MAINTENANCE
Martin Engineering has introduced data
tracking and analysis codes on conveyor belt
cleaners
updated on every belt cleaner maintenance visit.
By avoiding the common “run it until it breaks”
approach to conveyor maintenance, the Martin
Engineering proprietary smart phone app gives
technicians and customers a tool that helps
maximise performance and service life -- while
minimising carryback and spillage – to improve
safety and reduce unscheduled downtime.
Currently being implemented in select markets
around the world, the new tracking program
captures a wide array of information to create a
detailed record on all components. Date codes
are imprinted on the blades during manufacture –
very important for urethane because it has a
limited shelf life – and technicians also affix tags
on existing equipment to begin monitoring
condition and recording observations.
Conceived as part of Martin Engineering’s
factory-direct ‘Mr Blade’ program, technicians
perform regularly-scheduled inspections and
adjustments, with an 18-point operational
assessment from head pulley to tail pulley and a
report for each visit. The visual inspections
include the condition of pulleys, belts and idlers,
as well as belt tracking, sealing, support and
containment. This constant vigilance contributes
to greater safety, efficiency and dependability of
the conveyor systems, minimising hazards and
unplanned outages.
“Periodic reviews
often reveal developing
problems before they
become a failure, such
as worn idlers, leaking
seals or excessive
spillage,” explained
Chris Schmelzer, Director
of the Wear Components
Business Group for
Martin Engineering.
“The data tracking
program will help us
work with our customers
to make better-informed
decisions about what equipment to use in
specific applications, more accurately predicting
the expected wear life,” said Schmelzer. “The
goal is to help ensure that all components are
properly serviced and replaced during scheduled
outages, before a major breakdown occurs and
stops production.”
With the new tagging and capture ability,
component data can be recorded and analysed in
much greater detail than ever before. Every
inspection a technician makes will be logged in,
along with operational factors such as the
material being handled, conveyor speed and
remaining wear life, as well as visual
observations and other info. The overall goal is to
deliver more effective control of bulk material,
improving predictive maintenance scheduling and
contributing to a lower total cost of ownership.
The tagging program allows the company to
maintain detailed information about the
product’s date of manufacture, installation and
service history, giving customers access to the
data through a smart phone or other device.
“Eventually we will have enough data points to
make more accurate predictions about the
performance and wear life of individual blade
designs and materials of construction under
specific operating conditions,” Schmelzer said.
“Defining average wear life is extremely difficult
because of the number of variables, but having
this information will allow us to compare blade
performance in similar applications and come up
with a range and standard deviation.”
Engine maintenance
Users of mining equipment driven by diesel
engines can look forward to many more years of
economical operation if they understand that
these modern engines are designed for two,
three or more ‘new lives’ between overhauls; but
proper maintenance goes hand-in-hand with
quality remanufacturing to make this possible.
“Beyond their first overhaul at about 15,000
hours, most diesel engines are designed to be
overhauled several times,” says Andrew Yorke,
Operations Director of South African specialist
diesel engine component remanufacturer Metric
Automotive Engineering. “However, many users
will try to cut corners on the maintenance side,
especially under the current tough economic
conditions – quickly putting pay to this valuable
benefit.”
The end result of poor maintenance practices
is that machine ownership ends up costing more,
and the potential value of a longer working life
for the unit is lost. “Sadly, the situation leads to a
sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, where the
purchasers of used equipment are even less
likely to maintain it properly – arguing that it is
not worth the expense,” says Yorke. “They buy
used plant because they can’t afford new, but
then further undermine its value by wanting to
spend less on servicing too.”
The fact is, he says, that many mining engines
do not get the right level of service workmanship
or the best quality parts at the latter stages of
their lives – so their possible longevity is cut
short. “By viewing the equipment and its engine
as a pure cost, the asset value and reliability is
not fully realised, and the second and third lives
of those engines are severely compromised as a
result,” he says.
Several original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) contract Metric Automotive Engineering
to remanufacture customers’ engines that are
still under a maintenance plan – as a positive way
of protecting their warranties. “From an
engineering point of view, we can see the
ABSOLUTE MATERIAL FLOW CONTROL
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CHUTE SYSTEMS & SOLUTIONS
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JANUARY 2018 | International Mining 63