African Mining February 2022 | Page 25

TECHNOLOGY •

The system automates tyre inspection work as part of a selfreinforcing feedback loop with the goal of scheduling identified tyre change work as necessary . Flagged issues are reported into TOMS , which will have been populated with the agreed operating parameters or business rules of the mine for tyre inspection guidelines . These rules assist in filtering the data to prioritise and trigger actionable work orders , which are then integrated into the planning system to be done within the preventative maintenance schedule of equipment . TOMS is an EAM or Enterprise Asset Maintenance system from INFOR and is easily compatible with other systems .

Goode highlights the efficiency of the technology in that it is identifying around 5 000 issues a month . This is up to 100 times more than manual inspections typically pick up . These issues of course will be reduced in number by filtering and prioritising issues according to the site ’ s business rules in TOMS to create work orders that are manageable , practical , and actionable .

Productivity gains , preemptive planning , and overall improved safety Goode highlights three major benefits for the operation in using this technology . “ To summarise : one , continuous and consistent inspection of the haulage fleet without the need to bring it out of service . So , a productivity gain . Secondly , priority-based work orders which are configured by the mine according to its production strategy , enabling identified work to be scheduled , and so allowing better planning . This is key for us in the tyre space . Tyre work has traditionally been , for the most part , outside of the planning process . Most of the tyre maintenance is unplanned . With TOMS , we are now seeing some sites getting into 60 %, even 70 % planned work . And we believe Pitcrew will help drive this further . Thirdly , clearly , if you ' re inspecting equipment autonomously , the number

Kal Tire carrying out an inspection .

telematics . The inspection station uses a high resolution , thermal imaging camera , which scans passing trucks continuously without the need to take them out of operation .

“ This is the clever bit ,” says Goode . The image recognition AI identifies tyre related issues in the images of the passing truck such as hot spots , belt edge and tread separations . The beauty of this technology is that it is also picking up other mechanical damage too in a pilot project in Canada , which widens the scope of benefits this technology can offer to operations in the long term . Goode points out , “ We can expand into rim components and into mechanical components . We are even picking up strut issues . And we haven ' t even started looking at the front of the truck !”

Kal Tire & Pitcrew . ai .