FLEET MANAGEMENT_proof 26/04/2016 16:42 Page 2
FLEET MANAGEMENT
MineWare Argus operator screen interface - the green 'payload' bar on the
right of the screen shows the operator 'bucket by bucket' payload
information in real time
overloaded, it’s too late to correct this. The truck now only has two options:
it can either limp to the dump, or return to the face and dump there. Both
options create inconsistencies in truck loading which result in a number of
costly impacts such as truck bunching, material spillage, significant road
damage, higher haul truck maintenance costs, premature tyre failure and
higher fuel costs.”
At the other end of the scale, he said an underloaded truck can be just
as detrimental to a mines’ efficiency contributing to lower productivity and
a higher cost per tonne. “Each yard of capacity in a truck that’s missed
simply because the operator has no accurate information on how much
remains to be loaded, is a direct loss in productivity to the mine,” he
added.
“An operator getting a payload reading for a truck when it is already on
its way out of the loading zone is of limited to zero value when it comes to
driving improvement. The damage is already done – whether that’s through
under or overloading of trucks, the cost has already been incurred.”
MineWare’s Argus is one such system which provides the shovel
operator with real-time payload information, pass-by-pass, as they load
every truck. The operator knows with confidence the exact tonnage
required for that critical last pass to ensure that each truck leaves with as
close as possible to 100% of its nominal payload.
“Haulage is usually the largest operating cost in a mining operation, so
you have to manage this aspect carefully,” continued Jessett. “With our
Argus system, we guarantee accuracy to within 3% of the target payload,
compared to other truck-based payload methods which can be as
inaccurate as 15-20%. It’s about tightening the payload distribution and
increasing the average truck payload. This results in the mine’s fleet
management system being fully optimised and with significant production
and maintenance benefits. For an operator, using Argus means they will
know how many tonnes are being loaded into a truck at any time and how
many tonnes remain to reach the target payload, ensuring they
consistently fill the trucks with a smaller payload variation. The
optimisation of fleet management systems starts with an accurate
payload.”
Fuel economy and dispatching
Fuel presents one of the biggest costs in mining, running millions of dollars
each month. In addition to the cost of fuel, slower production due to
fueling procedures contributes to millions more dollars in lost revenue
each year. Since January 2015, a key operator in the oil sands region of
Alberta, Cana da, has experimented with Wenco Fuel Dispatch, an
automated fuel dispatching service that has extended the time between