FLEET MANAGEMENT_proof 26/04/2016 16:36 Page 3
FLEET MANAGEMENT
fueling sessions over 30% on average. At the
same time, the mine has experienced improved
production numbers by reducing the attention to
fueling required by dispatchers and operators.
Production involves a truck and shovel mining
operation that uses a fleet of 61 ultra-class haul
trucks, including Caterpillar 797 and Komatsu
930E models. Prior to 2015, this operation did not
use a fuel efficiency system to govern its haul
truck fueling. Rather, dispatchers used data
drawn from vehicles’ OEM systems or a standard
heuristic model to determine appropriate points
at which to send trucks for fuel. Caterpillar 797s
were sent for fueling based on the remaining fuel
hours indicated by their VIMS systems; Komatsu
trucks were filled every shift, irrespective of the
amount of fuel left in their tanks. As well, some
operators would perform fuel runs independently
of a dispatcher assignment when concerned
about their remaining fuel levels. Without a fuel
efficiency system, site personnel were unable to
tell the remaining fuel hours with accuracy and,
instead, erred on the side of caution.
Starting in November 2014, the mine began
investigating its fueling data and found
concerning results. For the previous year, Caterpillar
haulers were averaging 12.6 hours between fueling
sessions – a tolerable amount of time, but far from
extraordinary. Meanwhile, the smaller Komatsu
trucks without OEM fuel monitors averaged around
nine or 10 hours between fuel sessions in the
previous year – an unacceptable result.
In late January 2015, the mine commenced trial
use of the Wenco Fuel Dispatch fuel efficiency
system. This system connects to the Wencomine
fleet management system and uses the data it
collects to automate the fueling process.
Fuel Dispatch starts by assessing the current
levels of fuel remaining in an active haul truck.
The system calculates each truck’s remaining fuel
hours by processing data about its model, its
status, and its uphill and downhill travel through
the system’s fuel depletion algorithm. Vehicles
with OEM fuel monitors, such as the Caterpillar
797s, have the option of polling these systems to
determine the fuel hours remaining. Wenco Fuel
Dispatch also integrates with OmniComm fuel
sensors for sites using this third-party fuel
monitoring solution.
Once the system determines the unit’s
remaining fuel hours, it checks the result against
the system’s preconfigured thresholds for fuel
dispatching. The system maintains two threshold
numbers, beyond which the unit becomes a
candidate for fueling: a Suggested threshold and
a Critical threshold.
When a unit’s fuel hours fall below the
Suggested threshold, Fuel Dispatch generates an
event that dispatchers can choose to see in the
Wencomine eventing system, Event Monitor.
These events indicate that the unit is now a
candidate for fueling. The next time that truck
exits a dump location, it can receive a dispatch
assignment to refuel. Any unit whose fuel hours
have fallen below the Critical threshold, however,
will absolutely receive a dispatch assignment to
refuel upon exiting the dump location.
Once Fuel Dispatch finds a candidate for
fueling, it searches the mine for available fuel
locations. These locations are configured
beforehand through the Wencomine dispatch
application, Fleet Control. Dispatchers use this
application to assign new fuel locations – either
stationary fuel bays or specific locations for a
mobile fuel trucks. This oil sands operator only
uses stationary fuel bays.
Upon initial setup of Fuel Dispatch at the oil
sands site, the system was configured with a
Suggested fuel threshold of five hours and a
Critical fuel threshold of three hours. Since that
time, dispatchers have lowered those thresholds;
Suggested now sits at 3.5 hours and Critical at
two hours. Representatives of the oil sands
producer contend these numbers could be
lowered with no ill effect. Because the site closes
its fuel bays for two hours, twice a day, these
thresholds remain in order to prevent a truck
running out of fuel while the fuel bay is closed.
The operation actually projects times of 2.5 hour
Suggested and 1.5 Critical if it were to keep its
fuel locations open 24 hours a day. Given these
thresholds, trucks still receive fuel dispatches
with 15% to 18% of their fuel tanks remaining –
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30 International Mining | MAY 2016