vibration analysis,
we look everything over on an annual basis with the Fluke imager so we
can see if there’s any heat rise, and we use it on all the switch gear. I
call it shoot-fix-move on.
“A lot of companies like to bring people in who actually do the
vibration analysis and thermal imaging for ’em,” he said. “The problem
is they’ll send you a report but it’s three months down the road, and
here you’ve been running this piece of equipment that’s had an issue for
over three months.” But with the new tester, “once you’ve got your
technicians trained you just shoot, fix and move on.”
With a typical vibration program, he added, “I was spending probably
$16,000 just to do the first pass. I can put this $8,000 piece of
equipment in their hands and get the same performance.”
In the world of mechanical maintenance, vibration remains one of the
earliest indicators of a machine’s health. Mechanical equipment is
typically evaluated by comparing its condition over time to an
established baseline condition. Vibration analyzers are designed
specifically for maintenance professionals who need to troubleshoot
mechanical problems and quickly understand the root cause of equipment
condition.
For many modern open-pit mines, shovels are one of the most critical
components in the production process. These multi-million-dollar
machines are the first to handle the material before transporting and
processing begins. Because of this, the shovel must be closely monitored
to avoid any unnecessary downtime and to ensure it is in peak operating
condition. Any unnecessary downtime can cost a mine thousands of
dollars per hour in lost production time.
One of the common causes of shovel downtime for many mines is worn or
missing shovel teeth or adaptors. Operating with worn teeth reduces the
performance of the shovel, resulting in increased energy usage, slower
operation and an increased likelihood of missing teeth or adaptors.
Replacing the worn teeth must be carefully planned as an unplanned
change-out can result in up to two hours of unexpected downtime. When
factoring in the opportunity cost of lost production, a 2009 case study
of an American copper mine determined that the total cost of an
unplanned change-out is US$41,368 — compared to US$3,000 for a planned
change-out.
In hard-rock mining, such as iron or copper ore mining, it is not
uncommon for the shovel teeth to go missing in normal operation. During
the digging cycle, the extreme forces can cause the teeth to break off
completely and become mixed with the loaded material. Big problems occur
when a load with a shovel tooth accidentally makes its way to the
crusher. Because the shovel teeth are made of a very durable metal, when
a tooth enters the crusher, it jams the crusher and can disable it for
hours or even days at a time. If the mine has no other primary crushers
or has little or no stockpile of crushed ore to feed the next stages of
production at the time, the mine production could be put to a complete
halt, which can result in millions of dollars in lost production time
for every occurrence.
To address issues with worn or missing shovel teeth or adaptors, a Canadian company, Motion Metrics International Corp.,
has developed two innovative tooth monitoring solutions: ToothMetrics
and WearMetrics. The ToothMetrics system constantly monitors the shovel
teeth with advanced image processing techniques and artificial
intelligence algorithms, and alerts the shovel operator when a shovel
tooth or adaptor is missing. Once detected, the tooth or adaptor can be
located and prevented from reaching the crusher. The WearMetrics system
automatically monitors the shovel tooth-wear and provides the status of
each shovel tooth by displaying the remaining length of the tooth
expressed as a percentage of the original length. This assists the mine
engineers in planning teeth replacements, and helps avoid any unplanned
change-outs. Both solutions share the same rugged embedded CPU platform
and hardware components, reducing the total cost of ownership for any
mine.
The system works by installing a rugged camera mounted on the boom of an
electric rope shovel or on the stick of a hydraulic face shovel. The
high-sensitivity, monochrome camera provides a clear view of the shovel
teeth directly to the embedded CPU, which is installed in the shovel
operator’s cab. Due to intense shock and vibration experienced by the
shovel during operation, Motion Metrics has designed shock-absorbing
camera brackets specifically for each different type of shovel,
including P&H and Bucyrus/CAT electric rope shovels, as well as
Komatsu, Liebherr, Terex/CAT, Hitachi and other makes of hydraulic
shovels.
The open-pit mining environment is also subject to a number of
environmental conditions such as dirt, dust and varying lighting
conditions, a key challenge for any mining system to deliver consistent
results. To counter lighting variations, a heavy-duty, high-intensity
LED light is installed alongside the camera to illuminate the shovel
teeth during night operations. Advanced artificial intelligence
algorithms continuously monitor the incoming video to exclude images
when the view of the teeth is blocked by dirt, dust or shadows and
select only optimal images for tooth analysis.
Building on this successful shovel-monitoring platform, Motion Metrics
has added the optional safety and collision avoidance components:
ViewMetrics and RadarMetrics. Due to the sheer size and vast blind spots
of mining shovels, the frequent and swift swinging action of the shovel
is a common concern for open-pit shovel operations as there is always a
risk of collision with other equipment or personnel working in close
proximity.
The ViewMetrics addition provides the shovel operator with three
additional wide-angle surveillance views around the shovel blind spots
in the left, right, and rear of the shovel for greater visibility.
RadarMetrics enhances the operator’s awareness even more by providing
intelligent proximity sensing and active feedback to the operator. This
addition seamlessly combines a strategically placed array of heavy-duty
pulsed radar sensors with the three surveillance views from ViewMetrics
to provide visual and audible alerts to the operator when an object
enters the shovel’s swing radius. Optional warning lights can also be
installed around the shovel to extend the warning to any nearby
equipment or personnel, providing an extra level of safety. This unique
patent-pending approach, according to Motion Metrics, is the “only
collision avoidance system for mining shovels [that] takes into account
the swing radius of the shovel when alerting the shovel operator.” This
additional level of intelligence helps eliminate unnecessary alarms that
would otherwise be distracting to the operator.
As real estate in the operator’s cab is limited, the company has managed
to integrate all five of the shovel monitoring solutions mentioned
above into a single embedded CPU platform and a 12-inch touchscreen
display installed in the cab.
The operator-oriented interface displays the shovel bucket camera view
from the ToothMetrics and WearMetrics systems, along with the three
surveillance views from the ViewMetrics systems. As an object enters the
shovel’s swing radius, RadarMetrics displays a graphical bird’s-eye
view of the shovel to indicate the direction and proximity of the
object, and also makes an audible alarm to grab the shovel operator’s
attention.
Motion Metrics is also a provider of payload monitoring systems for
large hydraulic mining shovels, such as the Terex/CAT RH340/400 and the
Komatsu PC8000. Many mines only have weighing systems on their haul
trucks, but this makes it difficult for the shovel operator to know when
a truck is being overloaded, since the weight will not be known before
the load is in the truck. Furthermore, many truck scales require the
truck to be in motion before the weighing system is able to provide an
accurate measurement. To prevent voiding the manufacturer’s warranty,
overloaded trucks must dump their load immediately, resulting in a
significant loss of productivity, as the same load will need to be
reworked and loaded a second time. On the other hand, underloaded trucks
requires the truck to make more trips, thereby increasing the mine’s
haulage cost per ton.
One of the key features of the LoadMetrics system is to provide the
bucket-by-bucket payload information directly to the shovel operator,
allowing the operator to determine whether dumping the current load will
overload or underload the haul truck. The system also provides helpful
warnings to the operator when the shovel is reaching its cylinder
extension or retraction limits. Repeated over-extending or retracting of
the shovel’s hydraulic cylinders can cause the cylinders to burst, thus
requiring premature replacements.
As a crucial element in open-pit mining operations, shovels should be
closely monitored to maximize productivity and minimize downtime. The
cost of any unnecessary downtime can easily cost the mine thousands or
millions of dollars in lost production time. To address many of these
challenges, Motion Metrics has developed a unique collection of shovel
monitoring solutions. Their proven systems have been installed in
various combinations in over 150 mining shovels and in over 30 mines
around the world since 2003.
Enoch Chow is the marketing manager with Motion Metrics International Corp. For more information, visit www.motionmetrics.com.
Optimizing a mining process requires an initial understanding of all
parties involved. It is important to know what is at stake from one
process to the next and, just as important, to know the stakeholders.
Whenever the implementation of a real-time maintenance management system
is discussed, the most commonly identified groups are operations and
maintenance departments.
However, limiting the stakeholders to these departments alone misses the
bigger picture — ignoring several groups within mining organizations
and the industry at large that benefit from the information gathered.
Implementing a real-time maintenance system directly impacts several
groups whose active involvement in the implementation process allows
faster recognition of the inherent benefits.
Who holds a stake?
It is well established that maintenance managers rely heavily on
information to develop long-term strategies. To ensure current equipment
can meet future demands, managers require information on fleet
reliability, cost and operating characteristics. Superintendents and
supervisors implement maintenance plans based on priority, manpower and
cost of repairs. Planners and schedulers work to predict preventive
maintenance schedules, component replacement intervals and warrantee
work based on the information provided them. Maintenance engineering
groups desire the necessary data to understand and research
opportunities for continuous improvement. Finally, mechanics desire to
work efficiently, without constantly changing priorities.
Operations departments gain from maintenance planning, scheduling,
diagnostics and predictive process optimizations. Operational managers
and superintendents examine specific details of the mine plan, seeking
ways equipment configurations can meet or surpass material movement
goals. Field supervisors and fleet dispatchers require maintenance
schedules for equipment rotation and daily plans to maximize their
production goals. Lastly, operators depend on maintenance to provide
equipment that operates safely and reliably.
Supporting departments play a huge role in the day-to-day and long-term
plans of successful organizations. Tire shops, lube and fuel services,
and reliability-centred maintenance (RCM) technicians all rely on
operations and maintenance to work cohesively for operational and
mechanical excellence. Tire life, rotations and budgeting are determined
by reviewing available information. Inconsistent or non-existent data
regarding tire life can cause large discrepancies in the operational
budget. Lube and fueling operations provide the lifeblood of the
equipment. Without information on fluid levels, production is
compromised. RCM technicians ensure oil, vibration, ultrasound and
thermal imaging, providing information back to the organization
facilitating value-added decisions on machinery health. Without
predictable schedules from maintenance, repairing or replacing onboard
technology, or performing RCM tasks, adds to unscheduled downtime.
In modern mines, there are onsite groups ensuring the regulatory
agencies expectations are exceeded. These reporting parties help
maintenance and operations provide environmentally sound processes and
employee safety. Safety departments audit and report on the
organization’s ability to provide the safest equipment and working
conditions for the employees. Environmental services must be able to
view and report on carbon emissions and the success of the fluids
management.
OEMs continuously strive to produce better components and outperform
their competition. There are also opportunities for contract
maintenance, which requires cost control and KPI tracking to maintain
customer satisfaction. Providing real-time data to the experts leads to
long-term maintenance success and, at times, information to help OEMs
produce better products.
A real-time maintenance system with remote monitoring and data capturing
abilities assists all of these stakeholders in achieving capacity
assurance. The keys to its effectiveness — to a significant ROI — are
the proper implementation and organizational participation. Once groups
recognize they hold a stake, they must play their part and work
together. Overall, maintenance management software is a steppingstone
towards the integration of proactive maintenance into daily routines and
continuous improvement.
What are the benefits?
Moving forward with an insertion of technology and data into the
maintenance realm has numerous benefits, which allow an organization to
move beyond the reactive practices of post-failure download diagnostic
or having operators report abnormal conditions occurring onboard. The
new proactive process is relatively easy to implement, providing
immediate returns to the entire organization.
Furthermore, the remote data collection aspect of a maintenance system
allows for an organization to institute reliability engineering or RCM
practices in addition to the real-time maintenance. RCM implements
engineering analysis of the operating characteristics of components and
ensures resistance to failure, typically measured by mean time between
failures (MTBF). Also, RCM implements the engineering analysis into a
predictive model to identify the probability a failure is likely to
occur. The focus on acting early will result in less repair time and
lower repair costs, which translates to predictive maintenance.
Real-Time Benefits
In a fleet management system, all equipment has operational data
captured regardless of type or model. Having all of these data gathered
and displayed in one single software package optimizes the
troubleshooting, actions and reporting, eliminating the need for
separate software packages for each OEM. Real-time maintenance systems
show active alarm conditions for all equipment regardless of
manufacturer, immediate diagnostics for an active fault code through
snapshots and the association of the troubleshooting or repair guides
for alarms.
Viewing real-time raw sensor data can indicate the root cause of faults
as well as parts necessary to fix, perform preventive maintenance (PM)
inspections, or provide the details necessary to identify a larger issue
— whose immediate correction could avoid a catastrophic failure. The
application also reduces the time to dispatch a mechanic to an equipment
unit or simply eliminates unnecessary trips. However, to limit the
benefits to a single group or department will hinder acceptance;
delaying deployment and ROI. Identifying and maximizing the benefits for
each stakeholder will amplify the acceptance and shorten the timetable
for successful implementation.
Remote Data Collection Features
Historical information and data collection for analysis can move an
organization from reacting to alarm conditions in order to prevent an
impending failure to a more proactive approach involving statistical
analysis, component-level root-cause analysis and failure mode effects
analysis. This is what is expected through historical analysis and
research. The benefits typically are listed only to assist those
directly assigned to ensure reliability. To ensure successful
implementation, a stakeholder must again be aware of the entire
organization and recognize all potential benefits of remote data
collection.
Abnormal conditions can lead to larger failures or reduce the overall
ability of equipment to perform at the desired level. Behind these
alarms are the individual sensors with raw values triggering
notifications. The context surrounding these signals provides the
details necessary to prevent continual accumulation of abnormal
conditions. While sensor information is critical, detailed logs for
unscheduled downtime events are also necessary to better understand
opportunities for improvement. Time tracking allows detailed information
that can be related back to the abnormal or alarm conditions being
captured in the system.
Temperatures, pressures, speed and operating conditions, among other
factors, are critical to understanding the history behind the capacity
of a particular component, and whether it is achieving the desired
productivity and/or life cycle. When looking to implement technology to
improve performance or reduce costs, looking beyond just maintenance
benefits will ensure success.
Real-time maintenance systems are designed to allow users to take raw
data and convert that into information — and to then take action. This
concept is used frequently, and it should be a focus for an organization
considering maintenance management technologies. All this should come
back to benefits. A system’s ability to turn data into information and
information into action should benefit as many groups inside the
organization as possible. Implementation without organizational buy-in
is possible, but with microscopic tracking of return on investments, it
is not probable. Once groups recognize they are stakeholders in the
implementation, that there are qualitative and quantitative benefits to
all parties, organizational buy-in and acceptance is achievable. The
entire organization participating and benefiting from the decision to
implement technology into their maintenance program will ultimately
provide a sustainable and repeatable predictive/preventive maintenance
ratio. When the ratio is sustainable and repeatable, the entire
organization is successful.
Justin Johnsen is the maintenance product manager at Modular Mining Systems Inc. For more information, visit www.mmsi.com.
As
the world’s largest Caterpillar equipment dealer, Alberta-based Finning
sells, rents and services heavy equipment and engines. Their customers
run mission-critical equipment in rugged and isolated locations.
To keep customers moving, Finning’s vehicle service teams conduct
ongoing equipment inspections and preventative maintenance in the field,
generating large amounts of paperwork. The data is used to coordinate
repairs, order parts, schedule future service and bill for labour.
Teams collect this information on paper in the field, but it takes time
for the data to get back to operations, delaying parts ordering,
follow-up service scheduling and billing. On top of that, manual data
entry into back-end systems takes service technicians away from billable
tasks. A key document process for Finning is the timesheet, as it
doubles as an invoice and record of repair. Timesheets are filled out in
the field and driven back to the office where they are ultimately
entered by hand into Finning’s back-end system. Delayed time sheets
create delayed billing and poor operational visibility to service
records.
In order to digitize the information collected from the timesheets,
Finning started using digital pen and paper technology by Anoto and
Capturx Forms Service solution for real-time data capture. Now repair
teams use the same timesheet that they’ve been using for years, but as
teams fill them out, the digital pen creates a normal ink record on the
paper while also making a digital copy — which it stores in the pen’s
memory. Teams can use smartphones to send data directly from the
Bluetooth-enabled digital pens to their back office. Data sent
wirelessly from the field is instantly available in the back office in
the original handwriting as well as converted text in data tables. The
data can be integrated directly into other back-end systems like
timecard management software to automate workflows, such as payroll and
billing. PDF files with the original handwriting also contain converted
text as keywords, making them easy to search, archive and retrieve.
“Finning provides a range of equipment sales and customer support
services to the oil field, pipeline and other industries throughout
Western Canada,” said Sam Chapdelaine, customer services manager with
Finning. “Capturx helps us efficiently track the service paperwork for
our planned approach to scheduled services, proactive maintenance and
repairs, so customers can minimize unplanned downtime and get
productivity when they need it.”
Service teams no longer take billable workers out of the field in order
to drive forms back to the central office. With the extra time, service
crews can spend more time on billable tasks. And with reduced lag
between service repair and delivery of the service record to the central
office, Finning has real-time visibility into their customer accounts
and repair teams.
With immediate access to timesheet data, the office can expedite the
billing process, keep payroll records up-to-date and streamline account
reconciliation. There’s no more month-end scramble, invoices slipping
into future months or confusion over missing paperwork.
Despite the use of “sophisticated” tools, many businesses still rely on
manual data collection methods with pen and paper. Digital technology
automates information in a way that is easy, reliable and requires
minimal user training. As a result, organizations — especially those
with a large field service staff — can continue to collect information
the way they always have but now with the benefit of immediate access to
operational data.
Pietro Parravicini is the CEO and president of Anoto Inc., and Ken
Schneider is the CEO and chairman of Adapx. For more information, visit www.anoto.com.
These
days, it’s a whole new world for maintenance and engineering
technicians. The use of mobile computing devices — allowing workers to
take speedy, automatic readings, easily access asset histories and do
much more — is on the rise, replacing the traditional pen and clipboard.
“Mobile solutions are a fundamental change for field and plant workers,
because they provide access to the office computer, other company
personnel and the internet — but also because they revolutionize the
old world of manual data collection,” says David Berger, founding
president of the Plant Engineering & Maintenance Association of
Canada and a consultant with Western Management Consultants.
Technicians are now using mobile computing power to do things undreamed
of a decade ago: collect equipment performance data like pressure and
temperature readings or send a picture with a message to a manager or
co-worker for advice. With mobile devices, technicians can also handle
work-order details more efficiently, transfer information to their CMMS
database in real time, or search vendors’ websites and make direct
inquiries without office support.
Early challenges with mobile computing have been overcome, and the full
capabilities of hardware and software are now being realized. “The
first step involved software firms providing some version of what you
had in the office on a mobile device, but usage was clumsy,” Berger
says. “There were issues with operating systems in that sometimes you
could only view things instead of use them, you had to scroll around a
lot, and the units weren’t rugged enough.” He notes that now systems
are readable and usable on small screens, and workers have access a
large range of powerful tools, from cameras, RFID/bar-code scanners and
GPS to a scribbling function and the ability to hold a conference call.
Being connected to a company’s CMMS at all times (or most of the time
using a store-and-forward function where data is collected, stored and
sent when the device encounters a Wi-Fi or cell network) can result in
productivity improvements of anywhere from 10 to 30 percent. “New
instructions can be sent to the technician based on data the technician
has sent in or a change in priorities on that day,” notes Kris Bagadia,
president of PEAK Industrial Solutions.
Having the data collected in real time also means workers can be
alerted and respond on the spot. “An immediate reaction to a reading
that’s out of the normal range can save a significant amount of money,”
he says.
Tablets offer more
Up to this point, PDA-style handhelds have been more common than
tablets — and are still the number one way of collecting data, notes
Florian Lenders — but their limitations have put the focus on tablets.
“The small screen size of handhelds makes it hard for technicians to
see the text, especially in poor light situations, and workers are also
looking for more information access on-screen,” says Lenders, the
vice-president at Ivara Asset Performance Management Software in Burlington, Ont.
“There is a shrinking market for cheap ($500 to $600) PDA-style
handhelds with only a handful of suppliers providing ruggedized, units
at a price equal or higher than the latest tablets.” He adds, “There’s
also concern about the life expectancy of the current PDA operating
systems, as Android and other options gain ground.”
Besides, whether you use a handheld or a tablet, both hands are needed
— and while handhelds can more easily be clipped onto a belt, tablet
portability has come a long way. “They’re stored and are brought out
like a clipboard when needed,” says Scott Ball, the Canadian business
development manager for Austin, Texas-based Motion Computing. “They can also be attached to a shoulder strap during climbing.”
The greater amount of information that can be accessed with a tablet is
critical for technicians and managers. “They have the capacity to
contain CAD diagrams and full electronic versions of a manual,” he
observes.
The computing power of a tablet is also important, allowing things like
saving multiple trips to a given area of the plant or field site. “The
software supported by a tablet can analyze a given reading and
determine whether, for example, an oil sample should be taken,” Lenders
says. “And once the data is automatically transferred or downloaded
later to your company’s CMMS back at the office, the system
automatically plans the next work order, alerts the lab that an oil
analysis request is coming, and so on.”
However, Bagadia points out, “As long as you have Wi-Fi and your CMMS
system is web-connected, you don’t need additional programming for your
mobile device. You just collect it, send it, your CMMS system does the
analysis and any needed results come back.”
Tablets, beyond providing accessing to more data and providing more
computing power, also provide another advantage. “To be useful to
maintenance personnel, the more things a device can do, the better, and
tablets can do a lot,” Ball says. “Our tablets have a bar code reader,
camera, GPS, wireless capability and other things, that are now all
considered standard features.” (He notes that they are all integrated
into the device because attaching items to one another is a potential
failure point.) He adds that outdoor-screen technology, which makes it
easier to read a screen in direct sunlight, is also becoming standard.
“Most customization of mobile computing solutions for each client is therefore all about the software,” he says.
The first step is to speak to a well-established company about your
needs. “You should choose a device that meets or exceeds the software
vendor requirements for memory and accommodates the intended use,”
Bagadia says. “Managers need to consider the benefit of enough memory
to download large amounts of information to the portable device — for
example, making the entire equipment or inventory available for
technicians.” He adds that in order to help technicians with
trouble-free data capture and recording of work progress, the device
should give them the ability to choose from lists of pre-defined codes
and phrases.
Costs kept low
The best news of all is that the cost of tablets has dropped enormously
in the last 12 months. “The release of the Apple iPad has put a huge
amount of pressure on manufacturers to lower their prices,” Lenders
says. “The cost of a rugged tablet is now $1,000 to $1,500, which is 50
to 75-percent less than about a year ago.”
Bagadia says the overall price of instituting mobile computing at a
company will not be as high as one thinks. “Most people have the
misconception that if you have 50 technicians, you’ll need 50 mobile
devices,” he notes, “but depending on factors like what your
technicians are using them for and how many shifts you have, you’ll end
up needing only a percentage of that number.”
Ball says service providers generally set up a pilot test with one or
two devices where everything from applications to connectivity is
examined. (This will also give a company a good idea of how soon cost
return can be reached.) “Interference issues where the wireless signal
drops off can exist in plants,” he notes, “but wireless infrastructure
is not the barrier it used to be. Store-and-forward is there if you
need it.”
Bagadia agrees connectivity is becoming less of an issue by the day:
“Widespread wireless access is everywhere now. In the very near future,
it’ll be hard to imagine anywhere, even two floors down, where Wi-Fi
won’t reach.” However, Lenders is less optimistic. "Remember, most
industrial plants are usually in the middle of nowhere," he says. "I
have customers who still don’t have cell coverage at the plant site,
and this gap is not going to be bridged easily. The cost of industrial
Wi-Fi is very high and no one I know is pushing for it. The future is a
wired industrial world, but it's a few years away as far as I can
tell."
When asked to speculate about the future, Ball says he foresees even
lighter and more rugged devices, with more battery life. “I can see
more use of speech recognition too for some things, but ambient noise
can be an issue with that.”
Treena Hein is a freelance writer based in Pembroke, Ont.
In the Cloud: Aim high with software-as-a-service for maintenance and asset management
While
many companies are still feeling the pinch of the economy,
manufacturing costs and spending on new equipment, employees and
technology can be daunting. These companies are still required to stay
competitive in the market and do more with less, and companies worry
about the cost of software, hardware and IT support needed to own and
operate CMMS and EAM applications.
The solution? Cloud computing for maintenance.
Cloud computing, or SaaS (software-as-a-service), isn’t a new concept.
Software companies have been providing cloud computing to customers for
more than 15 years. In a nutshell, cloud computing means accessing
programs over the Internet rather than a company’s own on-site network
of hardware, applications and storage.
Cloud computing takes the risk out of implementing new software by
eliminating large up-front investments and the need for major IT
resources. Instead of buying software licenses and the hardware to run
it on, customers simply pay a monthly fee that covers use of the
software from a secure online environment with technical support,
upgrades and data storage. The vendor performs maintenance
automatically, and if the software doesn’t fit a company’s needs, they
can simply discontinue its use and end the monthly contract.
SaaS is especially valuable for small-to-medium-sized organizations
that have to calculate their moves and take fewer risks in capital
investments. A monthly fee is easier to justify than a $100,000 system,
and they’re up and running in days instead of weeks or months. (SaaS
can also be budgeted as a monthly operating expense versus a capital
expense.)
World-class maintenance organizations understand the importance of
using CMMS/EAM to properly maintain their equipment, which results in
less downtime, a safer work environment and better cost tracking.
When researching cloud computing for maintenance, here are a few things to keep in mind:
• CMMS/EAM providers should offer a similar product whether you
choose the cloud-computing route or move in house and host the system
on your servers. Some vendors sacrifice options or limit
functionality and number of allowable users to make the cost seem
lower. However, a best-in-class vendor will offer the same
functionality and allow a company to adjust the number of users and
move them from one plant to another as your company grows and changes.
Just as with traditional solutions, cloud computing should enable you
to export your data in many formats, including Microsoft Excel.
• The pricing structure should be clear and easy to understand, explaining what services you’ll have access to. Some
vendors won’t be up front about what’s included, so be sure to have a
detailed understanding so you aren’t shocked by lack of functionality
down the road.
• A vendor will have experience and investment in their offering. A
best-in-class vendor should offer a redundant, highly secure data
centre, and will have passed and maintained their SAS70 Type II audits.
The vendor should guarantee 24/7/365 availability for your users with
at least 99-percent uptime.
n A cloud computing solution should be easy to use and easy to own. A
best-in-class vendor will offer you the flexibility to pay for the
modules and functionality you need, with the ability to add
functionality when you need it. Many programs still require
service-intensive implementations. A vendor can provide either on-site
or remote training over the web, e-learning classes, and can even offer
a pre-configured CMMS/EAM solution to help transfer knowledge and
product ownership to the customer and allow a customer to start using
the solution within days.
• Don’t get fooled into paying for extra “bells and whistles.”
Stick with a solution your company needs and which provides the proper
tools to maximize the performance of your assets but also provides an
expansion to additional functionality when and if you need it. Some
add-ons sound great in a demo but aren’t included in the standard
pricing model and/or won’t be used once implemented because they are
difficult to use or slow down the maintenance process.
Cloud-computing solutions are secure and trustworthy, just as companies
are moving their accounting and email systems to cloud-computing
platforms. The top solutions will have a history of providing at least
99-percent uptime with only occasional scheduled maintenance and
upgrades during non-peak hours.
By eliminating the overhead of large up-front software purchases, as
well as providing installation and upgrades that nearly eliminate the
burden on the IT staff, cloud computing can help maintenance
organizations move toward world-class operational effectiveness and
maximize assets performance without breaking the budget.
Jeromy Risner, CMRP is a reliability consultant with AssetPoint. For more information, visit www.assetpoint.com.
Deep Breathing: Ventilation-on-demand system improves Vale mine energy use
Many industries are finding that not only are there marketing benefits
to shrinking their environmental footprint, but cost-saving benefits as
well. And while certain industries are able to make a seamless switch
to green, other industries — such as mining — find it a little more
difficult.
However, when international mining giant Vale first hired Sudbury,
Ont.-based engineering, automation and software development firm
Bestech to help design a ventilation-on-demand system for its Coleman
mine, the original goal wasn’t to save energy; it was merely to find a
way to move air around more efficiently.
Mining ventilation systems are one of the most costly components of the
mining process — both money-wise and production-wise. With the amount
of contaminants and fumes that are created by the mining process,
proper ventilation is required to ensure all of a mine’s people, and
equipment, are able to work. With the mind-boggling number of shafts in
an average mine, a lot of ventilation is required to keep the air
moving.
Traditionally, to ensure a mine was properly ventilated, one had to
over-ventilate. Fans on the surface would push fresh air down, and
auxiliary fans underground were required to push air through the
drifts.
“Because mine circuits are so complex, you’re often looking at between
100 to 200 auxiliary fans running 24/7 at 100-percent capacity,” says
Marc Boudreau, president and CEO of Bestech. “As a result, it’s not
unheard of for ventilation costs alone to range between $3 million and
$6 million annually.”
This type of ventilation system also limits productivity because one
can only mine in areas where you have proper airflow and air quality.
If one wanted to expand activity to another area of the mine that
wasn’t ventilated, they’d have to first reconfigure their ventilation
plan.
Enter ventilation-on-demand
The purpose of a ventilation-on-demand system is to only ventilate
those areas that are in use — thus, drastically reducing energy usage.
While the concept has been around for approximately 25 years, Bestech
was one of the first to establish a system that is using
state-of-the-art technology and robust enough to work in a harsh mining
environment.
The company has been working on ventilation control strategies since
2000, and is currently on its third version of its software — NRG1-ECO.
“Back in 2000, we were focused solely on developing scheduling tools —
turning the fans up and down according to a predetermined schedule,”
Boudreau says. “What we were doing was unique at the time because we
were using web applications — and that was cutting-edge software back
then. We were really pushing the envelope of real-time systems over the
web.”
Through the decade, the software evolved, and in 2009, Bestech started
planning its third version, with a focus on increasing functionality
through even more advanced technology. While Vale was one of the first
companies to help dictate the direction of the new software, it was
just one of Bestech’s many partners in the project. That’s because the
goal of this project was different: it wasn’t to merely reduce a mine’s
ventilation energy usage, but to optimize mining processes, people and
equipment and increase productivity.
“At the end of the day, production rules,” Boudreau says. “Mining
operating costs range from $200 to $400 million per year, so what is $1
to $3 million in energy savings? It’s a start, and in reality provides
a two to three-year ROI. The bigger benefit is increasing overall
productivity, which can yield tens of millions in increased revenues.”
The advanced nature of the product, as well as the potential
environmental angle, qualified the project for federal R&D dollars
and simultaneously captured the attention of other government research
groups and non-profit foundations. To qualify for funding for one of
these foundations, Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC),
Bestech was required to establish an industry consortium.
The consortium, which continues to provide support to Bestech, consists
of research partners (such as MIRARCO, which is a research company
affiliated with Laurentian University), funding partners (such as the
Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation as well as clients like Vale
and Xstrata) and technology partners (such as RFID vendors, which help
ensure the program is easily integrated). It proves to be a valuable
resource for the company, offering plenty of sound advice, ideas and
suggestions (along with funding) to make sure the project is something
that can truly move the mining industry forward.
The future of mining
One of the ways NRG1-ECO exceeds previous versions of the software is
through its ventilation-on-demand accuracy and open technology. For
example, thanks to the use of RFID tags — which are placed on each
employee and each piece of equipment in the mine — the program can
gather enough information to know when people or equipment are in a
specific mining zone, and alter the ventilation accordingly.
This has proven to be a useful feature in reducing blast gas clearing
time — an area that Bestech is continually developing. When removing
ore, mines must undergo a repetitive daily process: first miners head
into an area to drill, then they blast, then recondition the area, and
then they send machines in to pick up the ore. The problem is that,
after a blast, the air becomes contaminated and there’s a time lapse of
lost productivity — ranging from between 15 and 60 minutes — as miners
wait to enter the zone to recondition the area and collect the ore.
Through the use of RFID tags and sensors measuring air quality, Bestech
is working on reducing that amount of downtime by developing ways to
more efficiently remove the contaminated air out of the mine, so miners
can get through the necessary corridors and collect the ore quicker.
The company has also gone to great lengths to ensure its technology is
open, allowing it to accommodate the varying needs of different mines
current networks and communication protocols, both today and down the
road. This design has been a definite benefit for Vale and other
companies who have already signed up for their installation.
“Every mine is different — each one has unique requirements, operates
in a slightly different environment and requires a customized, tailored
installation for their respective operation. Bestech tries to
understand what their client requires, and utilize the right technique
to get them what they want,” says Cheryl Allen, chief ventilation
engineer for Vale.
This flexibility has allowed Vale to roll the technology out in stages
— it currently has a portion of its Coleman mine “tagged” (with RFID
tags). While the system is functional, and the company has already
proven the potential for approximately 30 to 40-percent energy savings,
the goal is to expand the system to other parts of the facility. There
are many infrastructure changes the company may wish to change some day
as well, such as implementing a wireless communication infrastructure,
and they’re certain that if and when those changes are made, Bestech
will be able to tweak the existing framework accordingly.
While the software is capable of working with other technology that
might not be implemented quite yet, it’s also capable of working with
less-advanced technology that already exists. This is a huge benefit
for companies that don’t want to overhaul their entire communications
infrastructure.
One example is if they have copper wire-based communications systems
(or “leaky-feeder systems”), rather than more advanced fibre-optic
systems. Understandably, it takes a lot of communication infrastructure
to transmit data from 8,000 feet below ground to computer systems on
the surface. While many newer mines are currently equipped with
fibre-optic systems — allowing them to transport more information at a
faster pace — most older mines rely on copper technology. Replacing
this technology can prove extremely costly, which is why it was
important to ensure that NRG1-ECO could accommodate the older system
and deliver the same results.
Accommodating varying brands of PLCs was also a necessity. Each
Intelligent Zone Controller — the device which control a mine’s fans —
is equipped with a PLC. “Every client uses a different PLC
manufacturer,” Boudreau says. “We wanted to make it so that it doesn’t
matter what PLC manufacturer you use.”
Buying in
While advanced technology is definitely a huge component of the
NRG1-ECO system, it’s probably the easiest piece of the puzzle to
implement. The most difficult part of the process so far has been
winning that buy-in from company employees and, to some extent, the
industry as a whole.
“Not everyone is okay to have an RFID tag attached to them. That’s a
social obstacle we have to deal with,” Boudreau says. “If you don’t get
buy-in from people, your system won’t work.”
So far, the company has been trying to overcome this through education
and awareness — by sitting people down, highlighting the safety
benefits and explaining the details of the system. In reality, the
monitoring process can’t determine if someone is taking a
longer-than-average break. It monitors the mine by zones, which can be
roughly a kilometre long, and can only detect whether an employee is in
the zone or not. It can’t determine what that person is doing — or
whether they’re even moving — thus avoiding a “Big Brother” type of
monitoring.
“I don’t think it will ever go in that direction,” Boudreau says. “The
cost of putting in infrastructure to follow employees and equipment is
expensive.”
Bestech knows its technology is capable of increasing mining
productivity in several other ways, hence, it continues to research and
develop its NRG1-ECO platform and inventory of mine efficiency and
productivity products so that it can reduce the high cost associated
with overhauling existing legacy systems, which have and always will be
an obstacle in moving the entire industry forward.
That being said, the new technology is gradually gaining interest in
the mining community. The company currently has eight new projects at
various stages, including Goldcorp and mining companies in the
Northwest Territories and Manitoba. It has also received interest from
foreign mining companies in Peru and Mexico.
“This technology will definitely bring significant changes to the
future of mine design and the notion of moving air around,” says Glenn
Lyle, R&D program director for the Centre for Excellence and Mining
Innovation, a consortium member.
Vanessa Chris is a freelance writer based in Toronto.
Need for Speed: Hydraulic motor boosts efficiency in potash mine
Work output in a potash mine is dependent on machines with high
mobility and production efficiency. As the world’s demand increases for
potash that is used primarily as an agriculture fertilizer,
Saskatchewan’s PotashCorp has stepped up production at the company’s
Rocanville, Sask., mining facility with a continuous bore mining
machine that extracts some 1,200 tons of potash ore per hour.
Propelling the massive four-rotor mining machine, weighing in at 250 tons, are two Eaton
Hydrokraft 250-cc motors that are the heart of the hydraulic system on
the X CEL 44 Series miner built by Prairie Machine & Parts
Manufacturing Ltd. in Saskatoon.
PotashCorp has relied on Regina’s HyPOWER Systems Inc., an Eaton
distributor, to provide hydraulics muscle and hydraulics commonality
for its mining machinery. When the need for an additional miner became
evident, PotashCorp asked HyPOWER to redesign hydraulic circuitry for
the machine and to work with Prairie Machine on fit, functionality and
integration requirements.
Delving into the project, HyPOWER technical sales representative Ken
Pagan and mechanical engineering technologist Cal Ganshorn called on
Eaton’s Lyle Meyer, Hydrokraft product manager, for a two-speed
hydraulic motor recommendation.
“We explained to Lyle that the motors would need to increase tram speed
over PotashCorp’s current miners that move at a snail’s pace through
the mine,” Ganshorn says, “plus fit into a tight envelope on the miner.
“In addition, the motors would need to default to maximum displacement,
in the event that hydraulic system pilot pressure was lost.”
Meyer proposed Eaton’s compact Hydrokraft two-speed motor for the
application, after confirming with Eaton’s Wehrheim, Germany,
manufacturing facility that a customized version would default to
maximum displacement, not minimum displacement, as does the standard
version, when pilot pressure is lost. Ganshorn specified the custom
Hydrokraft motors into his hydraulic system design proposal that also
included Eaton DG4S4 valves, V Series vane pumps and a Series 2 piston
pump that would operate auxiliary functions.
PotashCorp liked the design proposal and gave HyPOWER its endorsement
to design the miner’s hydraulic system around the custom Hydrokraft
motor.
Following assembly and testing, the miner was completely disassembled
in order to be transported down the mine shaft. Simultaneous with these
projects was the task of carving out rock 3,200 feet below the
Saskatchewan prairie in order to build a shop in which to reassemble
the 38-foot-long by 22-foot-wide miner piece by piece. Overall, the
multimillion-dollar investment is already paying off for PotashCorp.
The machine has been up and running since November 2009 and is
significantly faster than the elder PotashCorp miners.
“Our hydraulic system design with the Eaton Hydrokraft motors has
enabled the new X CEL miner to increase tram speed by 40 percent,”
Ganshorn notes.
The increased tram speed saves two hours of tram time and more, says
PotashCorp’s Cecil Huber, general maintenance foreman underground. “The
time savings frees up the operator to help with setup sooner and allows
us to move the electrical set that much sooner as well,” he says.
“Eaton’s Hydrokraft motors give us twice the drive torque to the
tracks, which results in better control. Tram pressures are lower,
resulting in lower operating temperatures in the hydraulic system.”
PotashCorp plans to add five more X CEL miners equipped with Eaton products to its Rocanville machinery lineup.
This is an edited article provided by Eaton’s Hydraulic Group. For more information, visit www.eaton.com.
Pump Rescue: Keep pits productive with portable-pump preventive maintenance
Preventive maintenance is a key component in maximizing a pump’s
lifespan, not to mention cost savings, increased profitability,
increased pump availability, improved productivity and decreased repair
costs. Thus, it makes sense for pump owners and users to implement a
comprehensive service and maintenance program.
To yield maximum profit, equipment must be operated properly. Effective
service and maintenance keeps equipment working at peak efficiency; so
service and maintenance should not be viewed as a strain on income.
Rather, they should be considered a contribution to output. The key to
a good service and maintenance program is preventive maintenance. This
includes adjusting and tuning up equipment and detecting and correcting
small problems before they become major problems.
Scheduled preventive maintenance is typically viewed as oil, fuel and
air filter changes every 200 to 250 operating hours, as recommended by
the manufacturer. While this is necessary, it also provides an
excellent opportunity to perform a general machine audit that includes
inspection of all wear components and to make replacements or
adjustments as needed.
Good equipment maintenance requires that everyone shares the
responsibility. Field operators and mechanics must make sure the
equipment is operated properly and that required maintenance intervals
are performed. The supervisors must ensure that the proper maintenance
schedule and procedures are completed by the mechanics. Finally, the
purchasing or parts department must procure necessary parts, in
advance, to avoid delays and downtime.
Having a manufacturer’s trained service technician perform these tasks
may increase the initial cost of the service when compared to using
on-staff personnel. However, a trained technician will do the job
correctly and also identify components that are susceptible to failure,
which avoids downtime and damage to other parts. This will reduce
repair costs throughout the life of the equipment and result in savings
much more than the initial cost of a service call.
More Specifically, For Aggregates
During visual inspection of the pump, all areas of material buildup
should be noted and removed after the unit is shut down. Look for and
remove dust especially around the alternator, radiator and control
panel. Especially with aggregates, dust can create waterways and
channels affecting electronic and non-electronic components. An air
hose is the most effective tool to remove the dust buildup.
Often with the aggregates market, the substance being pumped has
varying pH levels. These high or low pH levels can cause extra wear on
the pump. Thus, some pump manufacturers offer pumps with special
materials such as bronze or stainless steel or with special coatings to
prevent added wear, depending on the application. Hardened impellers,
wear plates and volute rings can also be helpful to lengthen the life
of the pump.
For pit dewatering, always be sure to use a strainer. This keeps
unwanted foreign materials out of the pump. Some of the most common
pumps used in pit dewatering are high head, high-pressure pumps (such
as the Thompson Pump JSC series). Hydraulic submersible pumps also provide pumping power for common aggregate applications.
Please dispose of used oil in a manner that is compatible with the
environment. We suggest you take used oil in a sealed container to your
local recycling center or service station for reclamation. Do not throw
it in the trash; pour it on the ground, or down a drain as oil can be
harmful to the environment.
Items to Monitor
To perform general maintenance properly, it is important to pay close
attention to the pump while it is running. The following are items to
monitor: heat, pressure, vibration, noise, flow, speed, strain, liquid
level, power consumption, product contamination, leakage and emissions.
Serious items to watch for — cavitation and water hammer — occur
frequently in the aggregates market. To prevent cavitation, run the
pump at the proper speed or provide a larger suction hose to handle the
fluid. Water hammer, which is a spike in discharge pressure and often
the cause of blown seals, can be prevented by starting the pump and
slowly throttling up to recommended max speed. Multiple check valves in
the discharge line can also provide relief to water hammer.
Kirsten Petersen Stroud is the marketing manager for Thompson Pump. For more information, visit www.thompsonpump.com.
Air Down Under: Controlling the costs of compressed air in underground mining
Compressed
air can comprise up to 20 percent of the costs of underground mining,
according to the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), and 20 to 40 percent
of energy costs at mines can be attributed to compressed air systems.
Given that up to 70 percent of that air is wasted through leaks, the
problem of leaks in compressed air lines is one of the most costly and
inefficient draws on the bottom line.
The numbers are staggering. The OMA’s compressed air leak management
program report, “Implementing a Sustainable Compressed Air Leak
Program,” demonstrates just how costly leaks can be: a single
1/2-inch-diameter leak, assuming energy costs of $0.10/kWh, can total
to $12,820 throughout the course of a year for a one-shift operation
and as much as $47,850 for a three-shift operation. Even the tiniest of
leaks can add up: a single 1/16-inch-diameter leak can cost up to $200
over a year for a one-shift operation and up to $750 for a three-shift
operation.
In a typical mining operation, leaks in compressed air lines can number
into the hundreds, resulting in wasted energy costs upwards of $100,000
a year. The costs alone should be enough to consider a leak management
program, but leaks also create other problems. Fluctuating system
pressure can lead to inconsistent performance of the tools and
equipment that operate on compressed air. Operation time may need to be
increased to make up for the lower pressure, which can increase
maintenance costs and reduce the service life of compressors due to
excess load.
Problem Areas
Leaks can occur at any point in a compressed air system and are blamed
on a number of factors. Through regular mining activities, compressed
air piping is exposed to vibration, impact and harsh materials, all of
which could lead to leaks. Compressed air lines in the mining industry
are typically joined using grooved mechanical piping due to the joining
method’s ease of installation and maintenance, strength and ability to
quickly adapt to changing mine geography. If the joints of a grooved
system aren’t properly assembled, however, the gasket contained within
the coupling housings can be a leak source. During its study, the OMA
determined that pipe couplings are the most common source of leaks;
approximately 60 to 80 percent of the air loss can be attributed to
couplings.
Fortunately, the solution isn’t as drastic as replacing grooved piping
systems, which mines rely upon to decrease installation and maintenance
downtime and reduce total installed costs. The two primary causes of
couplings as a leak source, pinched gaskets and incompatible gasket
material, are easily fixed.
During coupling installation, a gasket can pinch, creating a leak path,
if it’s not properly lubricated. Lubricating a gasket takes only a few
seconds, but this step is often skipped to save time. If coupling
gaskets are not pre-lubricated, personnel should take the time to
lubricate the gaskets prior to installation, and managers should
educate pipe installers as to the importance of doing so and the
economic ramifications that result from leaks.
Mine maintenance personnel will try just about anything to save time,
so adding a step to the pipe installation process may not be a welcomed
idea. Installation-ready couplings, an alternative to traditional
couplings, require fewer installation steps and decrease installation
time compared to traditional couplings; they also reduce the chances of
pinching a gasket upon assembly. Installation-ready couplings do not
require disassembly prior to installation. The pre-assembled coupling
is simply “stabbed” onto the pipe ends, and the bolts are tightened,
like typical couplings, until the housing bolt pads meet
metal-to-metal. Installation-ready couplings are offered in flexible
and rigid styles in sizes up to 8 inches/200 millimeters.
The benefit of installation-ready couplings is twofold. First, they can
reduce pinched gaskets during installation because the coupling is kept
assembled and installed as a single unit, rather than piece-by-piece.
Second, they can be installed in as little as half the time it would
take to install traditional pipe couplings. As a result,
installation-ready couplings meet owners’ goal to reduce costs and
miners’ goal to save time.
Another cause of leaks at pipe couplings is gasket deterioration, which
can occur when the gasket material is incompatible with, and not
approved for the piping service. For example, when grade “E,” or EPDM,
gaskets are used on compressed air lines, oil vapors present in the
system can degrade the compound, eventually leading to a leak. EPDM is
a commonly specified gasket grade, and is suitable for water services,
but using this grade on air services can be problematic.
Oil separating filters are generally not used on compressed air
systems, so the lines may carry oil vapors. As a result, grade “T,” or
nitrile, gaskets should be used. This gasket grade is designed to stand
up to air with oil vapors and will not degrade with exposure over time.
Nitrile gaskets should not be used on water services, however, so mines
will need to use two types of gaskets: EPDM for water services and
nitrile for air services.
Replacing EPDM gaskets with nitrile gaskets on compressed air lines is
not a quick maintenance procedure, but the cost savings that can be
achieved through this method is significant. The OMA suggests
conducting gasket replacement during maintenance to repair existing
gasket leaks, and during installation of new compressed air systems.
Study Outcome
Three mines participated in the OMA’s air leak management project as
pilot sites. The mines saw almost immediate results in energy savings.
In fact, two of the mines saved about $100,000 in annual operating
costs just by fixing major air leaks. The project report, which
includes lessons learned and best practices, is a must-read for every
mine.
Fixing leaks attributed to gaskets within pipe couplings will not solve
all challenges involving compressed air systems. After all, leaks can
occur at multiple points along the line, and a big-picture leak
management program is necessary to ensure long-term commitment to
locating and repairing leaks. Such a plan, according to the OMA, should
include recognition of the role of people and leadership, uses of
equipment and instrumentation, and the development of new procedures
and processes.
Nevertheless, proper selection and installation of pipe couplings play
a major role in reducing downtime associated with leaks. Repairing
leaks can reduce air loss to less than 10 percent of the mine’s
compressed air output, resulting in immediate and significant cost
savings.
Marc Carrière is the global mining market manager with Victaulic, a
producer of mechanical pipe joining systems. For more information,
visit www.victaulic.com.
It’s a whole new world for maintenance and engineering technicians. The use of mobile computing devices is on the rise, replacing the traditional pen and clipboard. Is it right for your facility?
To
the savvy maintenance professional, industrial machinery almost “talks”
to reveal its condition. But the real key to success is in
understanding what the machine is saying. To detect potential machine
problems, the professional “listens” in many ways:
As
the world’s largest Caterpillar equipment dealer, Alberta-based Finning
sells, rents and services heavy equipment and engines. Their customers
run mission-critical equipment in rugged and isolated locations. 
These
days, it’s a whole new world for maintenance and engineering
technicians. The use of mobile computing devices — allowing workers to
take speedy, automatic readings, easily access asset histories and do
much more — is on the rise, replacing the traditional pen and clipboard.
While
many companies are still feeling the pinch of the economy,
manufacturing costs and spending on new equipment, employees and
technology can be daunting. These companies are still required to stay
competitive in the market and do more with less, and companies worry
about the cost of software, hardware and IT support needed to own and
operate CMMS and EAM applications. 
Enter ventilation-on-demand
The future of mining
Propelling the massive four-rotor mining machine, weighing in at 250 tons, are two 
More Specifically, For Aggregates
Compressed
air can comprise up to 20 percent of the costs of underground mining,
according to the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), and 20 to 40 percent
of energy costs at mines can be attributed to compressed air systems.
Given that up to 70 percent of that air is wasted through leaks, the
problem of leaks in compressed air lines is one of the most costly and
inefficient draws on the bottom line.
Problem Areas
