Mining Mirror February 2019 | Page 49

Technology and innovation Targeting best practices to improve fleet uptime and productivity, Kal Tire has launched its Tyre Operations Management System (TOMS). “Where traditional earthmover tyre management reporting has focused on lagging indicators such as consumption, observed conditions, damage, and repairs, TOMS is all about looking forward and changing future performance,” says John Martin, vice- president of Kal Tire Southern Africa. Martin says that with TOMS, Kal Tire will make tyre management more of a proactive and predictive service, like much of the mobile equipment maintenance activities on any mine. “With a clear picture of downtime, TOMS enables greater focus on improving operational efficiency, resulting in improved uptime and financial returns,” he says. Representing years of tyre management experience, TOMS launched in 2018 and is now in use on 41 opencast and underground mines across 12 countries, including five sites in central and southern Africa. In addition to accessible and transparent KPI reporting, TOMS enables a focus on planning and prescribing maintenance. The system is also fully configurable to individual site tyre management needs and is adept at historical reporting of tyre performance and usage. www.miningmirror.co.za Predictive maintenance grows a backbone With TOMS, Kal Tire will make tyre management more of a proactive and predictive service. “The planned and deliberate roll-out of TOMS across Kal Tire operations marks the start of a fundamental shift in communication with its earthmover tyre customers, delivering a story that’s more relevant and can be tied to both fleet availability and operational productivity,” Martin adds. The benefits are significant, and even in day- to-day operations it offers real-time insight that lets technicians and customers alike make informed decisions for that day’s shift. For Kal Tire, a company servicing more than 150 mine sites around the world, the benefits of using TOMS is also far-reaching. Now, with a standard language for everything from tyre descriptions to inspection findings and easy- to-use dashboard reporting and operational standards, teams everywhere can share best practices and ensure tyre management and fleet operations are optimised for uptime and performance. Aggregated data benchmarks results for tyre performance, downtime, haul fleet productivity and more, to identify opportunities to improve fleet utilisation. In addition to giving customers transparent dashboard-based reporting of service agreement KPIs, TOMS promotes safety. Kal Tire’s equipment-specific safe work procedures are incorporated into the program and the TOMS planning report captures the results of condition-based inspections to flag tyre-related damage that could potentially affect operational safety and downtime. FEBRUARY 2019 MINING MIRROR [47]